Vitality Health Insurance Review 2026

Is Vitality the right health and life insurance choice for busy UK families?

Vitality can be an excellent option for parents who want solid life or health cover and meaningful rewards for staying active, but it is not automatically the cheapest or simplest choice for every family. Its life and health policies are broadly competitive, with a strong track record of paying claims and some genuinely innovative extras such as Serious Illness Cover, children’s cover and dementia protection. Where it really stands out is the reward programme, which can slash the net cost of cover if your household does a reasonable amount of day-to-day walking, gym visits or general activity. However, families who are time-poor, unlikely to make use of the perks or living far from partner gyms, cinemas and coffee shops may find a more straightforward, lower-maintenance insurer better value overall. For most parents the key question is not whether Vitality is “the best” on paper but whether your real lifestyle means you will actually unlock enough benefits, savings and cashback to justify its slightly more complicated setup.

Is Vitality good value for money for parents?

Vitality can effectively pay for itself for families who use the rewards regularly, especially if you are already paying for a gym, coffees, cinema trips and sports kit for the kids, but if you will barely touch the perks, then a simpler, cheaper life or health policy elsewhere may work out better.

How reliable is Vitality when it comes to paying claims?

Vitality has consistently paid the vast majority of life insurance claims each year and publishes audited statistics, so from a parent’s point of view, it scores highly on the one thing that really matters if the worst happens – actually paying out when your family needs the money most.

Do you need to be super fit to benefit from Vitality?

You do not need to be a marathon runner to make Vitality work, as normal family life with school runs, walking to the station, weekend outings and the odd gym session can rack up plenty of Vitality points, but if most days are very sedentary then you are unlikely to hit the higher reward tiers.

Can Vitality genuinely help parents save money overall?

For many households the combination of discounted gym membership, cheaper sportswear, Waitrose healthy food cashback, free or cut price cinema trips and potential premium discounts can add up to hundreds of pounds of savings a year, but it only works if you are organised enough to claim the offers regularly.

Key Points: Vitality review 2026 – is it the best health and life insurance for UK parents?

• Vitality combines life insurance, income protection and private health insurance with a reward scheme that gives points for everyday activity and health checks, which can reduce premiums and unlock perks.
• Typical parent friendly rewards include discounted Apple Watch, up to 50% off gym memberships, free weekly Caffè Nero drinks, free or half price cinema tickets, cheaper sports gear and cashback on healthy food at Waitrose.
• Life cover on its own is fairly standard; the real value appears when you add Serious Illness Cover, children’s cover and engage with the rewards, especially if you are already paying for gyms, coffees and days out.
• Premiums are competitive but not always the very cheapest, and the system is more complex than a plain policy, so using a whole of market broker is sensible before deciding.
• It suits families who are at least moderately active and willing to use the app each week; parents who dislike apps or rarely get out may feel they are paying for benefits they never use.
• There are alternatives such as straightforward life insurance and health policies from other UK insurers or the NHS plus a basic income protection plan, which may be better if you want set and forget cover.
• Vitality’s long-term track record of paying claims is strong and can provide reassuring financial security for children if a parent dies or becomes seriously ill.

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Who is Vitality and why do UK parents keep hearing about it?

Vitality is the bright pink brand parents see on hoardings at cricket, football and running events, but behind the marketing sits a sizeable insurer. The company is backed by Discovery Limited, a major South African financial services group, and offers both private medical insurance and personal protection products like life insurance, Serious Illness Cover and income protection. In the UK, Vitality has grown by building insurance around healthy living: the more steps you take, workouts you do and health checks you complete, the more rewards and potential premium discounts you receive. For families this turns something that usually feels like a sunk cost into a scheme that actively nudges everyone towards healthier routines while cutting the cost of everyday treats and activities.

Vitality has picked up a steady stream of industry awards for protection and private medical insurance, often scoring top marks when life cover is combined with its Serious Illness option. It has also invested heavily in digital tools and app based engagement, so most of the experience runs through your smartphone. That can be a real plus for parents who already rely on apps to organise family life, but it does mean there is more to manage than with a simple life policy that just sits in a filing drawer for 25 years.

What products does Vitality offer for families?

Vitality’s offering splits into two main bits: VitalityLife and VitalityHealth. Together they can cover everything from a basic life policy linked to your mortgage through to more involved arrangements that protect your income, your children’s health and long term conditions like dementia. Parents do not need to buy everything at once, but it helps to understand the core building blocks before deciding where to start.

Vitality life insurance options explained in parent-friendly terms

At heart, Vitality’s life insurance works much like any other reputable UK insurer. You choose how long you want cover to last, how much should be paid out if you die within that period, and whether the payout should be a lump sum or a monthly income for your family.

