The Exeter Health Insurance

Insurer Spotlight: The Exeter, Health+ Review

Health+ is The Exeter's Private Medical Insurance product. In this article, we will look at what makes it different from the other, more well known insurer policies provided by the likes of Bupa and Aviva provide.

The Exeter, despite not being as prominent as other Insurers, is still one of the biggest health insurance providers in the United Kingdom. Offering competitive levels of cover coupled with sensible prices makes it a health insurance provider worth keeping your eye on.

Who are The Exeter?

Exeter Friendly Society, or The Exeter as its now known was founded back in 1927, in, yes, you guessed it, Exeter in Devon. The Exeter, as well as being a friendly society is a composite insurer, meaning it provides insurance options for life and income protection as well as health.
Offering Health Insurance since the 1990s they have become one of the cornerstones of the private medical insurance market. This is displayed by numerous awards, for example in 2024 they won Best Private Medical Insurance provider, at the Investment Life & Pensions Awards hosted by Moneyfacts. Their product is also rated five stars by Financial Product Rating Experts, Defaqto.

What is a Friendly Society?

One of the unique things about The Exeter is the fact that it's a friendly society, (sometimes referred to as a mutual insurance company). This means it is owned by its hundred-thousand plus members (policyholders) rather than shareholders.

This mutual structure means that any profits generated by the company are reinvested for the benefit of its members, rather than being distributed to shareholders.

The core benefits of The Exeter's Health+

Unlimited In-Patient & Day-Patient Treatment: Core cover ensures there are no limits on in-patient and day-patient treatment, providing care for as long as needed.
Private Ambulance Service: When essential for in-patients or day-patients to receive medical care during transportation, a private road ambulance is provided.
Home Nursing: Following hospital treatment, home nursing support is made available when needed for in-patients and day-patients.
Out-Patient Surgery: Covers specialised out-patient surgical procedures performed by experts.

Complete Private Cancer Cover: Every Health+ member receives full cover for all stages of cancer, with access to the latest drugs and treatments.

Parental Accommodation: Parents can stay with their child (up to age 18) during hospital treatment, ensuring support throughout their stay.
NHS Cash Benefit: If free NHS in-patient treatment is preferred, a cash benefit of £150 per night is provided for up to 30 nights, where applicable.
Post Operative Physiotherapy: Up to three sessions of post-operative out-patient physiotherapy following in-patient, day-patient or out-patient surgery.

No Claims Discount: Earn premium discounts for staying healthy and not making claims. Each policyholder has an individual No Claims Discount, so one member's claim doesn't affect others.

What can be covered with but isn't as standard

Out-patient cover

You can choose to enhance out-patient cover to include specialist fees and diagnostic tests such as X-rays, ECGs and pathology tests.

CT, MRI and PET scans, as well as all treatment and consultations related to diagnosed cancer, are included under core cover.

Unlimited out-patient diagnostics

If you choose a limit on out-patient cover of either £500 or £1,000 per year, you can upgrade this with unlimited out-patient diagnostics.

This means that out-patient diagnostic tests are covered in full, and only specialist consultation fees are deducted from your chosen out-patient limit.

Mental health cover

By adding mental health cover you are covered for specialist treatments as an in-patient or day-patient including accommodation and nursing for up to 28 days.

Out-patient consultations and treatment by psychologists and cognitive behavioural therapists are also covered in full.

Therapies cover

With the additional therapies cover, following a GP or specialist referral, you can get access to a physiotherapist, chiropractor, osteopath, acupuncturist, podiatrist, speech therapist, pain clinic or two consultations with a dietician.

What are the Hospital choices with The Exeter?

Traditional

With the traditional option, you choose one of three hospital lists, when you take out the policy, and if you claim your GP can refer you to any named specialist. You can then choose to be treated at any hospital on your chosen list. This results in:

Choose from three hospital lists Choose from three hospital lists, (Essential, Standard and Extended) with The Extended List, which covers Central London, being the most expensive.
Your choice of specialist. Accept the recommendation of your GP or conduct your own research to identify a specialist.

