Some UK health insurance companies are run for profit inside groups owned by shareholders, as AXA Health, Aviva and Vitality are; others, including Bupa, WPA, The Exeter, National Friendly and Benenden Health, have no shareholders and say they put their surplus back into the business. Both kinds can make a profit. The difference is who it belongs to, and neither ownership type sets your price or your cover, which come from the policy. If you are choosing which insurers to ask for a quote, the quote form on this page lets an FCA-authorised broker ring you to compare insurers' offers, at no charge.
Which UK health insurers are for profit? Ownership, name by name
The table records who owns each of the better-known names, taken from the insurer's own pages or, where ownership runs through a chain of companies, from Companies House. It describes ownership only. It is not a ranking and says nothing about the quality of the cover.
| Insurer | Shareholders? | Ownership, and where it is stated |
|---|---|---|
| Bupa | None | Says it has no shareholders and reinvests profits (bupa.com, About us, read 21 October 2026) |
| WPA | None | Describes itself as a not-for-profit (wpa.org.uk, About, read 21 October 2026) |
| The Exeter | None | A mutual; trading name of Exeter Friendly Society Limited, and policyholders become members (the-exeter.com, Why us, read 21 October 2026) |
| National Friendly | None | A mutual society owned by its members; trading name of National Deposit Friendly Society Limited (My PMI Policy Conditions, PMI PC 08.26, page 20) |
| Benenden Health | None | A mutual and not-for-profit; trading name of The Benenden Healthcare Society Limited, a friendly society (benenden.co.uk, read 21 October 2026) |
| AXA Health | Yes, through the AXA Group | Its insurer, AXA PPP healthcare Limited, is wholly owned by AXA Insurance UK PLC and part of the global AXA Group (axahealth.co.uk, Legal information, © 2026) |
| Aviva | Yes, through Aviva plc | Its insurer, Aviva Insurance Limited, is controlled by Aviva Group Holdings Limited, which Aviva plc controls (Companies House, read 21 October 2026) |
| Vitality | Yes, through Discovery | Its insurer, Vitality Health Limited, sits at the foot of a chain of companies controlled by Discovery Limited, incorporated in South Africa (Companies House, read 21 October 2026) |
A brand and the company that carries the risk are not always the same thing. The policy document names the underwriter, and the FCA register and Companies House can both be searched free by anyone who wants to trace a company further back.
Bupa and WPA: no shareholders, and profits put back
Bupa's group website puts its position in two sentences: "With no shareholders, our customers are our focus. We reinvest profits into providing exceptional healthcare experiences for the benefit of current and future customers." The name stands for British United Provident Association, which the Bupa page explains alongside what a policy buys.
WPA, the Western Provident Association, takes the same line on its About page: "As a not-for-profit, we reinvest back into improving our services and keeping premiums competitive for our members." It traces its origins to 1901 and the Reading Working Peoples' Hospital Contributory Fund, which workers paid into from their wages. What happens at each stage of a WPA claim is covered in the WPA page.
Both are statements about where money goes. Neither compares its prices or its cover with another insurer's, so neither tells you whether its policy would cost you more or less than a rival's for the same cover.
Mutuals and friendly societies: The Exeter, National Friendly and Benenden
A mutual has members rather than shareholders. The Exeter, the trading name of Exeter Friendly Society Limited, says on its Why us page that "With no shareholders demanding dividends, we’re free to re-invest all our profits in the things that are important to our customers and advisers." The same page says a policyholder automatically becomes a member, and is candid about the other half of the picture: "Like any business we strive to make profit." Having no shareholders, in other words, changes who a profit is for. It does not mean there is none.
National Friendly, the trading name of National Deposit Friendly Society Limited, sets its status out inside the policy itself. Page 20 of its My PMI Policy Conditions (print code PMI PC 08.26), under "About National Friendly", says: "As a mutual society we’re owned by our members and so all of our profits are invested in improving member benefits and our service to our customers, instead of paying dividends to shareholders." The same section says policyholders are automatically members, "have voting rights", and can attend the society's Annual General Meeting.
If the question that brought you here is really a renewal letter from either one, see why an Exeter premium goes up or the National Friendly renewal page.
Benenden Health: mutual membership on a discretionary basis
Benenden's About page opens its account of itself with "We're a mutual", then adds: "As a not-for-profit organisation, with no shareholders, we prioritise our members' interests over maximising profits, reinvesting surplus income back into the business to enhance our services."