• Level term assurance pays a fixed lump sum if you die within the chosen term. Parents often match this to the years until the youngest child is financially independent or until the end of an interest only mortgage.
• Decreasing term assurance also pays a lump sum if you die in the term but the cover amount falls roughly in line with a repayment mortgage. It is usually cheaper and works well if your main worry is clearing the home loan.
• Family income benefit pays a tax free income instead of a lump sum for the remaining years of the policy, which can be easier for a surviving partner to budget with and sometimes cheaper for the same real world protection.
• Whole of life runs for the rest of your life and pays out whenever you die. Because a claim is guaranteed if you keep paying premiums, costs are higher. Parents sometimes use this for funeral costs or to leave a small inheritance.

You can set cover up on a single life basis or jointly. Joint life first death pays out on the first partner to die, which is common for mortgages, while joint life second death only pays after both have passed, which is more niche. On their own these structures are similar to other insurers; the additional flexibility comes from the extras you can bolt on.

Serious Illness Cover – why parents tend to look twice at this

Where Vitality stands apart is its Serious Illness Cover. Most insurers offer critical illness cover that pays a single lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of a set list of serious conditions, typically around 50. Vitality’s version pays according to how severe the condition is and covers far more diagnoses, up to 174 at the top tier. Instead of claims being all or nothing, you can receive partial payouts for earlier stage illnesses, and the plan can still be there if something worse happens later.

From a family perspective this matters because serious illness does not always fit cleanly into neat definitions, and treatment can drag on for years. A parent facing cancer, a stroke or a major heart problem may not be totally unable to work but still face lower income, higher travel costs and childcare bills. Having a cover that can pay something even at earlier stages can help keep the household afloat without blowing the whole policy in one go. There is also the option to extend serious illness protection to children, providing a payout if a son or daughter is diagnosed with a covered condition, which can be a financial lifeline if one parent needs to stop work to care for them.

Other life related extras: fracture, income and later life cover

Vitality lets you add different extras according to what keeps you awake at night financially as a parent.

• Income protection can replace part of your salary if illness or injury stops you working for a longer period, which is often more useful for day to day bills than a big one off payout.
• Fracture cover pays out set amounts for fractures, certain accidents and emergency surgery. It is a relatively low cost add on that can help if, for example, a broken leg keeps you off work or leads to extra childcare and transport expenses.
• Dementia and Frail Care is a less talked about but powerful feature that allows you to extend some protection into later life, aimed at conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s. While that feels a long way off when the children are small, parents who worry about the burden on their own kids in future sometimes value this.

Vitality health insurance – skipping NHS queues when it matters

VitalityHealth provides private medical insurance, which gives parents more control over how quickly you or a child can be seen and where treatment happens. Core cover includes inpatient and day patient treatment, cancer care, many diagnostic tests and surgeries, with optional add ons for extra outpatient care and mental health support. One point parents often appreciate is telemedicine: virtual GP appointments can be booked around school runs and bedtime rather than queuing for urgent appointments locally.

Vitality has also tried to be more flexible with pre existing conditions than some competitors by using automated underwriting that can sometimes accept conditions on a more tailored basis. However, it is crucial not to assume everything will be covered; private health insurance in the UK has strict rules around pre existing issues. A good independent broker can explain where Vitality sits compared with rivals like Bupa, AXA or Aviva and whether your family’s health history is likely to cause exclusions.

How much does Vitality life insurance cost in 2026?

Vitality’s base life insurance pricing is in line with other major UK insurers for many family scenarios, with the real variation coming from optional extras and how far you lean into the reward scheme. As a rough guide, recent sample quotes for a healthy non smoking adult buying £300,000 of level term life insurance over 20 years show premiums in the region of a few pounds per week for someone in their early thirties, rising significantly with age, smoking status or medical history. Adding Serious Illness Cover or income protection will increase costs noticeably, but these are often the benefits that actually keep the family finances going if something serious happens while you are still alive.

For parents on a tight budget, one practical approach is to start with core life cover at the level needed to clear the mortgage and provide a cushion for childcare and living costs, then add a smaller amount of Serious Illness Cover that fits what you can comfortably afford each month. Any level of cover is usually better than none, particularly while children are very young and highly dependent on your income. Vitality’s tiered serious illness structure (1X, 2X and 3X) means there is generally a way to tailor the cost without abandoning the idea altogether.

Indicative costs for life and serious illness together

To give a sense of how premiums step up when you add illness protection, consider that combining £300,000 of level term life cover with a mid level serious illness amount can take the monthly cost from the low tens of pounds into a higher band, especially from age 40 upwards. That is a noticeable chunk of a family budget, but when you weigh it against several months of lost income, nursery fees, school uniform, mortgage payments and food, it puts the numbers into perspective. It is also worth remembering that some of that cost can effectively be offset by the rewards if you genuinely use them.