Guided

With the guided option, you don't choose a hospital list when you take out the policy. However, if you claim your GP makes an open referral to a type of specialist and Exeter will recommend a shortlist of specialists for you to choose from.

Lower premiums; Exeter pre-negotiate fees with our pool of consultants so they can keep premiums lower.
Shortlist of specialists; Exeter always recommend specialists based on your diagnostic and treatment needs.

Get Your No Obligation Quote Now.

The Difference with The Exeter's Underwriting: Standard Moratorium.

Typically all insurers offer the option of a moratorium when joining which does not cover any pre-existing conditions and associated conditions you have had in the five years before taking out the policy, for a minimum of two years. With The Exeter's Standard Moratorium option, however, that does not include associated conditions.

While this may seem like a minor difference, in practice it makes a huge difference.

For example, if you have high blood pressure as a pre-exisiting condition and want to have tests or treatment regarding something circulatory or heart related, that may not be covered with other insurers.

With The Exeter's Standard Moratorium that is not an issue - even though high blood pressure itself wouldn't be covered, any associated issues will be.

Health+ Cover limitations

As is typical with health insurance in the UK, Health+ will not cover any pre-existing conditions you have when you join. Furthermore, The Exeter's private health insurance also doesn't cover chronic conditions. This refers to a disease, illness or injury that needs ongoing or long-term care. Examples of chronic conditions are arthritis, epilepsy, and asthma.

Treatment for pregnancy and fertility are also not included along with substance abuse and professional sports injrurys.

For a full breakdown of what is not insured with The Exeter Health+ click the link below.

The Exeter IPID

What is The Exeter's HealthWise?

Healthwise is The Exeter's digital health companion available to members with a qualifying Exeter policy. For users with a Health+ health insurance policy it offers:

Remote GP appointments (unlimited consultations each year)
Second medical opinion (two consultations each year)
Physiotherapy (six consultations each year)
Mental health support (six consultations each year)
Registered dietitian consultations (six consultations each year)
Health MOTs (one finger-prick blood test kit each year)
Repeat prescriptions
Lifestyle and nutrition consultations (six consultations each year)

You are able to use HealthWise from anywhere in the world and it does not affect your no claims bonus, therefore using it won't ever affect your premiums.

Find out if Health Insurance is for You.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Health+

Benefits:

Owned by Policy Holders, a mutual insurance company.
Gives access to HealthWise
Wide range of possible additions to the core cover which you can pick to suit your needs.
Streamlined claims process accessible either online or over the phone.
Less restrictive underwriting in the standard moratorium.
Strong level of optional mental health cover.

Drawbacks:

Limited access to value-added services (in particular gym memberships) that Insurers like Vitality provide.
Limited International Coverage.
Unlike Axa, Aviva, and BUPA has an upper age limit of 80.
Fewer cover upgrades for example dental cover.

How to Contact The Exeter

0300 123 3201

enquiries@the-exeter.com

The Exeter, Lakeside House
Emperor Way, Exeter, EX1 3FD

Our take on The Exeter's Health+

Despite perhaps not being as well known as some of the insurers, Exeter's Health+ plan certainly packs a punch. Offering a strong level of core benefits that align with market norms, as well as some great optional additions, in particular the extensive mental health cover.

The most common question we get asked is, What are they (the insurer) like when it comes to claims? Its why we take our the insurance in the first place, right?
The Exeters status as a friendly society means they can put their people before profit and they take pride in their excellent record when it comes to paying out for claims.

We also like their flexibility when it comes to underwriting with the Standard Moratorium offering them a unique selling point vs the rest of the market, and this makes The Exeter extremely attract to those who are considering cover for the first time and who have pre existing medical conditions.

Here at Compare My Health Insurance we work with all of the UK's top health insurers via our network of trusted partners. That means they will get quotes from each insurer, specific to only you, before giving you a number of policy options that fit your required parameters. By doing this, you can guarantee that if you do get health insurance, you'll be getting the best possible policy for your needs. Click Here to get your no obligation quote.

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