Its regulatory page, read on 21 October 2026, is the one to read for the legal basis. Under the Benenden Healthcare heading it says Benenden Health is the trading name of The Benenden Healthcare Society Limited, an incorporated friendly society, and that "The Society’s contractual business (the provision of tuberculosis benefit) is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority". The next sentence reads: "The remainder of the Society’s business is undertaken on a discretionary basis."
If you are setting a membership of that kind against private medical insurance, a broker can explain how a private medical insurance policy differs and price one for you. Requesting that conversation through this page's form is free.
AXA Health, Aviva and Vitality: insurers inside shareholder-owned groups
AXA Health's legal information page says its policies are underwritten by AXA PPP healthcare Limited, and that "AXA PPP healthcare Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC and part of the global AXA Group." At group level, AXA's capital-ownership table for 31 December 2025, on axa.com, shows most of its shares held by the general public, with smaller holdings by AXA's own mutual insurance companies and by its employees and agents. AXA Health's About us page dates its place in the group to the time "AXA bought PPP's owner, Guardian Royal Exchange".
Aviva's case shows why underwriting and ownership need keeping apart. The March 2026 edition of its health policy guide (AV1590050_GEN6842_0326; check the terms sent with your quote) says on page 2: "This policy is underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited and administered by Aviva Health UK Limited." That tells you who carries the risk, not who owns it. On ownership, the same page describes Aviva Health UK Limited as "a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva Insurance Limited". Above that, Companies House records Aviva Group Holdings Limited as holding three-quarters or more of the shares in Aviva Insurance Limited, and Aviva plc as holding three-quarters or more of Aviva Group Holdings; both entries were notified on 6 April 2016 and were still active when read on 21 October 2026. Aviva plc itself belongs to its shareholders, and aviva.com publishes a shareholder profile as at 31 December 2025.
Vitality's Membership Guide (print code VHTCR0002 08/2024, a copy hosted on mytribeinsurance.co.uk) names the insurer on page 44 as Vitality Health Limited, company number 05051253. Companies House lists that company's previous name as Prudential Health Limited, and traces control up through Vitality Health Insurance Limited, Vitality Life Limited, Vitality UK Holdings Limited and Discovery Group Europe Limited to Discovery Limited, incorporated in South Africa. Each link is recorded as three-quarters or more of the shares; the entries were notified on 6 April 2016 and were active when read on 21 October 2026.
To see what these groups' policies actually pay for, rather than who owns them, the provider comparison sets one document from each of eight insurers side by side.
What ownership tells a buyer, and what it leaves out
Ownership tells you who a profit or surplus finally belongs to, and what the insurer says it does with it. It does not tell you the premium, the hospital list, the excess, how an existing condition is treated or how a claim is handled. Those are in the policy wording and the quote, and a policy from either kind of insurer renews each year at a new price.
So the useful questions are the same whoever owns the insurer:
- What is the full price for the exact cover I want, with this excess and this hospital list?
- How would my existing conditions be treated, and could that change at renewal?
- Is this an insurance contract or a discretionary membership?
- Which company underwrites it, and is that company on the FCA register?
To get those answered with real figures beside them, ask for a call-back through the quote form here; a broker will phone and go through prices for the cover you have in mind.
Health insurers and profit: other questions
Are medical insurance companies non-profit in the UK?
Some describe themselves that way. Of the names in the table, Bupa, WPA, The Exeter, National Friendly and Benenden Health say they have no shareholders, while AXA Health, Aviva and Vitality sit inside groups that do.
Are health insurance companies publicly traded?
Some of the groups behind them are. Aviva plc shows its share price and runs shareholder services on aviva.com, and AXA publishes a breakdown of who holds its shares. Bupa has no shareholders, so there is no Bupa share to buy.
Were health insurers ever non-profit?
Several UK names began as hospital funds or provident associations, and some still have no shareholders. WPA traces itself to a workers' hospital fund of 1901, Benenden says it has served members since 1905, and Bupa says it has been part of people's lives since 1947.
How do health insurance companies make money?
An insurer collects premiums and pays claims and its running costs out of them; what is left over is its profit or surplus. A shareholder-owned group can pay part of that out as dividends, while the mutuals and not-for-profits above say theirs goes back into the business.