How Vitality’s rewards really work for a family lifestyle

The rewards are where Vitality becomes more than a simple insurance product. Every adult on the policy can earn Vitality points for recorded activity such as daily steps, gym visits, runs or cycles, as well as for health checks, questionnaires, dental and eye tests and even mindfulness sessions. These points build your Vitality status from Bronze through Silver and Gold up to Platinum. Higher statuses unlock bigger discounts and better ongoing rewards, and in some cases direct premium discounts too.

For parents, the clever bit is that many of the actions that earn points can fit around normal life rather than needing separate workout blocks. Walking to school, doing a big supermarket shop on foot, charging around a soft play centre or taking the stairs instead of the lift all feed into your daily step count when tracked via a phone or wearable. A couple of gym sessions a week on top will usually push points up quickly enough to qualify for the main perks.

Headline rewards most families actually use

Some rewards sound flashy but are only useful for a narrow group, while others quietly save you money week in, week out. The offers that many parents find most practical include:

• Discounted gym memberships at well known chains such as Virgin Active, Nuffield Health and PureGym, which can be up to 50% off at higher membership and status levels.
• Free or discounted weekly coffees from Caffè Nero, which soon add up if you are regularly buying a hot drink during nursery runs or swim lessons.
• Free and half price cinema tickets at Vue and Odeon when you and your partner hit modest weekly activity targets, ideal for rainy weekends or school holiday treats.
• Sports kit discounts of up to 50% at partners like SportsShoes, very handy when trainers mysteriously “shrink” every term or teens start running and football.
• Healthy food cashback at Waitrose on Good Health labelled products, which rewards swapping a few family staples for healthier options.
• Subscription perks such as Headspace, Fiit and WW, which can support parents trying to improve fitness or mental wellbeing without extra subscription costs.

There are also larger one off style perks like discounts on Champneys spa breaks, Peloton equipment cashback, hotel deals and an Apple Watch arrangement that can work out very cheaply if you consistently hit the higher activity bands.

“Pick and Play”, streaks and gamifying your family’s activity

More recently Vitality has layered in a “Pick and Play” system through its app, where each week you earn at least a small reward if you hit a modest activity target and then get chances to choose extra goodies at the end of each month. Weekly choices can be things like a free drink and discounted meal, cheaper cinema tickets or food discounts, and there are separate streak rewards if you manage four active weeks in a row. For parents this kind of gamification can be surprisingly motivating: it is easier to keep going when the children are nagging for the cinema ticket or excited about a treat earned by walking more.

Apple Watch deals and activity tracking

Vitality’s Apple Watch offer is one of its most talked about perks. With a qualifying level of monthly premium and a small upfront contribution, you can receive an Apple Watch Series 11 or SE 3 and then reduce or even eliminate the ongoing monthly payments by earning enough activity points. In practice, only highly engaged members will get the watch entirely free every month, but for families already considering a wearable for health tracking and convenience, the offer can make it substantially cheaper overall. Even if you already own a fitness tracker, linking it to the Vitality app makes earning and recording points much simpler.

Realistic savings for a typical active family

It is perfectly possible for a couple with young children to save well over a thousand pounds a year in combined discounts and freebies if both adults make regular use of the gym offer, collect the weekly coffees, use cinema tickets through the year and take advantage of sports kit and food cashback. Even if you only use half of what is available, it can still claw back a big part of your insurance spend. The catch is that you must actively claim rewards, keep an eye on terms and remember to link everything in the app. If that sounds exhausting, a plain cheaper policy elsewhere might fit your personality and bandwidth better.

Who is Vitality best suited to – and who should probably look elsewhere?

Vitality is not a one size fits all answer, particularly for parents whose time, money and energy are already stretched. When it suits your lifestyle it can be an excellent combination of protection and everyday value; when it does not, you can end up paying for complexity you will barely use.

Parents who may benefit most from Vitality

• Families already spending on gyms, coffees and cinema trips: if those costs are baked into your monthly outgoings, using Vitality to slash them means the insurance feels far cheaper overall.
• Commuters and naturally active parents: anyone who routinely walks to the station, does the school run on foot, runs with a buggy or does regular classes will earn plenty of points without changing much.
• Parents in or near cities and larger towns: where partner gyms, cinemas and coffee shops are easy to reach, the rewards feel accessible rather than like something you have to travel miles to use.
• Families who value app based tools: if household routines already live in phones, adding one more app to track steps and redeem rewards is not a big leap.
• Health conscious households: parents keen to encourage healthier eating, regular check ups and movement often like that the policy gently nudges everyone in that direction.

