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Compare our best comprehensive health insurance
You could get a better standard of medical care with comprehensive health insurance. Find a policy that could cover treatment for illness or injury.
- Get a free quote in minutes
- Compare multiple providers to find the best deal for you
- Extras: dentistry, eyecare, physiotherapy, mental health care
Compare health insurance from leading UK providers
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How to get a health insurance quote
1
Compare our Health insurance deals
Put in your details to compare policies, then choose the deal from our results table that best suits your lifestyle and the needs of you or your family.
2
Complete an application form
You'll be asked for your personal information, existing health conditions and your medical history.
3
Wait for your results
Your health insurance will start once your application has been accepted.
Last updated: 13 May 2022
What is comprehensive health insurance?
Comprehensive health insurance pays for private medical treatment for health conditions. Access to treatment can be faster than on the NHS.
Comprehensive health insurance covers more conditions and treatments than other policies.
Your policy could cover things such as:
treatment for cancer, such as chemotherapy
optical and dental care
physiotherapy
mental health care
alternative therapies, such as acupuncture
What does comprehensive health insurance cover?
When you take out health insurance, you can choose different levels of cover. The highest level is comprehensive health insurance.
Basic health insurance
This is the cheapest kind of policy. It only pays for inpatient treatment, which is when you stay in a hospital bed for treatment or tests. It may also cover related costs.
Medium health insurance
This covers inpatient and outpatient treatment. It’s a middle ground in terms of cost.
Comprehensive health insurance
This is the most expensive type of health insurance policy. It covers inpatient and outpatient treatment, and can also pay out for more conditions
Can I still use the NHS even if I have comprehensive medical insurance?
Yes, of course. Your rights to use the NHS don’t change. If you fall ill or get injured, you can either use the NHS or claim on your comprehensive health insurance.
What’s not included in comprehensive medical insurance?
Each company offers different comprehensive policies. And every policy has different rules on what private healthcare they pay out for and what’s excluded.
Some providers include cover for non-standard treatments. Others let you add them as extras, but charge higher premiums. Many policies don’t give you cover for emergency healthcare.
What happens if I have a pre-existing condition?
Most policies restrict their payouts for pre-existing conditions. These are usually conditions for which you’ve had treatment or symptoms in the last five years. Examples could include:
diabetes
high blood pressure
heart disease
asthma
osteoarthritis
strokes
cancer
back pain that required surgery
How to buy comprehensive sickness insurance
First, decide which treatments and symptoms you want your comprehensive health insurance policy to cover. Then find a policy online using our broker, who can get you quotes and offer advice on choosing the best policy.
Once you’ve got several quotes, check they offer the cover you need, then you can choose the one with the lowest monthly price. It’s more important to get the right cover than it is to get a cheap policy.
How much does comprehensive health insurance cost?
Every provider and policy differs in price, but the factors that might affect the cost are:
Your age: the younger you are, the cheaper your comprehensive medical insurance is
Your medical history: your general health may be taken into account
Your lifestyle: whether you smoke, exercise or drink alcohol can impact the price
Where you live: policies are dearer in certain locations, such as London
Can I get cheap comprehensive health insurance?
The most important thing is to get the right level of cover, otherwise you’ll be paying monthly and might not be able to make a claim when you need to.
There are some steps you can take to reduce the price of your policy. For example, you could:
Increase the voluntary excess: this is a fee you pay when you make a claim. If you raise this, you may be able to reduce the cost of your monthly premiums. However, make sure you can afford the excess if you need to claim
Get less cover: you could choose a basic or medium health insurance policy. This is cheaper but doesn’t cover as much
Reduce your hospital list: when you claim, you can choose from a list of hospitals supplied by your insurance provider. If you reduce the list, you may be able to lower your premiums
Go for a six-week option: some policies have a six-week clause, which means you can only claim if the NHS is unable to treat you within six weeks. These policies are cheaper
Why would I need comprehensive health insurance when we have the NHS?
Comprehensive health insurance offers some benefits that you don’t get with the NHS. For example, you can benefit from:
a wider choice of tests and treatments, some of which aren’t available on the NHS
shorter waiting times
private rooms and more comfortable hospital stays
more control over when and where you’re treated
Can I cover my partner when I buy comprehensive sickness insurance too?
Yes. You can get a single policy or a shared policy. If both you and your partner are taking out comprehensive medical insurance, you might find it simpler to have a shared policy. It means you both have the same cover and liaise with the same provider.
The types of comprehensive medical insurance you can get are:
individual health insurance just for you
joint health insurance for you and your partner
family health insurance for the whole family
child health insurance just for your little ones
Comprehensive health insurance FAQs
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Read MoreWhy compare health insurance with money.co.uk?
By comparing health insurance, you could save money on the policy. The best value health insurance will offer the cover to you and your family need at an affordable price. Choose a cover plan from the best UK health insurance companies and see the online discounts they offer.
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