How to Get Cheaper Private Health Insurance
Private medical insurance premiums are surprisingly elastic; most policies can be reshaped to reduce cost by 20-40% without losing the bits that actually matter. Below are twelve levers we use day-to-day, ordered roughly by how much they typically save.
1. Increase the excess
The single biggest lever. Moving from a £100 excess to a £500 or £1,000 excess often saves 15-30% on premium. Pick an excess you could comfortably absorb in a bad year.
2. Choose a “6-week wait” option
Several insurers offer a 6-week-wait option; they only cover a treatment if NHS waiting times exceed six weeks. Premium savings of 10-25% are common, and in practice most things you’d claim for would still be covered, given current NHS waits.
3. Narrow the hospital list
Premium central London hospital lists carry a sizeable surcharge. If you’d never actually travel to The Wellington or The Princess Grace for treatment, drop down to a Standard or Regional list and save 10-20%.
4. Drop wellness and lifestyle add-ons
Dental, optical, gym discounts and travel insurance add-ons sometimes look like good value at quote time, but if you wouldn’t otherwise buy them, they’re padding. Strip them back to core medical cover.
5. Consider modular cover
Insurers like WPA and Freedom Health let you build a policy benefit by benefit. If you don’t need outpatient mental health or therapies cover, leave them off. The base inpatient + cancer policy can be very competitive.
6. Step down a tier
Comprehensive cover is the gold standard, but mid-tier policies often cover 80% of what most people actually claim for. The difference at renewal can be £400-£800 a year.
7. Switch insurers using CPME
If you’ve been with the same insurer for years, you might be 20-40% above market rate. A whole-of-market re-quote on a Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME) basis lets you move without losing accumulated underwriting decisions.
8. Pay annually rather than monthly
Most insurers add a small surcharge; typically 2-6%, for monthly direct debit. If cash flow allows, paying annually is a quiet saving.
9. Use no-claims discount carefully
NCD typically gives 5-10% per claim-free year, capped at a few levels. Avoid claiming for tiny outpatient charges if your premium discount would suffer more than the claim is worth. The maths varies by insurer; always do the calculation.
10. Combine partner / family on one policy
Family and joint policies are usually cheaper than two separate individual policies, particularly if a child rate applies. This is especially true with insurers offering single-child or unlimited-children pricing.
11. Buy younger if you can
Premiums and exclusions both worsen with age. If you’re 40 and considering it, the next 20 years of premiums will cost less in total than waiting until 60. This isn’t a “buy now or never” pitch; just maths on insurance pricing.
12. Use a whole-of-market broker
Insurers price the same risk differently. A broker who quotes the whole market in one go will often surface a 20%+ saving on like-for-like cover. Brokers don’t cost extra (commission is built into the same premium you’d pay direct).
Things to avoid when chasing a cheaper premium
A cheap policy that doesn’t pay out is no bargain. Watch for:
- Excluding cancer cover; almost never worth doing
- Removing outpatient cover entirely; diagnostics and consultations are where most claims happen
- Cutting mental health to zero; modest mental health cover costs little but matters
- Tiny annual limits; a £20,000 limit can be reached fast in cancer treatment
- Hospital lists too narrow for your area; saving £15 a month is no help if you’d have to drive 90 minutes for surgery
A worked example
A 45-year-old paying £140 a month on comprehensive cover with a £100 excess and full hospital list:
- Move to £500 excess: -£20
- Add 6-week wait: -£12
- Step down to a Standard hospital list: -£10
- Drop unused dental add-on: -£8
- New monthly premium: about £90, saving roughly £600 a year
No part of that compromised the cover that matters most for serious claims.
When cheap is the wrong goal
If cost is the only driver, you may end up with a policy you wouldn’t actually use when you need it. The aim is the right cover at a fair price, not the lowest premium possible. A free broker review is the easiest way to find that line.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the cheapest UK private health insurance? There’s no single answer; the cheapest depends on your age, location and underwriting. WPA, Freedom Health, Aviva and AXA all sit at competitive ends of the market in different scenarios.
Can I get private health insurance for under £30 a month? Possibly, if you’re young, healthy, on a high excess, with limited cover. It’s worth checking whether such a policy still includes the things you’d value most.
Will my premium go up every year? Yes; typically 5-15% a year. Reviewing the market every year or two usually offsets at least one increase.
Do brokers cost extra? No. Insurers pay brokers a standard commission that’s the same whether you go direct or through a broker, so there’s no fee to you.
Want us to find the cheapest fair-quality cover for your situation? Call 0800 131 0400 or email info@insuredhealth.co.uk.
