Private Health Insurance UK: The Complete Guide (2026)

Q: Can I switch health insurance provider without losing my medical history?

Often yes, via Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME), if your new insurer agrees to match your current terms.

Q: What plans are available for families, the self-employed and businesses?

Family policies cover everyone under one plan, self-employed cover depends on tax status, and business schemes range from small teams to large 250+ employee corporate products.

Q: How much is private health insurance per month in the UK?

A healthy adult in their 30s or 40s might pay roughly £40-£100 a month for individual cover, varying by age, location, cover level and excess.

The Complete Guide

Private Health Insurance, Explained

Everything you need to know about private health insurance in the UK, what it actually covers, what it costs, and how to choose the right policy, whether that's for you, your family, or your business.

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The Basics

What Is Private Health Insurance?

Private health insurance is a policy that covers the cost of private diagnosis, treatment and surgery, giving you faster access to care than typically available on the NHS. Rather than waiting on an NHS list, you're seen at a private hospital, often within days rather than months, in exchange for a monthly or annual premium.

It's available for individuals, couples, families and businesses, and cover levels vary considerably between insurers, from basic inpatient-only plans to comprehensive policies including outpatient consultations, mental health support and additional wellbeing benefits. There's no single "right" policy, the best one depends entirely on your circumstances, budget and what matters most to you.

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Why Consider It

Why Do People Take Out Private Health Insurance?

NHS waiting times remain a real concern for many, private cover gives you a faster route to care when it matters.

✓

Skip NHS Waiting Lists

Faster access to diagnosis, specialist consultations and treatment, often within days rather than months.

Choose Your Consultant

See a specific specialist and hospital, with more control over your care than the NHS typically offers.

❤

Comfort & Privacy

Private rooms and a more comfortable environment during treatment and recovery.

★

Everyday Benefits

Many policies include 24/7 GP access, gym discounts and wellbeing perks you can use without ever claiming.

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Coverage Detail

What Does Private Health Insurance Cover?

Cover varies significantly by provider and plan, here's what's typically included at a glance.

Usually Standard

Hospital treatment, operations and surgery
Specialist consultations
Diagnostic tests and MRI/CT/PET scans
Private cancer treatment
24/7 Digital GP access

Optional

Outpatient consultations and diagnostics
Therapies such as physiotherapy
Dental and optical cover
Travel cover
Mental health cover

Typical Exclusions

Emergency care (A&E)
Chronic, long-term conditions
Some pre-existing conditions

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The Process

How Does A Health Insurance Claim Actually Work?

Knowing the process before you need it makes everything feel far less daunting when you actually do.

GP Referral

Most insurers require a referral letter from a GP before you can start a treatment claim.

Specialist Consultation

An initial outpatient consultation and diagnostic tests assess whether further treatment is needed.

Hospital Treatment

If needed, treatment happens as an inpatient or day patient, at a private hospital or an NHS hospital with private facilities.

Follow-Up

A follow-up appointment reviews your recovery, sometimes alongside rehabilitative therapies like physiotherapy.

Discharge

Once your specialist is satisfied, you're signed off and your claim concludes.

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Cost

How Much Does Private Health Insurance Cost?

As a general guide, a healthy adult in their 30s or 40s might pay somewhere between £40 and £100 a month for individual cover, though your actual price depends on your age, location, chosen cover level, excess and medical history. There's no single figure that applies to everyone, which is exactly why comparing real quotes matters more than any average.

Want a proper breakdown?

Our full cost guide and free price calculator covers pricing by age, family size, and cover level in detail, with a tool to estimate your own figure.

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Medical Underwriting

Moratorium, FMU And CPME Explained

These three terms decide how your medical history is actually treated, shown visually so the mechanics are genuinely clear.

Moratorium

No medical questionnaire upfront. Instead, a rolling medical-history check applies automatically.