Parents who may be better with a simpler insurer

• Very price sensitive families who just want the cheapest possible life cover and plan to ignore rewards altogether may find a basic policy from another provider marginally cheaper.
• Those living far from partner venues may struggle to use gym, cinema and coffee deals often enough to justify paying for the full rewards package.
• Parents who dislike apps and schemes could find the idea of tracking activity, choosing rewards and managing terms more stressful than helpful.
• Families with tricky medical histories might find that another insurer’s approach to underwriting and exclusions suits them better, which is where an independent broker can look across the market.

Customer experience, claim rates and peace of mind

For parents, the main question behind all the rewards is simple: will this company look after my family if something awful happens? Vitality’s independently checked statistics show a consistently high proportion of life insurance claims being paid each year, which places it well amongst UK insurers. That should offer comfort that provided the policy is set up correctly at the start and health questions are answered honestly, the chances of a valid claim being refused are low.

On the service side, experiences vary. Many customers praise the digital GP service, focus on preventative care and the value of annual health checks, which can help parents catch issues earlier and reduce time off work. Others report frustration reaching call centres or navigating some of the finer details directly with the insurer. It is here that arranging cover through a specialist broker can make a very practical difference, because they can handle a lot of the form filling, chase up updates and explain what is going on in plain language when your head is already full of family responsibilities.

Practical tips for parents to maximise Vitality and avoid common pitfalls

• Use a whole of market adviser rather than going to Vitality direct. A good broker can compare Vitality with other insurers, make sure you are not over or under insured and often access the same rewards plus cashback offers for you.
• Start with your real budget, not the maximum cover the system will allow. Decide what you can comfortably afford each month after childcare, rent or mortgage and food, then shape the mix of life, serious illness and income protection to that figure.
• Be honest about your likely activity levels. If you know the household will rarely hit even modest step counts because of health, caring responsibilities or shift work, do not bank on top tier rewards to make the sums work.
• Plan how you will use the rewards. Choose a handful that you will realistically claim every month (for example coffees, cinema, gym, sports kit) and base your value calculations on those, not the whole list.
• Add children where appropriate. Extending some Serious Illness Cover to children is usually relatively inexpensive and can be crucial support if a child needs long term care or one parent has to step back from work.
• Keep records of your application. Save copies of forms and any medical disclosures, so if a future claim is queried you and your adviser can show exactly what was said at the outset.
• Review cover at key life stages such as new children, moving house or major job changes. The right level of cover for a couple with a newborn is not the same as for parents with teenagers leaving home.

Alternatives for parents who want protection without the extras

If Vitality’s rewards and app based system simply do not appeal, there are plenty of other ways to protect your family financially. Mainstream UK insurers such as Aviva, Legal & General, Royal London and Scottish Widows offer straightforward level or decreasing term life cover, often at very sharp prices when you shop through a comparison aware broker. These policies do not tend to offer coffees or cinema tickets, but they are easy to understand: you pay a fixed monthly premium and if you die within the term, your chosen sum is paid to your beneficiaries.

On the health side, some families choose to stick with the NHS for hospital care and instead prioritise income protection and a basic critical illness policy to cover the financial impact of long term illness or disability. Others buy more traditional private medical insurance that focuses solely on treatment, with fewer lifestyle perks. For guidance on the basics of life insurance and how to estimate the right amount of cover, the government backed service MoneyHelper is a useful neutral starting point. Whatever route you take, always check that the insurer is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and consider using an adviser who is independent of any single company.

Vitality review 2026 – final verdict for UK parents

Vitality in 2026 remains one of the most interesting options in the UK market for families who like the idea of insurance that does more than sit quietly in the background. As a blend of decent quality life and health cover with a strong record of paying claims, plus a wide ranging set of rewards that can materially cut the cost of everyday life, it can be extremely compelling. Parents who are moderately active, live within reach of partner venues and are happy using apps are often the ones who get the best out of it, sometimes saving more in discounts and cashback than they spend on premiums.

On the other hand, if your main priority is the very lowest possible premium with no frills, or you know you will never keep up with reward tracking and activity targets, Vitality may feel over engineered for your needs. In that case, a simpler policy from another reputable insurer, combined with disciplined budgeting and perhaps a separate savings habit for treats and holidays, could be a better fit. For most parents the smartest move is to treat Vitality as one strong contender rather than the automatic winner, take proper advice from a whole of market broker and then decide whether the blend of protection, rewards and required effort genuinely works for your own family’s finances and lifestyle.

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Vitality Health Insurance Review 2026

We all want the very best healthcare for our family if they get ill, and more parents are turning to health insurance brands like Vitality for private medical treatment. Vitality Health Insurance offers some of the best cover and at a very competitive price for families when compared to the other major health insurance brands.

We all want the very best healthcare for our family if they get ill, and more parents are turning to health insurance brands like Vitality for private medical treatment. Vitality Health Insurance offers some of the best cover and at a very competitive price for families when compared to the other major health insurance brands.

