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Private Medical Insurance provides access to private healthcare facilities so you can receive fast treatment of the highest standard when you need it most.
Not got enough time to read the below, but want a quick overview of Health Insurance from a specialist? Our very own Alex Weir, has provided a run down of what you need to know before buying a policy.
Firstly Private Medical Insurance will only cover the cost of treatment for acute conditions, it is not designed to treat chronic conditions.
Cover is defined by the use of a hospital bed. The most basic health insurance will only cover inpatient treatment while more comprehensive policies cover outpatient treatment in full or up to a monetary limit often set at £500, £1,000 or £1,500.
All policies cover the full cost of treating curable (acute) medical conditions that require an overnight stay in hospital (inpatient treatment) or require a period of time in a hospital bed (day-patient treatment).
Example Treatment & Cover
Suppose an individual needed a joint replacement. The basic inpatient and day-patient cover would pay for consultations leading up to the operation and the operation itself.
Prior to needing a joint replacement the individual suffered a bout of joint pain. Should this individual have outpatient cover it would have paid for all tests, scans and consultations that diagnosed that the joint needed replacing.
The level of cover and type of treatment required will determine the exact process and interaction between the NHS and your Medical Insurance but the main variation depends on whether the policy includes outpatient cover.
Without any outpatient cover you run the risk of having to go through the NHS outpatient waiting list for diagnostic testing and initial consultations, potentially delaying your care.
Taking out Health Insurance provides you with access to cutting-edge cancer treatment, including drugs and procedures that don’t tend to be available on the NHS because the cost is prohibitive.
Other benefits of private cancer care can include:
Where each insurer has their own policy wording we cannot say for sure but there are a number of exclusions which are reasonably consistent across all UK Health Insurance policies.
No one can deny that the NHS does a fantastic job but, especially recently, funding and resources have been stretched. This has resulted in delays to care.
According to NHS statistics…
Private healthcare can help you skip these waiting lists for all eligible treatment, i.e. an acute condition that you didn’t have before you took the policy out.
How much Private Health Insurance Costs depends on a variety of factors, including:
To work out the average cost of Health Insurance below, we’ve searched all the major players in the UK market and assumed:
With these assumptions we have calculated pricing of a Mid-Range Health Insurance policy for different age groups as well as for individuals, couples and families. These quotes were correct as of August 2025.
| Single Cover | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age | 25 | £38.17 per month |
| Cost | 50 | £73.89 per month |
| 30 Year Old Couple |
|---|
| £87.30 per month |
| Family With 35 Year Old Parents (2 Children, 11 & 13 Years Old) | ||
|---|---|---|
| £124 per month |
One of the most important decisions to make when setting up your Private Medical Insurance is the type of medical underwriting you choose. When taking out a personal policy you have a couple of options:
Moratorium Underwriting
The most common type of medical underwriting for Health Insurance. Rather than asking about your medical history in full it simply excludes most pre-existing medical conditions you’ve suffered from over a set period, usually the past 5 years.
Full Medical Underwriting
You will need to disclose your entire medical history to the insurer from the start. As a result the insurer will take your health into consideration and any exclusions due to pre-existing medical conditions will be set out from the inception of the policy.
There is no hard and fast rule whether moratorium or full medical underwriting will be the best option for you, so much depends on your personal circumstances and your state of health.
To ensure you choose the most appropriate underwriting speaking to a specialist can really help, if you need any support please don’t hesitate to pop us a call on 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.
This depends on your stance.
Obviously, we’re very fortunate in the UK to have the NHS for our healthcare needs, which is free at the point of use. This ‘cradle to grave’ health service means that you never have to pay out of pocket for healthcare in the UK if you don’t want to.
However, the NHS has come under increasing strain in recent years thanks to an older, sicker population. As the population ages and faces other health problems, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, you may find your care under the NHS is slower than you’d prefer.
You can face waits of weeks for outpatient consultant appointments before you even get near to having inpatient surgical treatment.
Private Health Insurance, while it won’t replace the NHS entirely in areas such as cover for emergencies and chronic conditions, is designed to supplement the NHS and speed up your care for eligible acute conditions.
Whether this is worth it or not depends on whether you value faster, more efficient care and can afford to pay the premiums to skip the NHS waiting lists.
Private healthcare isn’t necessarily “better” than the NHS, it simply offers a different experience.
In many cases, the same consultants and surgeons work across both the NHS and private sector, so the standard of clinical care is often very similar. Where private healthcare tends to differ is in the experience around that care.