5 Years
Before Policy
Starts 2 Years
Later Must be symptom, treatment and advice free↓

Your medical history is checked hereNow covered

Anything you've had symptoms, treatment (including medication) or advice for, such as a GP appointment or consultation, in the 5 years before your policy starts is excluded from day one. From the date your policy actually starts, if you then go 2 years completely symptom, treatment and advice free for it, it becomes covered again automatically. Worth knowing too, most insurers also exclude any associated conditions, not just the exact condition itself, so it's worth checking exactly what that covers with your specific insurer.

Full Medical Underwriting (FMU)

You declare everything upfront, the insurer decides what's excluded before you join.

Complete a full medical questionnaire

Insurer reviews your history

Specific exclusions confirmed, in writing

More upfront effort, but you know exactly where you stand from day one, no automatic rolling clock to track.

Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME)

Not a type of underwriting itself, a bridge that carries your terms when you switch.

Current
Insurer Terms

→

New Insurer
Matches Them

If a new insurer agrees to match your current terms, conditions already accepted under your existing policy keep being covered, no restarting underwriting from scratch.

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Worth Knowing

Choosing A Private Hospital

One of the benefits of private health insurance is having a say in where your treatment happens. Most insurers offer two routes for choosing a hospital.

Standard

You select a list of hospitals when you take out the policy, normally two or three, based on your location, preferred facilities and budget. When you claim, you can choose any hospital on that list.

Guided (Insurer-Led)

Rather than choosing a list upfront, your hospital is chosen at the point of claiming, with the insurer's help. You'll need an open referral from your GP, recommending the treatment type without naming a specific hospital, this route is often more cost-effective.

Want to know more about the actual hospitals behind these lists? See our guide to private hospitals in the UK.

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Step By Step

How To Choose The Right Insurer

Two policies can look similar on price but behave very differently when you actually need care. Here's what genuinely matters, in order.

Cover Level

Check whether outpatient consultations, diagnostics and mental health support are included, not just inpatient treatment.

Hospital List

A wider national list costs more, a restricted regional list can bring the price down significantly.

Underwriting Type

Moratorium vs full medical underwriting changes how pre-existing conditions are handled.

Claims Experience

How an insurer handles a claim in practice matters as much as what's written in the policy.

For a full insurer-by-insurer breakdown, see our Best Health Insurance Reviews guide.

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Switching Made Easier

Can I Switch Without Losing Cover For An Existing Condition?

Often, yes. This is one of the most common concerns for anyone comparing cover they already have. Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME) means that if a new insurer agrees to match your current terms, conditions already accepted under your existing policy can continue to be covered, without restarting underwriting from scratch.

Switching itself is usually straightforward, and there's typically no fee for doing so. It's best done around your renewal date to avoid any gap in cover. See our full guide to switching health insurance for the step-by-step process.

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How To Switch Health Insurance

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✓ Get The Same Or Better Cover
✓ Continue Your Medical History
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Jargon Explained

Health Insurance Terms Explained

The terms you'll actually see on a policy document, explained in plain English.

Excess: The amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays the rest. A higher excess usually means a lower premium.
Moratorium Underwriting: Automatically excludes conditions you've had symptoms, treatment or advice for in the past 5 years, until you go 2 years symptom-free.
Full Medical Underwriting (FMU): You declare your full medical history upfront, and the insurer applies specific exclusions based on it, rather than a blanket history-based rule.
CPME: Continued Personal Medical Exclusions, lets you switch insurer while keeping cover for a condition already accepted under your current policy.
Hospital List: The specific hospitals your policy covers treatment at. Wider lists, including central London, typically cost more.
Benefit In Kind: How health insurance paid for by an employer is treated for tax, a taxable benefit for the employee, but deductible for the business.
Six-Week NHS Option: Agreeing to use the NHS if it can treat you within 6 weeks, in exchange for a lower premium.
No-Claims Discount: A reduction in premium for not claiming, though some insurers use different reward models instead.
Outpatient: An appointment or minor treatment that doesn't require an overnight stay, typically consultations and diagnostic tests.
Day Patient: Treatment or a procedure that doesn't require an overnight stay, you go home the same day after recovery.
Inpatient: Admission to hospital requiring at least one overnight stay, usually for more complex procedures or care.

Find Your Guide

Want To Learn More?