Vitality Health insurance is definitely unique and we’re definitely big fans of this medical insurance brand, with its innovative approach to healthy discounts and rewards. For families, Vitality offers a range of useful benefits that can help to save parents hundreds every year as well as offering comprehensive health cover.

It might sound like a no brainer to many of us, but there are still lots of things to think about which could mean that Vitality won’t always be the best option for your family. As with anything, there are always Pros and Cons that you’ll need to consider before you decide whether Vitality is right for you? If you lead a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise or if you’re conscious about your families health, then Vitality could be ideal for you.

The popularity of Vitality Health Insurance is growing rapidly thanks to its clever marketing campaigns and comprehensive range of healthy rewards for families. Your family could earn amazing discounts and rewards for taking part in regular exercise, including brands like Apple, Expedia, Odeon and Vue Cinemas, Specialized bikes, and Peleton.

60 Second Summary – Vitality Health Insurance Review 2026

Vitality is the top Health and Life Insurance brand for families, with top brand rewards in the United Kingdom. There are several important things to think about though before you buy a Vitality health insurance policy.

• Vitality health insurance works best when you engage with their reward scheme – you could find yourself paying more or not making the most of the benefits available if you’re not active enough.
• Vitality health insurance offers some great policy features like advanced cancer cover (included as standard), NHS cash benefits and cover for specific weight loss surgeries (not usually covered).
• If you’re not sure about how Vitality health insurance works or if it’s the right choice for you, it’s worth getting some free advice from a health insurance specialist.

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What is a Vitality Health plan?

A Vitality health plan (also known as Vitality health insurance or Vitality private medical insurance) is a policy designed help you cover the cost of private medical care. We’re all a bit concerned about the NHS at the moment, so a lot more people are now turning to private treatment and want a bit of helping covering the cost.

Features of Vitality health insurance include:

• Faster diagnosis for your health concerns
• Access to specialist treatments and drugs
• Avoid long NHS waiting lists
• Cash pay outs if you do undergo NHS treatment (£250 per night for in patients and £125 per day for day patients)
• Advanced cancer cover included as standard

Is Vitality Health Insurance any good?

Vitality has a very different approach compared to other insurance providers in the UK, which can be really beneficial for their customers. It’s definitely impressive and it’s easy to understand the draw of their wide range of rewards.

Vitality actively reward their members for making healthy lifestyle choices, by tracking things like daily steps and other forms of exercise in the Vitality app. You will earn rewards points for being active which you can cash in for various discounts and freebies.

Some of the main perks of Vitality health insurance include:

• Discounts help to reduce the cost of your cover
• Excellent health support for Vitality members
• Encourages you and reward you for keeping fit and active
• You can save hundreds of pounds (but only if you engage with the vitality rewards scheme)
• Ideal insurer for people who are already active, so don’t need to make significant changes their lifestyle to benefit
• Good level of health cover
• Vitality premiums are generally lower (though pricing can vary)
• Option to add on extra benefits like optical and dental cover

Why should I choose Vitality over another insurance provider?

I can’t tell you whether to choose vitality over a different insurance provider, because they’re definitely not going to be the right choice for everybody. To get full value for money out of your policy you’re going to need to be more active (if you’re not already).

You won’t qualify for as many rewards and benefits if you don’t engage with Vitality ‘s rewards programme by being active and tracking your points. I completely get that this is not going to be something that everyone wants to do. You might not have the time to add more activity into your day, or you might not want to and that’s OK.

Luckily if you don’t think Vitality feels like the right fit for you, there’s a range of other UK insurance providers that sell health insurance such as:

• Aviva
• AXA Health
• Bupa
• Freedom health insurance
• The Exeter
• WPA

Who does Vitality health insurance work best for?

Vitality health insurance is going to work best for people who are active and happy to track their activity in return for their rewards points. this is how you will earn all the perks that come alongside vitality such as Apple Watches from as little as £39 (or an alternative such as Garmin or Polar).

Outside of this, there are certain groups of customers that tend to do well with Vitality health insurance:

1. Younger customers – Vitality is generally affordable for younger customers, especially if they are particularly active and can claim their Vitality rewards
2. Smokers – Smokers or vapers will normally pay more due to associated health risks. Vitality tends to provide fairer pricing for smokers compared to some other insurance providers.
3. Families – Vitality is seen as a good option for families, especially as the whole family can benefit from rewards like holiday discounts and free cinema tickets.
4. Pre-existing medical conditions – Medical conditions can affect the price of cover too. Vitality is one of the better providers that I’ve seen for people with pre-existing conditions.

Are there downsides to Vitality health insurance?

At first glance, Vitality health insurance sounds great because of all the additional rewards and benefits that you can get your hands on. I know I personally am unlikely to say no to huge discounts on smartwatches or holidays and extra perks like free cinema tickets if I can get them.

