Parents who want private medical cover for a son or daughter, and not for themselves, are really asking whether a policy can have a child as its only insured person. That is a different arrangement from putting a child on your own policy: an adult still signs, the child is the only one covered, and every term then applies to the child alone. Whether an insurer will do it is that insurer's decision, and the answer can differ from one firm to the next, so no firm is named here. This page explains how the arrangement works, when it suits, and what to ask. A broker with FCA authorisation can carry that question to several insurers together and price whatever each offers. Nothing is charged for the introduction, and the short form on this page wants only your child's age, your postcode and the like.
Health insurance for my son or daughter alone: who signs, and who is covered
"Child-only" describes who is insured, not who owns the contract. As we understand the general position, a child under 18 cannot usually be held to a contract like this, so an adult takes the policy out and the child is named as the member. The adult receives the renewal and can change or cancel the cover; the policy pays out for the child and nobody else. Whether the policyholder must be a parent, or may be a grandparent or guardian, and whether someone other than the policyholder may pay the premium, are each insurer's rules, and a broker can check them with each insurer, at no charge, when they ring. The roles themselves, and what goes wrong when they sit at different addresses, are set out on the page on support and service; what follows is what is particular to a policy with nobody but a child on it.
For the child, what changes is that everything is set for them alone. The underwriting looks only at their history. The excess, out-patient limit and hospital list are chosen for them rather than inherited from an adult's policy. And the premium is set for a policy in its own right, not as an addition to someone else's, so the price of adding a child to a parent's cover is no guide to it.
When cover for just the child makes sense, and when another route fits better
Whether child-only is the right shape turns on why you want it. Most families looking for it are in one of these positions.
| Why you want cover for the child only | Check this first | What it may point to |
|---|---|---|
| You already have cover through an employer | Whether the scheme lets you add children at your own expense, and on what underwriting. | Adding them at work may be simpler; a child-only quote gives you something to compare it with. |
| Your budget stretches to the child but not to you | Whether any insurer will write a policy with only a child on it. | Child-only, if offered; if not, a policy in your name with the settings turned down, as on cheaper cover for children. |
| Your own health history would mean exclusions for you | How your conditions would be treated under each underwriting route. | Child-only, if your own cover would pay for little; the page on whether insurers cover pre-existing conditions explains the test. |
| You and the child's other parent live apart | Which parent holds the policy, and who can claim for the child. | The roles are untangled on the page on support and service. |
| Your child already has a diagnosed condition | How that condition would be underwritten on either route. | The route matters less than the underwriting; the page on cover for a disabled child goes further. |
If more than one row fits, price both arrangements on the same settings before choosing the shape. Asking for both also settles the first question by itself: an insurer that will not cover a child alone simply declines that half.
Living with a policy that covers only your child
Claims. The policyholder normally deals with the insurer. If that is you, nothing about a claim is unusual. If a grandparent holds the policy and the child lives with you, the person who knows the symptoms and the person the insurer talks to are in different houses, so ask now whether you can be authorised to handle claims.
Adding someone later. If you want yourself or a second child on the policy next year, ask whether that can be done on the same policy, from what date, and whether the newcomer is underwritten from scratch. A policy set up for one child may not be built to grow.
Growing up. How long a son or daughter can stay on a parent's policy is a term each insurer writes, and age limits for children has an example clause and the questions to put to every firm. Child-only cover adds a second question: at that age, does the policy end, or can your child carry it on in their own name? The answer differs between insurers, and it matters, because a young adult starting afresh may face new underwriting of anything treated in childhood; ask before you buy, or have the broker find out when they ring, at no cost.
Cheap health insurance for my daughter or son: what does it cost?
A child-only policy is priced on that one child, so there is no general figure to give for it. The nearest indicative figure is for a child put on a policy a parent already pays for, and that range, indicatively and as a rough sense of the market rather than a quote, is something like £10 to £25 a month, or £120 to £300 a year, for the child's share of a parent's policy and not for a policy of the child's own. Stretching it to the child-only case would not be reliable; the real figure comes from a quote on your child's age, address and history.
The settings that move a premium are the same whichever arrangement you choose, and what each takes out of a child's claim is on cheaper cover for children, so this page does not walk them again. What it adds is the comparison: decide those settings, then have them priced twice, once for your child alone and once with you on the policy. A broker can line up both from several insurers, free and within minutes, so the gap is seen rather than guessed.
Underwriting sits outside the premium altogether. A condition already on your child's record may be excluded however low the price, which is why "cheap" and "useful" need checking separately.
Five things to have answered before you cover a child on their own
Five questions establish whether an insurer writes child-only cover at all, and from what age; who may hold it; how the child is underwritten; who it deals with on a claim; and what happens at its age limit. They are set out on the policy types page, and they come first. These five follow from the sections above, and belong in writing from every insurer that says yes to the first.
- Can someone other than the policyholder pay the premium, and does the policyholder have to be a parent?
- If the parent my child lives with is not the policyholder, can they be authorised to handle claims and receive the letters?
- If I want myself or a second child on the policy next year, can it be done on this policy, from what date, and is the newcomer underwritten from scratch?
- When my child reaches your age limit, does the cover stop, or can they keep it in their own name, and on what underwriting?
- On exactly the same settings, what would one policy covering my child and me cost?
The last answer shows whether child-only costs your family less, more, or about the same. What an insurer will want from you when you apply is on how to buy cover for a child.
What parents ask about cover for a son or daughter
Can I add my son or daughter to my own health insurance instead?
Yes, and it is the usual route: the child joins a policy whose settings you have already chosen, and it is the arrangement the indicative range above describes. Getting it priced properly is covered on children's private health insurance quotes.
Can I get one policy for me and my son or daughter?
A policy with one adult and one child is an ordinary family arrangement, and a single parent can generally buy one. What it costs turns on both your ages and the settings you choose, and a broker can work out the figure for you, free, when they ring.
Is there free health insurance for my daughter?
A child living in the UK is generally entitled to NHS care at no charge, and that is the free cover there is. Private cover is paid for somewhere, even when a child is added to a parent's policy at no extra premium; what the NHS gives a child free sorts out which meaning of "free" holds up.
Can you use private health insurance straight away?
Cover for new conditions generally starts on the start date, but a condition your child had before then may be excluded, for good or for an initial period, depending on the underwriting. Some benefits carry waiting periods of their own, which the page on waiting periods covers.
Is there health insurance just for emergencies?
Not in the sense of UK private medical insurance. Emergencies and A&E are the NHS's job, and private policies are generally built around planned, eligible treatment after a referral.
When, and how, do I use my child's private health insurance?
Whether a symptom needs seeing to, and where, is for your GP, not an insurance site. If the GP refers your child on, the policy's part usually starts there: a call to the insurer to authorise the consultation or treatment before it happens, by the route in your policy's claims section. Whether cover for a child is worth paying for at all is weighed on the page asking whether children's cover is worth it.
Can I use my health insurance in another country?
A UK policy is generally written for treatment in the UK, and a medical emergency on holiday is normally travel insurance's job. What a UK policy does abroad, if anything, is on the page about cover while travelling.
One step from here answers the two questions only insurers can: whether your son or daughter can be insured alone, and what that costs beside the alternative. Put your child's details through the form on this page, noting that only they need covering, and a broker will ask the insurers on their panel and report what each will do.