Compare My Health Insurance

A single-area private MRI typically costs between £249 and £730 in 2026, with complex or multi-area scans passing £995. Prices in London usually run 20% to 30% higher. Check whether the quoted price includes the radiologist's written report, as some providers charge for this separately.

Because your surgeon and anaesthetist are usually independent professionals rather than hospital employees. The hospital invoices for your room, nursing care and theatre time, while the consultant and anaesthetist bill you directly for their own fees. Asking whether fees will be combined into one bill is the simplest way to avoid the surprise.

A package price normally bundles the surgeon's fee, the anaesthetist's fee and hospital costs such as your room, nursing care and standard medication. It does not include your initial consultation, and there are often limits on diagnostics, take-home drugs, extra nights in hospital and aftercare. It also usually applies only to the planned treatment, so complications can add cost.

A shortfall is the gap between what your consultant charges and what your insurer will reimburse. It is different from your excess, which is a fixed amount you agreed to pay when you took the policy out. Because consultants set their own fees, a shortfall is unpredictable. Choosing a fee-assured consultant, who has agreed to charge within your insurer's approved rates, is the most effective way to prevent one.

A private GP appointment costs from £25 for an online written consultation, £29 to £105 for video or telephone, and £60 to £130 face to face outside London, rising to £120 to £250 in the capital. Most private medical insurance policies now include a digital GP service as standard, so this is one everyday cost cover often removes entirely.

Physiotherapy and similar therapies are usually included from mid-level cover upwards, though most policies cap the number of sessions each year. Mental health cover is different: it is standard with some insurers and a paid add-on with others, and it varies more between policies than almost any other benefit. Privately, physiotherapy costs £35 to £120 a session and counselling £40 to £180 depending on the practitioner.

No. Private health insurance covers new conditions that arise after your policy begins, so a condition you already have symptoms, advice or treatment for will normally be excluded. Cover is still worth considering for everything that comes later, and our guide to pre-existing conditions explains how different underwriting types handle your medical history.

It depends entirely on what you need. A single planned procedure with a fixed package price can be cheaper to self-fund than years of premiums. The difficulty is that you cannot know in advance which conditions you will develop, and open-ended treatment such as cancer care can run well beyond what most people could self-fund. Insurance buys predictability rather than a guaranteed saving.