Vitality might promise an ‘all singing all dancing’ product, but ultimately there are some downsides to Vitality health insurance and Vitality in general. You only really get the picture that Vitality want you to see when you’re looking at their website or social media. I’ve talked to actual vitality customers about their experiences and some of the things that can be frustrating about being a Vitality member.

1. Confusing technology and app

Vitality want to be cutting edge and innovative, which means they have a big push on new technology and tracking rewards points through their app.

If you’re not the most tech savvy, you might find it a bit complicated to work out what to do with your Vitality app. Even those of us who are constantly on our phones might find the app confusing at best and completely unusable at worst.

2. Rewards points can be frustrating (and sometimes don’t show up)

The hazard of relying on technology or apps is that sometimes things go wrong and your reward points might get lost. I know I’d be very disappointed and frustrated if I’d worked hard to be active to earn my points and they didn’t even count towards my rewards.

Occasionally, you might enter points into your app and find that they don’t show up. If this happens often, I’d suggest getting in touch with Vitality to complain – especially if this leads to you missing out on rewards you would have qualified for.

3. Vitality’s expensive if you don’t engage with the rewards programme

Vitality does offer a lot to their customers in terms of policy features and rewards, but if you don’t engage with their reward scheme you could end up paying more than you really need to for your health insurance. Vitality can be expensive and other providers might have a better price available, even if they don’t have such a wide range of benefits on offer.

If you don’t engage properly with vitality, you could be looking at paying at least 5% more next year. This is because you won’t benefit from member discounts, so you really need to engage to make the most of the benefits and savings on offer.

4. You only get one Apple Watch per plan

One of the main and best known perks of vitality insurance products is the massive discounts available for smartwatches (e.g. Apple watch). When you having a smart watch or other wearable device to track your point it makes sense for them to offer a big discount to their members.

You will only get one Apple Watch per plan though, so you can’t upgrade or get multiple watches even if the plan covers your whole family.

5. Vitality rewards and benefits can change over time

The thing with deals and discounts is that sometimes they will change and Vitality is no exception to this. There might be one perk in particular that you really like about your vitality policy which then gets pulled and isn’t available anymore.

Telling you all of this isn’t me trying to discourage you from buying Vitality health insurance. I just think it’s important that you should know all the facts and any potential downsides before you commit.

How can I save money on Vitality health insurance?

The price you pay for any health insurance will vary depending on factors like:

• Your age
• Where you live (post code)
• Claims history
• Level of cover
• If you’ve added extra benefits

Some easy ways to save money on Vitality health insurance include:

• Paying more excess (the amount you pay towards the cost of a claim)
• Removing or not adding extra benefits
• Take advantage of multi product discounts (Vitality offer discounts for members who have multiple policies e.g. life and health insurance)
• Be more active (the main way to save money is to fully engage with Vitality or prices can go up)

Is Vitality health insurance worth the money?

I can’t tell you if Vitality health insurance is going to be worth the money you spend, as this is a very personal opinion. What I will say is many vitality members save money overall due to all the discounts they can claim with other brands because of their policy.

The main issue with Vitality is that you have to properly engage with the reward scheme to get full value for money. If you don’t track your activity, you won’t be able to claim any rewards and the price of your cover can go up each year.

For me, I would have to make some lifestyle changes to make sure I was getting the most I could out of my Vitality policy. If you need some motivation to hit the gym, this might actually be something that works well for you.

How do Vitality health insurance policies work?

Something that can be seen as a positive and a negative for Vitality is that they only sell one personal health insurance policy and not a wide range of different types of health cover. This keeps things simple as you don’t have to debate between different types cover. You can add or remove benefits to build the policy that you want (and even add your partner or children).

This works well for people who want a higher level of control over the benefits included in their plan, but might not appeal to you if you want to just quickly choose a policy. you can choose to just stick with the basic level of cover (core cover) or pay slightly more to add on extra benefits like:

• Dental, optical and hearing cover
• Worldwide travel cover
• Mental health cover
• Alternative therapies cover
• Out patient cover

Whether this is something that’s worth it is up to you, as everyone’s situation is different. I’d suggest thinking carefully about if you can afford to add on extra benefits and if they’re really that important for you to have.

Note: There is the option to buy Vitality business health insurance policies (also known as Vitality corporate health insurance). This can be useful with employee retention and minimising sick leave – very appealing for business owners.

How do Vitality Rewards work?

Here’s the main question that most people ask, which is about how you earn the points that give you the rewards. it’s a fair question, particularly if you chose Vitality mostly because of the extra perks that are included.

I think it’s important to understand how to track your activity how to get your points and claim your rewards. To be honest, it took me a long time to get my head around how Vitality works as it’s not the simplest option for someone who’s not familiar with it.

