As a single parent, finding time for yourself, let alone looking at private health insurance policies, is a struggle at best. With several top providers, each with their own policies, options and perks, you’ll be forgiven for being put off before you even get started. We’ve created this guide to help you quickly find the right policy for you and your family, and we’ve even included some cost examples so you know how much a policy will roughly cost.
Why do single parents need private health insurance?
A tremendous amount of pressure rests on the shoulders of single parents; you’re a one-stop shop for everything your kids need, not to mention taking care of bringing in the money and keeping everything on track. For many, being sick is not an option. Or at least not one worth thinking about. Private health insurance gives you the best chance of getting well as soon as possible, so you can get back to juggling all those plates and your kids and concentrate on being kids.
A brief introduction to private health insurance
Whether as an individual, family or business, private health insurance ensures that those covered by the insurance have access to private health services in the UK. The basic policy only covers treatment for conditions requiring an overnight stay in hospital with more comprehensive policies including outpatient treatment. Many of the leading providers will also give you the option of adding enhanced mental health cover, routine dental cover, optical cover and even complementary therapies. Probably the primary reason many people take out private health insurance (PMI) is that it allows you to be seen and treated more quickly than through the NHS.
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The goal of this guide is to provide you with a wealth of information about health insurance for single parents, but if you’re looking for an answer to a specific question, click on one of the links below to go to that section.
What does single parent health insurance cover?
All health insurance policies cover you for treatment of acute conditions that require an overnight stay in hospital (inpatient), and many also include day treatments. While you are in hospital, all examinations and tests will be included, as will consultant fees. If you opt for a comprehensive policy, you and your children will also have coverage for outpatient diagnosis and treatment.
What is not covered?
Health insurance will not cover chronic conditions, meaning those that cannot be cured and require permanent treatment. Your policy will also not cover any pre-existing medical conditions. However, with moratorium insurance, these conditions will be added to the policy if you do not experience any symptoms for two years. Your policy won’t cover emergency services either, and while some include private GPs, not all do, so you’ll still need the NHS.
Does it cost a lot to add children?
No, it doesn’t cost much to add children to your health insurance policy; it is the adults who attract the more significant fees. So, this is how you save by being a single parent!
The best health insurance for single parents
There are four or five top health insurance providers in the UK, each with highly rated products. Since this section is about the best health insurance for single parents and their children, we’ll focus on comprehensive policies and only those with a five-star Defaqto rating in 2022. The best providers are, in no particular order:
Bupa – Bupa By You
Bupa may be one of the first insurers that springs to mind when you think of health insurance in the UK, and for good reason. Founded almost 80 years ago, Bupa today provides health insurance to millions of people. We’ve created a guide detailing Bupa, so click the link if you’d like to learn more.
Bupa By You is their Defaqto five-star comprehensive private health insurance policy that includes all of the following and more:
- Hospital, outpatient and day treatment
- Mental health cover
- Outpatient therapies such as physiotherapy
- Outpatient consultation before treatment
- Outpatient diagnostic tests before treatment
- MRI, CT and PET scan before treatment
- Consultations after treatment
- Scans after treatment
- 24 hours a day telephone consultations
Aviva – healthier solutions
Another household name, but one that might not immediately come to mind when you think of health insurance, is Aviva. With a significant range of insurance policies, Aviva Healthier Solutions stands out as one of the best on the market. Indeed, it has been awarded a five-star Defaqto rating for 2022. If you’d like to find out more about Aviva’s range, click here to read our Aviva health insurance review.
Here’s just some of what’s included in Aviva’s main policy:
Axa PPP – Personal health
With a history spanning over 80 years, Axa is another well-known insurer on our list of the UK’s best. Known for their high level of customer service and competitive pricing for even their most comprehensive policies, they are rightly considered one of the best to choose from. Similar to the other providers in this guide, we’ve created another article that reviews Axa PPP; click the link to read it. Axa PPP is the provider of choice for many of our clients, thanks to its excellent policies and prices, especially for families.
Here’s what you can expect from an Axa PPP personal health policy:
- Coverage for a wide range of inpatient and outpatient treatments
- CT and MRI scans
- Cover for advanced cancer
- Outpatient diagnostics and specialist consultations
- Heart and cancer protection and care
- Dedicated helpline for nurses
- Anything more
Vitality – Personal health care
With its very distinctive bright pink color, Vitality is another premium family health insurance provider and is well suited to both single parents and their children. With a unique approach to health and life insurance, one that rewards healthy living among its members, Vitality is perhaps one of the more innovative insurers we’ve included here. If you want to know more about the company and their insurance policies, read our Vitality health insurance review, which will cover everything you need to know.
This is what is included in their market leading personal health care policy:
- Hospital and consultant fees
- Advanced cancer cover as standard
- Diagnostic tests
- Mental health support
- Outpatient surgical procedures
- Home care
- Oral surgery
- Outpatient MRI, CAT and PET examinations
How much does health insurance cost for a single parent?
As we mentioned before, being a single parent is a plus when it comes to health insurance, since the adults on the policy are the ones who cover more!
Several factors will determine the cost of your policy; some you will have control over, others you won’t. Here are just a few examples:
- Your age
- The level of coverage you want
- Whether you want to cover your children as well
- Your selected surplus
- Where do you live
- The hospital list you decide on
- Do you need ambulatory insurance?
- The provider you choose
The difficulty with health insurance is that there are so many factors that affect the price that it’s impossible to predict which provider and, indeed, the policy will be best for you. If you want accurate prices and compare all the top service providers, request a quote or call us.
Prices of health insurance for single parents
As we mentioned, there are a significant number of factors that will affect the cost of your health insurance, so we can only give you a very rough idea of how much one might cost. We’ve done some research in this section to give you what you can expect to pay, with the only difference between the quotes being the age of the adult and the number of children added to the policy.
For these examples we have based the quotes on applicants living in Oxford who have opted for a comprehensive policy with a £250 excess and the children added to the policy will be under 15 years of age.
To reiterate, the prices listed in this section of our guide are examples only; the price you pay will be different, so ask for a comparison quote to find out how much the policy will cost you.
How much does health insurance cost just for a single parent?
We’ve excluded children from the rules in this section, so these prices are just for one adult living in Oxford and based on the other pre-set factors we’ve already mentioned.
- 25-year-old single parent – £35.00 per month
- 30-year-old single parent – £36.74 per month
- 40-year-old single parent – £43.29 per month
- 50-year-old single parent – £57.19 per month
*Please note that these prices are based on a fictitious person and are guidelines only. The price you pay will be different.
How much does health insurance cost for a single parent with one child?
In this section, we added one child under 15 to the policy, everything else being the same.
- 25-year-old single parent with 1 child – £39.91 per month
- 30-year-old single parent with 1 child – £42.72 per month
- 40-year-old single parent with 1 child – £55.92 per month
- 50-year-old single parent with 1 child – £68.86 per month
*Please note that these prices are based on fictitious people and are only guidelines. The price you pay will be different.
How much does health insurance cost for a single parent with two children?
In this section, we added two children to the shelf, both under the age of 15, everything else being the same.
- 25-year-old single parent with 2 children – £49.63 per month
- 30-year-old single parent with 2 children – £53.08 per month
- 40-year-old single parent with 2 children – £66.24 per month
- 50-year-old single parent with 2 children – £79.97 per month
*Please note that these prices are based on fictitious people and are only guidelines. The price you pay will be different.
Waiver: This information is general and what is best for you will depend on your personal circumstances. Talk to a financial advisor or do your own research before making a decision.
