What does private health insurance cost and is it worth it?

How much does private health insurance cost?

The cost of private health insurance is based on your age, where you live and your chosen level of cover. 

The older you are when you take out private health insurance, the more expensive it will be. Where you live also affects the cost of treatment – top doctors in London typically charge more for consultations.

Average private health insurance cost by age

To give you an idea of cost, average sample quotes analysed for Which? by LifeSearch in June 2026 ranged from £32.81 a month for core cover for a 30-year-old to £177.66 for an 80-year-old.

Our analysis shows how premiums can increase substantially with age, particularly in later life. Comprehensive cover was more expensive than core cover at every age we looked at.

These are illustrative quotes rather than the price you'll necessarily pay. Your premium will depend on factors including your age, postcode, health, excess, hospital choice and level of cover. 

• Find out more: Best private health insurance

How can you reduce the cost of health insurance?

There are many excess options. Generally the larger the excess you can accept, the lower the cost. Some policy options have a cap on treatment costs while others are unlimited.  

Basic policies stick to in-patient or day-patient treatment (when you need a bed), but outpatient cover can be added. Some policies allow you to choose which hospital you would like to use or which consultant you want to see. You can also add other extras.

Private health insurance policies usually pay for your treatment directly to the provider. You do not need to pay out of your own pocket and reclaim the costs.

How does health insurance underwriting work?

Health insurance underwriting is how an insurer assesses your medical history and decides which existing or previous medical conditions it will cover. Individual policies commonly use either full medical underwriting or moratorium underwriting.

Individual full medical underwriting

With full medical underwriting, you will be asked detailed questions about your medical history at the outset. 

For certain conditions, the insurer will ask if you have ever had them. For other conditions, it will only matter if you have had them in the past five or seven years. The insurer may then exclude any pre-existing conditions.

The medical underwriting process means that when you buy the insurance, you'll have clarity around which of your conditions are covered or excluded.

Moratorium underwriting

With moratorium underwriting, there are no pre-checks. Instead, any recent conditions (usually those you've had within the last five years) are considered 'pre-existing' and automatically excluded. 

Going forward, if you're then free of the condition – requiring no treatment, medication or follow-up for a 'moratorium' period (typically lasting two years) – that condition will then be covered. Conditions that need ongoing medication or regular follow-ups are likely to never be covered.

It's quicker and simpler to buy policies with moratorium underwriting, but if you have any medical conditions, it may be the case that fewer of them are covered – and there will be less clarity about which ones are and aren't – than opting for full medical underwriting

Not all firms handle claims as promptly or as smoothly. There may be other factors that are important to you or to your family. It might be worth seeking professional, independent expert advice. 

Visit the AMII (The Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries) to find a health insurance expert. 

What does private health insurance cover you for?

Included

Standard private medical insurance (PMI) policies will cover acute treatment of in-patient and day-patient hospital treatment. 

• Acute medical issues are those that will respond to treatment and from which you can recover. They include illnesses and injuries.
• Being an in-patient or day-patient means you’ll use a hospital bed even if you are home later the same day.
• While cover limits and benefits vary between policies, they can typically be expected to include cover for tests, procedures, anaesthetists, surgeons, nursing, dressings and bandages and hospital drugs, plus meals. Private health insurance will also pay for some drugs and treatments that may not be available on the NHS due to their cost.
• Higher levels of cover are available to include outpatient services, mental health services and therapies, such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, orthopaedics and acupuncture. Further add-ons can include dental and optical cover. 

Not included

Private medical insurance will not cover most chronic conditions. 

• These are long-term conditions with no cure. For example, diabetes. The better policies will cover acute flare-ups related to a chronic condition, such as if you get a cataract as a result of diabetes.
• Pre-existing medical conditions are normally excluded unless it's explicitly stated otherwise or the insurer has agreed to cover some of yours (see sections on underwriting).
• Pregnancy is excluded, as are injuries from playing professional sport and cosmetic surgery. Certain jobs, such as oil rig workers, are excluded. Basic policies only cover in-patient treatment. Outpatient cover is extra.