Health insurance isn't one-size-fits-all, the right policy and the right advice depends on your situation. Pick the guide that matches yours.

Family Health Insurance

Covering yourself, a partner and children under one policy, and how insurers price children very differently from each other.

Family Health Insurance →

Self-Employed Health Insurance

The genuine tax differences between sole traders and limited company directors, and what it means for cost.

Self-Employed Health Insurance →

Senior Health Insurance

Real costs and entry ages by decade, and exactly which insurers have no upper age limit at all.

Senior Health Insurance →

Business Health Insurance

Cover for your team, from a handful of employees to 250+, with dedicated large-group products explained.

Business Health Insurance →

Corporate Health Insurance

Large-group specific products, simplified underwriting, and what genuinely changes at scale.

Corporate Health Insurance →

International Health Insurance

Cover that travels with you, for expats, frequent travellers, or anyone living outside the UK.

International Health Insurance →

FAQs

Private Health Insurance FAQs

What is private health insurance and how does it work?

Private health insurance covers the cost of private diagnosis, treatment and surgery, giving you faster access to care than typically available on the NHS. You pay a monthly or annual premium, and in return the insurer covers eligible treatment costs, subject to your policy's cover level, excess and any exclusions.

What's covered by UK health insurance, and what extras can I add?

Standard cover typically includes hospital stays, surgery, specialist consultations, diagnostic scans and private cancer treatment. Optional extras often include outpatient consultations, dental and optical cover, travel cover and mental health support, these vary by insurer and plan, so it's worth comparing what's actually included rather than assuming.

Are pre-existing medical conditions covered?

Usually excluded initially for new policies, depending on the underwriting method chosen, moratorium underwriting automatically excludes recent conditions for a set period, while full medical underwriting assesses your history upfront. If you're switching insurer, Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME) can sometimes let you keep cover for a condition already accepted under your current policy.

Can I switch health insurance provider without losing my medical history?

Often yes, via CPME. If your new insurer agrees to match your current terms, conditions already accepted under your existing policy can continue to be covered without restarting underwriting. Switching itself is usually straightforward and typically comes with no fee, best done around your renewal date to avoid a gap in cover.

Is there an upper age limit for health insurance?

It varies by insurer. Aviva, Bupa and Saga have no upper age limit at all for new applicants. Others cap new entries somewhere between 66 and 85 depending on the provider. See our full age limits guide for insurer-by-insurer detail.

What plans are available for families, the self-employed and businesses?

Family policies cover everyone under one plan, often with children priced very differently between insurers. Self-employed cover depends heavily on whether you're a sole trader or limited company director for tax purposes. Business schemes range from small teams to large 250+ employee corporate products with simplified underwriting. See the routing section above for the right dedicated guide.

How much is private health insurance per month in the UK?

As a general guide, a healthy adult in their 30s or 40s might pay roughly £40-£100 a month for individual cover, though this varies significantly by age, location, cover level and excess. See our full cost guide and calculator for a more accurate estimate based on your circumstances.

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Explore Further

Explore Every Health Insurance Guide

Everything else you might need, in one place.

Cost & Free Calculator

See our full cost guide and free calculator.

Best Health Insurance Reviews

Compare leading UK insurers side by side.

Age Limits Explained

Full insurer-by-insurer detail in our age limits guide.

Pre-Existing Conditions

See how underwriting affects a condition you already have.

Health Insurance Renewal

Already covered? See our renewal guide.

Gym Discounts & Wellbeing

Compare gym discounts and wellbeing perks by insurer.

Sources & Disclaimer

Written by: Darren Lewis, health insurance specialist and founder of Compare My Health Insurance. Last reviewed: July 2026. Next scheduled review: January 2027.

Sources: Independent UK market pricing research, published insurer policy documentation, and broker experience from Compare My Health Insurance's specialist partners.

Compare My Health Insurance works with FCA-regulated broker partners and may earn a fee when you take out a policy through our service. This does not affect our editorial content above. Any information on this page is for general information only and should not be considered financial advice, regulated advice or a personal recommendation. Suitability depends on your individual circumstances, needs and budget.

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