[Misc] Private health insurance - recommendations?

[Colonel Mustard]

We're in pretty good health but as we get older (we're mid-60s), I get more concerned about NHS waiting lists and what the consequences might be for my wife and me. We're now seriously thinking about signing up for private medical insurance. Does anyone have any strong recommendations, either for or against particular providers? I've ploughed through several reviews but as usual, there's no consensus on which of the 5 or 6 big players are the most reliable / best value etc., so I thought I'd ask here. Any thoughts? Thank you in advance.

 

[Springal]

I’ve used BUPA through a work policy (that covered existing issues) and had no problems, with great service.

First was a cortisone injection for a knee injury, second was fairly major surgery - diagnosed and carried out within 3 weeks when NHS waiting list was 12-18 months

 

[mac04]

Not full medical cover apparently, but I had someone recommended Benenden healthcare to me earlier today. It certainly looks good value at £15.50/month, whatever your age or medical history.

Worth looking at, I think.

 

[timbha]

Not full medical cover apparently, but I had someone recommended Benenden healthcare to me earlier today. It certainly looks good value at £15.50/month, whatever your age or medical history.

Worth looking at, I think.

Benenden provide limited cover, eg they’ll fix you up with an appointment to see a consultant if you’ve been on the NHS waiting list to see one for a certain amount of time. The consultant may then refer you for surgery for which you will join the NHS waiting list or pay. It quickens the process but won’t cover the cost of treatment.
Their consultants aren’t always local.

 

[Weststander]

Or ‘self insure’ by saving separately for future health bills. My Dad and an older brother went down this route, then knee ops at the Nuffield prevented years of pain and discomfort whilst waiting on an NHS waiting list.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Not full medical cover apparently, but I had someone recommended Benenden healthcare to me earlier today. It certainly looks good value at £15.50/month, whatever your age or medical history.

Worth looking at, I think.

Thanks, yes, my neighbour is with Benenden and was complimentary when I talked to him a few weeks ago. I'm struggling to get my head round what exactly you get for such a small amount -- it seems too good to be true at first glance. From what I can see you're insured against having to wait longer than 3-5 weeks for NHS diagnosis and treatment. They say things like "We're not a health insurance provider. We complement the NHS by offering access to private healthcare" which confuses me a bit. They don't cover things like cancer or hip/knee replacements but do have a long list of procedures that are included. And they do offer GP appointments (presumably on the phone or video) and a range of counselling services that are hard to get on the NHS without a lot of waiting. I may sign up with them as a sort of backup as they're cheap, but I don't think they're exactly what I'm looking for. I thik I need to chat with my neighbour again. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Benenden provide limited cover, eg they’ll fix you up with an appointment to see a consultant if you’ve been on the NHS waiting list to see one for a certain amount of time. The consultant may then refer you for surgery for which you will join the NHS waiting list or pay. It quickens the process but won’t cover the cost of treatment.
Their consultants aren’t always local.

Cross-post. Thanks, that's helped me understand what they do. Whether or not they finance the cost of treatment is pretty vague on their website.

 

[Brian Fantana]

I’ve had some excellent experience with Nuffield lately. I couldn’t fault any aspect of it at all. My policy is funded through work, but it’s something I’d be quite happy to pay myself if needed.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

I’ve had some excellent experience with Nuffield lately. I couldn’t fault any aspect of it at all. My policy is funded through work, but it’s something I’d be quite happy to pay myself if needed.

Glad to hear. I think I'm right in saying that Nuffield provide the hospitals and other services. They deliver the treatment but they're not the insurers.

 

[Solid at the back]

Anyone have any dealings with WPA? Had a decent quote from them... Full diagnosis/treatment, cancer care and dental/optic limited (£400/£250 respectively per policy) cover for 43 quid pm. Limited cover as an outpatient.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Anyone have any dealings with WPA? Had a decent quote from them... Full diagnosis/treatment, cancer care and dental/optic limited (£400/£250 respectively per policy) cover for 43 quid pm. Limited cover as an outpatient.

WPA came top, by some distance, in a recent Which? survey of health insurance providers. They also do better than all the other big ones (BUPA, AXA, Vitality, etc) in TrustPilot. It’s hard to find a bad word said about them. The main issue for me is that they’re quite a bit pricier than the others. Which doesn’t mean I won’t use them — you tend to get what you pay for. Your quote is tiny compared with mine. You must be much younger than me or have some policy differences. But I too would be interested to hear other views on them.

 

[Half Time Pies]

Thanks, yes, my neighbour is with Benenden and was complimentary when I talked to him a few weeks ago. I'm struggling to get my head round what exactly you get for such a small amount -- it seems too good to be true at first glance. From what I can see you're insured against having to wait longer than 3-5 weeks for NHS diagnosis and treatment. They say things like "We're not a health insurance provider. We complement the NHS by offering access to private healthcare" which confuses me a bit. They don't cover things like cancer or hip/knee replacements but do have a long list of procedures that are included. And they do offer GP appointments (presumably on the phone or video) and a range of counselling services that are hard to get on the NHS without a lot of waiting. I may sign up with them as a sort of backup as they're cheap, but I don't think they're exactly what I'm looking for. I thik I need to chat with my neighbour again. Thanks for the reminder!

I used Benenden a few years ago for a hernia, I seem to remember that there us no guarantee that they would be able to help and that I had to answer questions on how the hernia was affecting me on a day to day basis to assess the level of my need before they decided if they were able to see me or if I needed to remain on the NHS waiting list. Once approved I had to go to the Benenden hospital in Tenterden which was a bit of a journey and then would have had to return there for my surgery. I decided not to proceed with the surgery in the end, however I was impressed with the hospital and my Mum recently had some surgery there and only had good things to say about it.