Chronic conditions which may not be covered

Health insurance policies in the UK typically do not cover ongoing chronic conditions that require long-term treatment, have no cure, or are likely to recur. Chronic conditions that may not be covered could include:

• Diabetes
• Asthma
• Crohn's disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Arthritis (eg, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis)
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Heart disease (eg, coronary artery disease, heart failure)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Epilepsy
• Chronic kidney disease
• Parkinson's disease
• HIV/AIDS
• Cystic fibrosis

Find out more: Life insurance for people with pre-existing conditions explained

What are the benefits compared with the NHS?

One of the benefits of private medical insurance is that it generally gets you diagnosed and treated faster than if you wait to see a NHS doctor. It may also give you more choice about hospitals or which consultant you see. Additionally, there are some treatments that the NHS cannot afford to buy, but private medical insurers will pay for.

However, the quality of procedures and appointments are likely to be much the same as it would be using the NHS, largely as many private doctors also work for the NHS.

Private patients can also expect to be treated in private rooms, and recover with access to home-comfort facilities, a wider choice of food and more frequent family visits, not available on the NHS.

• Find out more: Private surgery: what you need to know 

Does private medical insurance help you jump NHS queues?

No, having private health insurance is not a golden ticket to jumping any long NHS queues.

By taking out a policy, you are using a private healthcare system, which may have links to the NHS but is an alternative system.

If you have private health insurance, you may receive treatment faster as it might be quicker to book a private GP appointment and be referred. This is one of the main reasons people turn to private healthcare. 

Having a policy, however, is unlikely to help you see a local NHS GP any sooner as you will be subject to the same waiting times as everyone else. 

Who needs private health insurance and why? 

Thanks to the NHS, in the UK no one needs private health insurance. However, if you can afford private health insurance you may decide it's worth the investment.

Although the NHS is slowly chipping away at a backlog of patients standing by for hospital appointments, official figures show there are still around 2.7 million people in England waiting more than 18 weeks for non-urgent treatment.

A Healthwatch England survey from March 2026 found that 16% of people had used the private sector in the past year, up from 9% two years previously. 

When Which? surveyed 931 private health insurance policyholders who had recently made a claim, 60% told us shorter waiting times were the most important factor when choosing their cover. 

If you are considering private health insurance, enquire about getting a quote as the cost will vary greatly depending on your age, any pre-existing conditions and where you live. You can then make an informed decision on whether it is an affordable option.

• Find out more: NHS waiting times: what to do if you're facing treatment delays 

Looking to buy private health insurance?

Find the right private health insurance policy using the service provided by LifeSearch.

Get a quote

Specialised cover options 

Family health insurance

Private medical insurance is available for families, and you can get a family policy or individual policies for each family member. You may get discounts for buying additional policies – a husband and wife might get 10% off the second policy, for example.

If you have insurance provided at work, you may be able to add cover for your spouse or children.

• Find out more: Family income benefit insurance explained

Health insurance with pre-existing conditions

If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, you’ll usually not be charged extra to add them to your policy (as you might with travel insurance, for example). Instead, the insurer will exclude those it can’t cover.

With individually underwritten policies you will be told this up front. With moratorium underwriting, the exclusion will apply when you make a claim. However, once you are insured and there is no exclusion, a condition cannot then be excluded after you make a claim. You will be covered for the rest of your life.

With most insurers, you now have a no-claims discount – which means that if you claim, your premium will probably go up as a result. This may mean that you are discouraged from using the insurance because of the impact on cost. Check the terms and conditions of any policy closely to understand how claiming impacts the cost you pay.

• Find out more: Best life insurance

Health insurance for the self-employed

If you're self-employed, you get no sick pay, so it’s almost more important for you to have private health insurance. You can take out an individual policy or, if you run a company, you might take out a corporate policy for you and your staff. You will need to account for it as a benefit in kind on your P11D tax form.

• Find out more: Best income protection insurance in the UK

Frequently asked questions

Can you switch providers?

Once accepted for private medical insurance it is often possible to later switch to other providers even if you have claimed. 

If the new insurer agrees, you can switch on ‘continuation of underwriting’ terms, which means it will continue covering the conditions that were covered on your prior policy. Be aware, though – if you don’t switch on this basis, you may lose cover for some of your conditions.

Do you need health insurance if you get it from work?

If you have private health insurance from work, it’s generally best not to double up with a personal policy. Check the cover available and consider buying only missing cover. 

So, if your work policy is for in-patient treatment only, buy a standalone outpatient policy. If your work policy covers your wife only, take out policies for your children.