The best personal health insurance cover is the level that pays for the bills you would rather insure than leave to the NHS or pay yourself, so no single level suits everyone. Personal policies are built around in-patient and day-patient treatment, and the choices are a short list of add-ons: out-patient limits, therapies, mental health, cancer extras and dental or optical benefits. To see what each add-on adds to your own premium, an FCA-authorised broker can run your shortlist twice, with every extra switched on and then off; that is what the free call-back requested via this page's form is for.
The base: what in-patient and day-patient cover pays for
Care that means admission, overnight or as a day case, is the part of a policy you do not switch off. Under in-patient and day-patient benefits, The Exeter's summary lists consultant and specialist fees, diagnostic tests, and hospital charges including any necessary medical aids or take-home drugs (page 1). Aviva's first benefit table pays hospital charges in full, including "accommodation and meals, nursing care, theatre fees, drugs and surgical dressings", at the hospital it confirms or one on your list (page 5).
What varies is where you can be treated. Under Aviva's terms, if you choose a hospital list, in-patient and day-patient treatment is covered when it takes place at a hospital on that list or at a facility in one of Aviva's networks (page 4). Hospital list and excess are the other settings to decide; hospital lists explained and what an excess is cover both, and what private health insurance covers maps the whole policy.
Out-patient limits: how much of the diagnosing gets paid for
Out-patient cover is the consultations, tests and scans that do not need a bed, and it is often set as a limit rather than a yes or no. Aviva's reduced options combine consultations, non-surgical specialist treatment and diagnostic tests under "a combined out-patient limit of either £500 or £1,000 for each member, every policy year" (page 7). Its £0 option has no cover for specialist consultations or diagnostic tests such as pathology and X-rays, yet CT, MRI and PET scans at a diagnostic centre stay covered in full, as do pre-admission tests carried out up to 14 days before covered in-patient or day-patient treatment (page 8).
WPA shows the dial from the other side: its core cover pays "Consultations with a Specialist – £250 (increase with the Extra Out-patient Consultations Optional Extra)", and the extra raises that to £500, £1,000 or Unlimited, with a separate choice of diagnostic-test limit from £500 to Unlimited; at £1,500 or Unlimited, tests your GP refers you for are capped at £1,000 (page 1). Vitality's guide takes scans outside the limit: with Out-patient Cover on the plan, MRI, CT and PET scans sit outside the limit and are paid in full, as long as they take place at a hospital eligible under the plan (page 16).
A lower limit usually brings the premium down and a higher one usually puts it up; how far depends on your quote. Because the limit is a setting, asking a broker to price the same plan at two different limits shows what the extra cover would cost you, and the call-back is free. Out-patient limits in more detail covers what happens once one is used up.
Therapies, mental health and cancer: how the add-ons differ between insurers
Therapies. Aviva's wording is "We cover up to ten sessions in combined total (for example five physiotherapy sessions and five osteopathy sessions) each policy year on referral from a GP for each separate condition" (page 16). WPA instead lets you choose a therapy limit between £500 and Unlimited (page 1). One is a count of sessions, the other a sum of money, so two plans that both say "therapies" are not directly comparable. Therapy cover looks at this in detail.
Mental health. Aviva's mental health option covers in-patient and day-patient accommodation and nursing for the first 28 days, per member, in each policy year, and out-patient treatment on full out-patient cover is up to £2,000 (pages 6 and 10). WPA gives up to 28 days or nights in-patient, with a choice of £1,000 or £2,500 for out-patient treatment and therapy (page 1), and Vitality's Mental Health Cover sets £1,500 a plan year for out-patient consultations and treatment, with talking therapies through its own panel listed separately (page 11). AXA's handbook says that without its Mental Health Option there is no cover for "any psychiatric treatment" (page 8). Mental health cover compared goes further.
Cancer. Here the add-on question is whether cancer cover is an add-on at all. Vitality says "Our Advanced Cancer Cover is included in all Personal Healthcare plans" (page 19), and The Exeter lists "Cover for all stages of cancer once diagnosed, including palliative and terminal treatment, with no time or financial limit" under what is insured (page 1). WPA makes Cancer Care an optional extra (page 1). AXA has two levels, and under the lower one, NHS Cancer Support, "we will not pay for the treatment of cancer", apart from licensed cancer drugs the NHS will not pay for, if AXA agrees them in advance and the other conditions in its handbook are met (page 25). See cancer cover for the detail.