1. Record your daily activity (e.g. steps, exercises etc) on a smart watch or other wearable device
2. Make sure this device is paired with the Vitality app
3. Claim your Vitality rewards points to get your rewards and discounts

Here’s some more things you need to know:

1. The more points you earn the better – this might seem obvious, but you have access to the most amount of rewards you need to earn the highest possible amount of points. You can earn up to 2080 points each year at most.
2. You can claim more rewards if you have a more expensive policy – there’s some brilliant rewards included with the basic policies, but you will have access to more rewards if you pay more for your policy.
3. You will be given a ‘Vitality status’ – your Vitality status is based on how many points you earn. Everyone starts as Bronze and then move up through the levels. For a single policy you need to earn 800 points per year for Silver, 1,600 points per year for Gold and 2,400 points per year for Platinum.
4. You need to use a ‘wearable device’ to track your activity – you will need to use a wearable device like a smart watch to track things like your daily steps or heart rate when exercising. Something that’s good about vitality is that they do provide discounts for smartwatches because of this (how much discount you get will depend on your activity level).

It can definitely feel bit overwhelming when trying to work out how to earn your rewards points. Vitality explains a bit more about this on the website and here is a list of some simple ways that you can earn points.

• Working out in the gym (five points)
• 7000 daily steps (three points)
• 10,000 daily steps (five points)
• 12,500 daily steps (eight points)
• 30 minutes of exercise (8 points but your heart rate must be at 70% of the Max heart rate)
• Online vitality health checks (100 points per year)
• Online non-smoker declaration (100 points per year)
• Check at a vitality approved pharmacy (600 points per year)

As you can see certain things will get you more points and they’re actually pretty easy e.g. completing an annual non-smoker declaration. Straight away this will give you 100 Vitality points for the year and you only need 800 to qualify for silver status with Vitality.

What rewards can I get from Vitality?

Vitality partner with some brilliant big name brands for their customer rewards, which can be really appealing. Everyone wants good value for money and these discounts act as an extra bonus to a good quality health insurance policy.

All I’d say is don’t get drawn in by rewards and not properly check the features of your policy to make sure it’s right for you. Although discounts and freebies are great, it’s more important to be certain you’ve got the right health insurance policy. That being said here’s some of the rewards that you can claim from vitality:

• Discounted Apple Watch (from £39 upfront)
• 75% discount at Champney’s spa (perfect if you want a pamper)
• 50% discount at Runnersneed, for Caffè Nero food and for Vitality clothing at Nike
• 40% discount from brands like Samsung, Withings, Garmin and Polar
• 40% cashback from Peleton
• 20% discount for holidays with Expedia

What does Vitality health insurance cover?

What is Vitality’s cancer cover like?

When I’m trying to judge whether a health insurance plan offers good value for money one of the main things that I’ll look at is their cancer cover. Being diagnosed with cancer is a main concern for many people, especially those with a family history of cancer (myself included). A lot of UK consumers will want decent cancer cover as standard from their health insurance.

Vitality understand this and their cancer cover is actually really good. They include advanced cancer cover with all of their health insurance policies, which pays out for inpatient and outpatient treatment.

Features of Vitality Advanced Cancer Cover:

• Full cover for radiotherapy and chemotherapy
• Full cover for alternative therapies like biological therapies, hormone and bisphosphonate, and stem cell therapy
• Full cover for any cancer surgeries (including reconstructive surgery)
• Full cover for follow up cancer consultations and discounted screenings and risk assessments for bowel and surgical cancer
• Up to £1000 a day for end of life home nursing care (up to 14 days maximum)
• Pays out for mastectomy bras (up to £200) and external prostheses (up to £5,000)
• Option to receive certain treatments from the comfort of your own home

Does Vitality health insurance cover pre-existing medical conditions?

It’s annoying and frustrating that health insurance generally won’t pay out for the treatment of chronic (long term) medical conditions or conditions you had before you bought the policy (pre-existing).

This can feel unfair but it’s just how this type of policy works with most insurers, including Vitality. They might agree to cover conditions that you haven’t needed treatment for in the last 5 years – this isn’t guaranteed though.

My best suggestion for someone with medical conditions is to speak to a health insurance specialist for advice. An expert will know very quickly if Vitality is the right option for you or if another insurer will offer better cover or a fairer price.

What are the pros and cons of Vitality health insurance?

How do I contact Vitality about my health insurance?

Most of us know how irritating it can be when you need to speak to your insurance provider and have no clue how to get in touch with them. No one wants to waste time we put on hold for ages, because you rang the wrong number. contacting vitality is fairly simple was there only two main numbers for their health insurance policies.

Tel. 0808 291 6125 (new policies)

Opening hours: 9am – 8pm Monday to Thursday, 9am – 6pm Fridays and 10am – 2pm on Saturdays

Tel. 0333 242 8333

Opening hours: 8am – 7pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 1pm Saturdays

In a smart move from Vitality you can also contact their team via WhatsApp, which I know I personally would find more convenient if I didn’t have time to spend on the phone.

