In this article, we’ve looked at a number of ways you can save money on your health insurance. As private medical insurance (PMI) in the UK is often a significant investment, it is important to know how to keep costs down.
If you have read our recent article, “The best private health insurance in the UK”, you will know that there are many high quality health insurance providers in the UK. Our simple tip to reduce health insurance costs? Shop around!
Shop around for the best deal
First, and most importantly, the best way to reduce health insurance costs is to compare prices and shop around. Whether you’re looking for a new policy or renewing an existing one, comparing providers is the number one way to save money.
Did you know that you can often reduce the cost of your policy, without making any sacrifices, simply by checking the market?
Talk to a health insurance broker
Shopping around for the best policy at the best price naturally takes time, which is why we always recommend you speak to an independent health insurance broker like us. We can take the hassle out of finding the best policy by quickly comparing the markets on your behalf. What’s more, with our annual health insurance renewal review service, we’ll automatically find the best deal for you every year.
How to reduce health insurance costs
In addition to comparing the marketplace for the best deal, there are a number of other things you or your health insurance broker can do to lower the cost of your health insurance policy. In this section, we describe each of them, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Again, if you’re unsure about something covered in this article, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help you find your options.
Increase your surplus
By increasing the excess on your policy, you will often be able to reduce your annual premium. Although this option can be very useful, you should always be careful to ensure that the excess remains accessible. There’s nothing worse than having a health insurance policy but feeling like you can’t claim because of the size of the excess. Excesses often range from £0 to £1,500 per claim per year, so there are plenty of options for those who want to go down this route.
Review your coverage level
By working with a health insurance broker, you can review the level of coverage you have on your policy. Again, this should be done with the utmost caution to ensure you are not exposing yourself unnecessarily. All policies will include hospital cover, but outpatient cover will often attract higher premiums. When cost is a key consideration, reviewing and in some cases reducing your level of cover can be a great way to ensure your policy remains affordable.
Update your hospital list
Insurers often have their own hospital lists that you’ll have access to under your policy, but did you know you can review them and create your own custom list? Far from making your policy more expensive, choosing to remove certain inner-city hospitals from your list can often cut costs. We have seen many cases where focusing your list of hospitals on more local hospitals, rather than the top ones in central London, reduces annual premiums. To review your hospital listing with a qualified professional, please complete this form and we will get back to you.
Review and remove some of the additional plugins
Even the best health insurance policies don’t cover everything, which is why providers will often try to sell you extras and add-ons to give you maximum protection. While accessories such as routine dental and optical covers give you an improved cover, they come at a price. By removing or reducing the number of add-ons you have on your policy, you can often lower your annual premiums. Again, this should only be done with a full policy review with an independent professional, as reducing coverage may not be the only option.