With private medical insurance, you can usually be seen more quickly, choose your consultant, and select a hospital that suits you. If you need treatment or surgery, you’re also more likely to have a private room and more flexible visiting arrangements, which can make the process feel more comfortable.
Private cover can also open up access to certain treatments that may not yet be widely available on the NHS, or that have more limited access. For example, some newer cancer drugs may be available privately before they’re routinely offered through the NHS. That said, what’s included will depend on your specific policy, so it’s always worth checking the details.
The NHS continues to provide outstanding care, particularly in emergencies and for complex conditions. Private healthcare is best seen as something that complements it rather than replaces it. Most people with private cover still rely on the NHS for services like A&E, GP appointments, and maternity care.
No, you don’t have to have Private Health Insurance to go to a private hospital. There are a number of hospitals that allow you to self-fund treatment.
However, this can be an expensive option. A surgical procedure such as a hip or knee replacement can cost more than £10,000 just for the procedure, without any additional costs associated, such as x-rays, scans and outpatient followup appointments.
So, while self-funding private healthcare is possible, it’s only really an option for wealthier people. Private Health Insurance, on the other hand, spreads this cost out into what could be more affordable monthly payments.
A pre-existing condition is any condition you suffer from prior to taking out the policy. It will typically be excluded either for a set period or indefinitely from your policy.
How pre-existing conditions are treated when it comes to Private Health Insurance and whether or not they’ll be covered depends on the type of underwriting you choose.
Moratorium underwriting excludes most pre-existing medical conditions you’ve suffered from over a set period, usually the past 5 years.
Moratorium underwriting is the most common type of medical underwriting for Health Insurance is divided into plans underwritten on a rolling moratorium or a fixed moratorium basis.
The vast majority of Health Insurance is written on a rolling moratorium basis.
Rolling moratorium underwriting means the insurer will consider any claims for medical conditions that you’ve suffered from in the 5 years before taking out the policy, providing you’ve served 2 years on the policy without any advice, medication or treatment for that condition.
This includes both self-funded private treatment or NHS treatment.
Fixed moratorium underwriting is a more lenient type of underwriting that rolling moratorium underwriting.
It still excludes any medical conditions you’ve suffered from in the 5 years leading up to the policy start date.
However, once you’ve served 2 years on the policy, the insurer will then consider covering you for that condition, regardless of whether you’ve received treatment for that condition or not over those 2 years.
It’s important to realise that often the most serious conditions — such as cardiac and cancer cases — are unlikely to be eligible for fixed moratorium underwriting.
Only one insurer still uses fixed moratorium underwriting for its Medical Insurance, however.
Buying fully medically underwritten Health Insurance means you disclose your entire medical history to the insurer from the start.
This lets your insurer take your health into consideration when deciding how to provide you with cover.
You provide your medical history through a health declaration form, which will ask a set of questions about your health and previous medical conditions.
Depending on what comes up on the form, the insurer might write to your GP for further evidence of your medical history to back up the underwriting.
Any disclosures on the health declaration form or that later come up if the insurer decides to write out for your medical history will result in an exclusion for that condition.
With full medical underwriting, any serious condition you’ve suffered from in the past will likely be excluded, even if it occurred more than 5 years ago.
This exclusion will usually be permanent, although it may be possible to get it lifted at a later date with medical evidence from your GP.
For more minor conditions, however, you may be able to negotiate coverage with your insurer, particularly if that condition occurred a number of years ago.
Private Health Insurance does go through a renewal process every year like car insurance. This means that every year there’s an opportunity for you to revisit the market and ensure you’re still getting the best deal.
Many Health Insurance providers auto-renew policies, which means that your policy will roll over at the end of each year and automatically continue with the same provider. There is the potential that this could lead to more expensive insurance over time, so it always pays to revisit the market periodically to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
There are many ways to reduce the cost of Private Health Insurance.
The main options to consider are:
The UK has a few major Private Health Insurance providers to choose from, each with their own unique policy types, pricing structure, and underwriting process.
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to insurance. The “best” Health Insurance for you won’t necessarily be the best for someone else, as it all depends on your unique situation. That’s why it’s important to compare quotes and policies from different providers. And the cheapest quote isn’t always the best.
See our top picks of the leading insurers in our Best Health Insurance comparison guide.
As an independent Health Insurance broker, we’re on hand to help you make an informed decision when buying Private Medical Cover. We live and breathe insurance, and have helped thousands of people to protect their most important asset – their health.
Our advice is totally fee-free, so you won’t pay us a penny when setting up your policy. Call 02074425880, email help@drewberry.co.uk, or compare quotes to get started.
When it comes to protecting your health, you deserve first-class service. Here’s why you should talk to us:
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