At the beginning of the pandemic I bought our staff all health insurance policies through Vitality and although expensive it is all together a different service. I just need a referral from my GP (or through the vitality online GP ) and I can be seen pretty much anywhere, I can also choose which hospital and even which specific consultant I want to be seen by. I was really glad I took this out as I fell and snapped the ligaments in my arm and because I had the insurance I was straight up the waiting list for treatment and was able to have the operation at the Montefiore in Hove within a few weeks. I was then able to have as many post operation physio sessions as I needed (also at a local provider) until I got the mobility back in my arm.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I can't recommend a provider but I suggest you avoid Aviva. I get as part of my package at work and Mrs WS is part of it. Mrs WS is currently going through some treatment and Aviva have been a right shambles. Hour queues on the phone, portal regularly not working, constantly denying there is a policy in place.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I've had Vitality for me and Mrs CBH for the last 4 years, paid for by me, not a company. We've both had issues and the support has been brilliant. Also get money back (discount in effect) if you exercise, have regular check ups and eat healthily. I've used BUPA in the past and this is hands down the best I've used.

 

[Half Time Pies]

I've had Vitality for me and Mrs CBH for the last 4 years, paid for by me, not a company. We've both had issues and the support has been brilliant. Also get money back (discount in effect) if you exercise, have regular check ups and eat healthily. I've used BUPA in the past and this is hands down the best I've used.

The member benefits scheme at Vitality is a big plus, free cinema tickets and coffee if you exercise frequently, 50% off a pair of trainers every year and money off things like apple watches and gym memberships.

 

[dazzer6666]

I looked into it when I stopped working as we had a very good company scheme that I’d become used to over 25+ years. Could have continued with the same provider but they wanted something like £550 per month for the same level of cover. Given our reasonable health, it made no economic sense. As and when either of us gets to the knee/hip replacement stage and suchlike (probably me after 80-odd marathons and ultras ) if NHS waiting lists are too long I’ll go private. There no real benefit at all in private medical insurance for urgent condition/treatment. The one thing I miss is the reassurance of the annual checkup, so currently looking in to doing that privately.

Private treatment is easy to obtain without insurance (I know of a few providers - my heart consultant and physio for example - that actually don’t like dealing with insured patients as the companies are a pain in the arse to deal with) so it’s worth thinking about whether cumulative premiums are going to exceed anything you are likely to pay out on private treatment.

 

[um bongo molongo]

I’ve been through this fairly recently - I’d always had company health insurance and then setting up my own business had to get it privately. I’d recommend getting a broker (happy to DM a recommendation). An individual family policy obviously more expensive than a corporate one as no way for the insurer to spread the risk. So having someone who can shop around and compare them I found invaluable. I ended up with Freedom Health and have been quite impressed with them so far.

 

[A mex eyecan]

I looked into it when I stopped working as we had a very good company scheme that I’d become used to over 25+ years. Could have continued with the same provider but they wanted something like £550 per month for the same level of cover. Given our reasonable health, it made no economic sense. As and when either of us gets to the knee/hip replacement stage and suchlike (probably me after 80-odd marathons and ultras ) if NHS waiting lists are too long I’ll go private. There no real benefit at all in private medical insurance for urgent condition/treatment. The one thing I miss is the reassurance of the annual checkup, so currently looking in to doing that privately.

Private treatment is easy to obtain without insurance (I know of a few providers - my heart consultant and physio for example - that actually don’t like dealing with insured patients as the companies are a pain in the arse to deal with) so it’s worth thinking about whether cumulative premiums are going to exceed anything you are likely to pay out on private treatment.

Totally agree. When had our business we covered wife and I on ‘full cover’. To start off with in 2004 we were paying £1700 for both of us each year. Prices went up and up, slowly at first then quicker as we got older. When we sold up in 2022 we were paying over £6000 per year. Then cheeky beggars came in with new prices as we were no longer ‘a business’. Premium went from 6k per year to over 9k overnight! We cancelled. We’ve been setting aside £200 per month since into savings a count.

To be fair thought to WPA their cover and service was absolutely first class.

 

[AmexRuislip]

Not full medical cover apparently, but I had someone recommended Benenden healthcare to me earlier today. It certainly looks good value at £15.50/month, whatever your age or medical history.

Worth looking at, I think.

Another shout for Benenden

 

[peterward]

We're in pretty good health but as we get older (we're mid-60s), I get more concerned about NHS waiting lists and what the consequences might be for my wife and me. We're now seriously thinking about signing up for private medical insurance. Does anyone have any strong recommendations, either for or against particular providers? I've ploughed through several reviews but as usual, there's no consensus on which of the 5 or 6 big players are the most reliable / best value etc., so I thought I'd ask here. Any thoughts? Thank you in advance.

I'm fortunate to have gold plated AXA PPP policy through work for myself only, that includes pre existing conditions etc, and they've been great.

But for wife and son I pay for their private insurance, spent a lot of time looking at various companies/reviews and types of private insurance, moratorium or full medical underwriting (familiarise yourself with meaning/diferences) and the company I have gone through the last 6 years are called "The Exeter".


Excellent reviews, easy to deal with, well spoken, super professional, use all main private hospitals, very good and fair no claims reduction based on sliding scale of claims costs. It was off moneysupermarket price comparison back then.

Money-saving expert currently has a £120 voucher through their moneysupermaket link

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-health-insurance/