Is it easy to claim on Vitality health insurance?

I know one of my first questions when looking at a new insurance provider is how easy is it to claim. It’s all well and good to have a policy with loads of extra benefits and perks, but is it really worth it if it’s a nightmare to submit a claim?

Honestly claiming with vitality for the first time can feel a bit confusing. Unlike other providers where you simply call and speak to somebody, Vitality try to do everything online or over their app. I will admit while this would be more convenient for me personally, it’s not ideal if you would prefer to talk over the phone.

There’s some different options for how you claim depending on if you’re using the app or the website and what you’re claiming for. While this might make things easier on Vitality’s end, having to search for the right way to claim makes things a bit less straightforward for the consumer.

To submit a Vitality claim you need to:

1. Get in touch with vitality using their website or one of the Vitality apps (member zone or their GP app) to request the treatment you need
2. Vitality will decide whether to approve your claim (most of the time there’s an immediate decision) – someone will call you if they need extra information
3. you can have the treatment you need if your claim is approved and can manage your treatment on the Vitality Care Hub.

While this does fit in with Vitality’s modern and forward thinking approach to insurance, it feels a little over complicated. I’m not sure there’s really a need to have multiple different ways to claim depending on what you’re claiming for, and this goes for other providers too (I’m looking at you Bupa).

How do I cancel Vitality health insurance?

You’ve always got the option to cancel your health insurance if you’re not happy with the policy or you just don’t want it anymore. You can use Vitality’s usual contact details to call, e-mail or write to them to cancel your policy.

Something that might catch a lot of people out is that Vitality can charge a £40 cancellation fee for cancelling your cover before your next renewal date.

This is something I really don’t agree with, as it feels unfair and most other health insurance providers don’t charge a cancellation fee. Sadly, it’s something that you agree to when you buy the policy and definitely highlights the importance of checking the terms and conditions carefully.

How do I complain about Vitality health insurance?

It’s never fun to have to submit a complaint, however sometimes it is necessary. If you feel like vitality of misled you or they haven’t treated you the way they should, you’re well within your rights to submit a complaint.

The first thing I would do is contact Vitality directly to see if they’ll do anything about the issue. It’s likely they will try and make things right, as they don’t want to get a reputation for for poor customer service. Vitality and other insurers are aware that sometimes people complain, so there will be procedures in place for if this happens.

There are a few different ways to get in touch about a complaint, so you can choose the one that works best for you.

Vitality health insurance complaints contact details

Tel. 0333 242 8333

Opening hours: 8am – 7pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 1pm Saturdays

Email: customer_support@vitality.co.uk (about renewals or cancellations)

Email: CustomerRelations@vitality.co.uk (about claims, invoice or Vitality partners/rewards)

Post:

VitalityHealth,

PO Box 617,

Darlington,

DL1 9FF

Note: if you’re not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can speak to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for some additional support. They might rule for compensation to be awarded to you if they think you’ve lost money unfairly.

Should I read Vitality health insurance reviews?

I’d definitely recommend reading customer reviews before buying a new health insurance policy, even if you’re generally happy with the provider you’ve chosen. It just helps you to get a good idea of what other customers think of their policies and the customer service available.

The best place to look for this type of information is an independent customer review site such as TrustPilot. It’s always better to check an independent site, rather than relying on the feedback posted by insurers themselves (because realistically they’re going to highlight the most positive responses).

Vitality (TrustPilot score) – 4.0 out of 5.0 stars (with over 31,000 reviews)

% of 5 star reviews – 67% of reviews rated Bupa 5.0 out of 5.0 stars

% of 4 star reviews – 10% of reviews rated Bupa 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

% of 3 star reviews – 4% of reviews rated Bupa 3.0 out of 5.0 stars

% of 2 star reviews – 4% of reviews rated Bupa 2.0 out of 5.0 stars

% of 1 star reviews – 15% of reviews rated Bupa 1.0 out of 5.0 stars

How do I buy Vitality health insurance?

If you’re thinking about buying Vitality health insurance, there are a couple of ways to go about it – do what works best for you!

You can head to the Vitality website directly and apply there or you can get some extra help and guidance from a health insurance expert. Speaking to a specialist can help save a lot of time in comparing policies and finding the best prices.

With a provider like Vitality (which let’s be honest can be a little confusing to understand), it can be helpful to have an expert explain exactly how the policies work, so you know you’ve got all the right information.

To find out more about health insurance, you can speak to our trusted health insurance partner by calling 0800 009 6559 or clicking here.

More health insurance guides

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• Top tips for buying cheap health insurance
• What is the best private health insurance 2023?
• What is the average cost of private health insurance UK?
• How much do private medical treatments cost in the UK?