44 guides. Start with your exact decision.

10 in-depth guides Cover for your situation Private health insurance decisions by who is being covered — families, couples, children, older buyers, the self-employed and people buying through work. See every guide → 10 in-depth guides Insurers compared What Bupa, AXA Health, Aviva, Vitality, WPA, Freedom, Saga and The Exeter actually cover, quoted from their own policy documents. See every guide → 6 in-depth guides What a policy covers What private health insurance pays for and what it excludes — mental health, maternity, cancer, dental, diagnostics and the limits that apply to each. See every guide → 4 in-depth guides What it costs What private health insurance costs in the UK, what drives the price, and what the same treatment costs if you pay for it yourself. See every guide → 4 in-depth guides Excess, limits and policy design Excess levels, benefit limits, hospital lists and the six-week NHS option — the choices that decide both the price and the cover. See every guide → 2 in-depth guides How it works How private medical insurance works in the UK: how it sits alongside the NHS, how to buy it, and the alternatives. See every guide → 2 in-depth guides Claiming and using your cover How to claim, what pre-authorisation means, waiting periods, and how a claim affects what you pay next year. See every guide → 2 in-depth guides Pre-existing conditions and underwriting Moratorium versus full medical underwriting, what counts as pre-existing, and what cover is available when you already have a condition. See every guide → 1 in-depth guides Business and employee cover Group schemes, cover for company directors, contractors and employees, and how the tax works. See every guide → 1 in-depth guides Tax, P11D and salary How private health insurance is taxed — benefit in kind, P11D reporting, and what it costs an employee in practice. See every guide → 1 in-depth guides Renewing and switching What happens at renewal, why premiums rise, and what you keep or lose when you move to another insurer. See every guide → 1 in-depth guides NHS waiting lists and going private What NHS waits actually look like by specialty and trust, and how private cover changes the picture. See every guide →