Dental and optical: capped benefits, where an insurer offers them
These add-ons pay capped sums towards routine bills rather than covering treatment in full, and the caps differ by insurer:
| Insurer and option | Dental | Optical |
|---|---|---|
| Aviva, option E (page 10) | Routine treatment up to £250, £50 excess | Up to £150, £50 excess |
| Vitality, Optical, Dental and Hearing Cover (page 12) | Check-ups and similar £100 a plan year; fillings, crowns and similar 80% of the costs up to £400 | £500 a plan year with its network provider; 80% of the costs up to £300 elsewhere |
| AXA, Dentist and Optician Cashback Option (page 7) | 80% of dentist's fees, up to £400 a year | 80% of glasses and lenses up to £200 a year; eye test up to £25 |
Set those caps against what you spend at the dentist and optician in a typical year. Bupa's guide has a Dental Cover 20 add-on with yearly maximums shown on the certificate (page 25), while The Exeter's summary puts dental care, jaw alignment and malocclusion on its list of what is not insured (page 1). Dental cover has more.
Personal health insurance comparison: seven lines to match across quotes
These are questions, not a recommendation.
- Would you want a specialist's opinion and tests before anything reaches a hospital bed? Check the out-patient limit, and whether it covers consultations, tests and scans together or separately.
- Do you expect to use a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor? Check whether therapies are counted in sessions or in pounds, and whether a GP referral is needed.
- Would you want mental health cover? Check the in-patient days and the out-patient sum.
- Is cancer cover included or an extra? Check which level the quote has.
- Do you use a dentist or optician regularly? Check the caps against your usual bills, and whether the insurer offers the add-on at all.
- What excess could you pay without strain? Ask whether it applies per person, per claim or per policy year.
- Have you had symptoms, tests or treatment for anything in the years before you join? Check how the quote's underwriting route treats it.
What no level of cover brings
Long-term conditions. Aviva's exclusions say "We do not cover treatment of a chronic condition" (page 21), with an exception for unexpected acute flare-ups until the condition is re-stabilised, though not for chronic mental health conditions. Vitality writes that private medical insurance "does not usually cover long-term treatment of chronic conditions where the purpose of that treatment is primarily just to keep the symptoms under control" (page 26).
Conditions you already had. On a moratorium, Aviva excludes a condition if you had symptoms of it, medication, tests, treatment or advice for it in the five years before you joined, and covers it if you then go a continuous two years without medication, tests, treatment or advice for it (page 27). AXA's handbook says "Once you've been trouble-free from that condition for at least two years in a row after the date you joined, we can start covering treatment of these conditions" (page 14), and Vitality's warns that, depending on your acceptance terms, some conditions may never be covered (page 30). Whether a condition you have now would count depends on the insurer and the underwriting route; a broker can talk it through free on the call-back, and insurers and pre-existing conditions goes through the routes.
Emergencies. Aviva's terms say "The NHS is best placed to offer emergency treatment and facilities which aren't normally available at private hospitals" (page 4). AXA's handbook uses the same example: "There are some conditions and treatments that the NHS is best at handling – emergencies are a good example" (page 7).
Questions people ask when choosing for themselves
Which is the best personal health insurance?
There is no single answer: it depends on which bills you would rather insure, your age and health history, and how much excess you would accept. The checklist above turns that into questions, and comparing quotes shows how to line up the answers.
Can I compare personal health insurance without giving personal information?
Many insurers publish their policy wording online, so you can read it before giving any details. Our enquiry asks only for your name, age band, phone number, email and postcode; health and policy details are discussed on the call.
Does medical insurance reduce your personal allowance?
Not directly, as we understand the general position (this is not tax advice). A policy you buy yourself is paid from taxed income and gets no relief. Cover your employer pays for is normally a taxable benefit in kind, and taxable benefits form part of the income that decides whether a high earner's personal allowance is tapered; the tax page sets out the general shape.
What is the Private Healthcare Information Network?
Its website describes PHIN as "a government-mandated, industry-certified, independent organisation which publishes information about the safety, quality and costs of private healthcare" (phin.org.uk home page, read 26 October 2026). It has a search for hospitals and consultants, which is one way to check a name before you rely on a hospital list.
What do personal health insurance brokers do?
A broker can set quotes from the insurers it deals with side by side in one conversation and explain how their wordings differ; going direct means approaching each insurer yourself. Whether brokers charge has its own page.
When you are ready to see the shortlisted add-ons priced together, the enquiry form here is the next step.
Sources: Bupa By You policy guide (BINS 14718, BBY/1124/MAY24); AXA Health Personal Health membership handbook (October 2024, PB116343a/10.24, copy hosted by more-health.co.uk); Aviva Healthier Solutions terms, March 2026 edition (AV1590050_GEN6842_0326; check the terms sent with your quote); Vitality Membership Guide (VHTCR0002 08/2024, copy hosted by mytribeinsurance.co.uk); WPA's Complete Health product information sheet (09/250815, effective 1 November 2025); The Exeter Health+ insurance product information document (MKTG770, June 2026). Page numbers are PDF pages.