Applying for health insurance online through a broker

You apply for health insurance through a broker in two stages: a short online form, then a phone call. The first stage is the form on this page. It asks for just a name, an age band, a postcode, a phone number and an email address; an FCA-authorised broker then rings you back, free of charge. Nothing about your health, budget or wanted cover goes into it, because the call is where your cover is worked out and priced. Send it when you are ready, and use the rest of this page to know what to ask for before you agree to anything.

Why the form asks for so little

The five fields exist so that a person can ring you. They are not an application, and sending them neither buys a policy nor commits you to one. Medical details and anything about a policy you already hold belong in the conversation, not in the form. The questions that decide what you can be offered, and at what price, are put to you on the call, where you can ask what a question means before you answer it.

On the call: what you are asked and what you are shown

The questions have a legal reason as well as a practical one. The FCA's rules for selling insurance (the Insurance: Conduct of Business sourcebook, ICOBS) say that before a contract is concluded a firm "must specify, on the basis of information obtained from the customer, the demands and the needs of that customer", and that the details "must be modulated according to the complexity of the contract of insurance proposed and the type of customer" (ICOBS 5.2.2R, read on the FCA Handbook site on 22 October 2026). Expect to be asked who the policy is for, what you want it to pay for, your budget and your medical history, though each firm sets its own questions.

How your medical history counts depends on the underwriting basis you choose. Under full medical underwriting the insurer generally asks for your history at the outset; under a moratorium, conditions you had before joining are generally left out for a set period, on terms that differ by insurer. Our page on how underwriting works explains the shapes. Answer any health questions fully and accurately.

Then come the options. A broker can only compare the insurers it has arrangements with, so ask early which insurers those are and which well-known names are not among them. Ask, too, what each option leaves out: a higher excess or a narrower hospital list generally brings the premium down. Whether one insurer will take a particular condition, and on what terms, is something a broker can check for you at no charge once it rings you back.

The three documents to receive before you say yes

Ask for these in writing before you agree to buy.

• A statement of your demands and needs. The same rule continues: "A statement of the demands and needs must be communicated to the customer prior to the conclusion of a contract of insurance." Guidance at ICOBS 5.2.4G adds: "Once the firm has obtained information from the customer and ensured the contract of insurance is consistent with the demands and needs, the format of a statement of demands and needs is flexible." Its examples for sales without a personal recommendation include a statement in the application form or product documents, or a record of what was discussed.
• The IPID. ICOBS 6.1.10AR says: "A firm, when dealing with a consumer must provide the IPID information by way of an IPID for each policy (other than a pure protection contract)." Guidance at ICOBS 6.1.10BG says that in telephone selling a firm may provide this insurance product information document immediately after the policy is concluded, so ask for it before you agree. Behind it sits the general duty: a firm "must ensure that a customer is given appropriate information about a policy in good time and in a comprehensible form so that the customer can make an informed decision about the arrangements proposed" (ICOBS 6.1.5R(1)).
• The policy terms. The full wording is where exclusions, limits and the definitions that decide a claim sit. If something in it differs from what you remember being told, ask the broker to explain before the policy starts.

Fourteen days to change your mind, with conditions

ICOBS 7.1.1R gives a consumer "a right to cancel, without penalty and without giving any reason", within "30 days for a contract of insurance which is, or has elements of, a pure protection contract or payment protection contract" or "14 days for any other contract of insurance or distance contract". The FCA Glossary defines a pure protection contract as a long-term insurance contract whose benefits are payable only on death or in respect of incapacity. Private medical insurance pays towards treatment instead, so a standard policy normally falls in the 14-day group. Four conditions shape the right.

• When the 14 days start. Under ICOBS 7.1.5R the period begins on the day the contract is concluded, or on the day you receive the contractual terms and the other pre-contract information the sourcebook requires, if that is later.
• It is not always free of charge. ICOBS 7.2.2R says: "When a consumer exercises the right to cancel he may only be required to pay, without any undue delay, for the service actually provided by the firm in accordance with the contract." The charge must be in proportion to the cover already given against the whole contract and must not amount to a penalty. The firm cannot charge anything if it cannot prove you were told the amount, or if it started the cover within the period without your prior request. Guidance at ICOBS 7.2.3G says the amount may include an amount for the time on cover and a proportion of an intermediary's commission or fees sufficient to cover its costs.
• There are exceptions. ICOBS 7.1.3R lists contracts where the right does not apply. They include a policy fully performed by both sides at your express request before you cancel, and a general insurance contract that is neither a distance contract nor payment protection, sold by an unauthorised intermediary that is not an appointed representative.
• Insurers can go further. Guidance at ICOBS 7.1.2G lets a firm give longer or additional cancellation rights voluntarily, on terms at least as favourable as the rules unless the differences are clearly explained. Insurers' own terms set the detail: Aviva's and AXA Health's both run for 14 days, each with its own start point, and our general page on cancelling covers leaving later in the year.

Follow the cancellation instructions you are given; a paper or durable-medium notice dispatched before the deadline counts as in time (ICOBS 7.1.6R). Money you have paid comes back "without any undue delay and no later than within 30 days" of the firm receiving your notice, less anything the rules above allow it to keep (ICOBS 7.2.6R). Which party you notify, and how the period is counted for your policy, are questions the broker can answer free when it phones.

Buying from an insurer's website instead

Most large insurers sell direct, and nothing obliges you to use a broker. Online, you answer one insurer's questions and see only its products; through a broker you can see offers from the insurers that firm has arrangements with. Our broker, agent and direct comparison sets the routes side by side, and the page on online quote forms covers what an insurer's own form asks.

The documents above are not specific to one route. The demands-and-needs rule applies to an "insurance distributor", which the FCA Glossary defines as "an insurance intermediary or insurer", so an insurer selling to you direct is bound by it too. Ask for the demands and needs statement, the IPID and the policy terms whichever route you take. Do not assume either route is cheaper; quoting the same specification both ways is the test. If the phone call is what puts you off, that is the main argument for buying direct online.

Checking the broker on the FCA register

The firm that rings you should be one the FCA has authorised, with permission for insurance. The regulator's advice is: "Use the FCA Firm Checker before you buy a financial product or service, such as a mortgage, insurance or a funeral plan, for example." The Firm Checker "will tell you if the firm is authorised and has our permission to sell you the product or service" (FCA, How to check a firm or individual is authorised, last updated 22/09/2026). Ask for the firm's full name on the call and search for it yourself.

A firm that is not authorised, or lacks permission for what you need, leaves you without the Financial Ombudsman Service if you want to complain and without the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if it goes out of business, so getting your money back would be unlikely. A firm listed as an appointed representative works for a principal firm that is responsible for that business, and you can ask the principal what the representative has permission to do. Contact details on the register are provided and confirmed by the firm itself, so check that the entry and your caller match.

Put the same checks to the broker this page introduces as you would to any firm. A call-back is one short step away using the form on this page.

Applying through an agent or broker: three more questions

Is there an age limit or eligibility test?

Age limits and eligibility rules are set by each insurer in its own terms, so the answer depends on the insurer. The age band on the form gives the broker a starting point.

Do I have to decide during the call?

No. A quote is not a contract, and you can ask for the documents above and read them before you agree to anything. Once you have agreed, the cancellation rights above take over.

Can the policy cover my partner or children as well?

The form takes the details of the person the broker should ring. Who else is to be covered, and on what terms, is settled on the call, where the broker can explain each insurer's rules on partners and children.