To change medical insurance, you apply to the new insurer, ask it to carry your existing underwriting terms across, and end the old policy only once the new one is confirmed in writing. The order matters because what a careless switch can cost you is not money but cover for a condition you already have. Before you decide, use the form here to ask for a free call-back; the FCA-authorised broker who phones can check whether insurers it works with would take on your current terms.

Can you change private health insurance, and does your history go with you?

Yes: you can move, usually at renewal and on some policies part-way through the year. What does not travel automatically is the underwriting: how your past conditions are treated is the new insurer's decision, made afresh. The helpful outcome has a standard name, continued personal medical exclusions (CPME, also called switch terms). Bupa's By You policy guide (BINS 14718, © Bupa 2024, page 12, read 21 October 2026) shows the shape. Where your previous policy was fully medically underwritten, Bupa "may agree to continue with your underwriting terms from your previous policy", looks at your history first so it can name any condition left out, and sets a rule: "We need to agree to this, and there must be no break in your cover."

So the conditions come before any price: the new insurer reviews and must agree, and cover must be continuous. What moves and what restarts is on the switching page.

Continued exclusions, switch moratorium, history disregarded: what insurers' wording says

Which route is open depends on what you hold now.

  • From full medical underwriting. Aviva's terms say it applies "the same personal medical exclusions for pre-existing conditions that were applied by your previous insurer, if any", and add that "New exclusions may be added to your policy based on the answers you have provided or are required to provide on your application." (Aviva, Healthier Solutions Terms and conditions for policies started or renewed before 1 November 2026, print code GEN6842_0326, page 28 of the PDF.) Vitality, after a short health questionnaire, accepts on either the same exclusions or the same plus extra ones of its own (Vitality, Membership Guide, print code VHTCR0002 08/2024, page 31, from a copy hosted by mytribeinsurance.co.uk).
  • From a moratorium. Bupa's moratorium switch applies when there is "no break in your cover", and "Your moratorium start date continues from your previous policy", with the caveat that your history may be checked and some conditions left out (page 12). Aviva counts from "the date you started cover with your first insurer (provided there has been no break in cover since then)" (page 28). AXA says "the rules of your moratorium may be slightly different, and we may start the moratorium from when it originally began on your previous insurance" (AXA Health, Personal Health membership handbook, October 2024, PDF page 14, from a copy hosted by the intermediary more-health.co.uk). Vitality's clause can apply "but backdated to when your cover first started with your previous insurer", in one version with extra exclusions from your start date with Vitality (page 31).
  • From a company scheme. AXA says it normally accepts on medical history disregarded only when "continuing cover from a different health insurer or from a company membership", or for a newborn added to a membership (PDF page 14).

Some insurers state their own gates. WPA says a CPME transfer needs "continuous insurance cover on an FMU or CPME basis" since the full underwriting, asks for the certificate from the current insurer, and may add exclusions (WPA Complete Health brochure, effective 1 October 2026, page 25). Saga says the option is "only available if you already have cover with another insurer, subject to your medical history over the previous 12 months" (Saga Healthplan Super policy book, May 2025, page 41). Saga also says the premium on continued exclusions "will be more than the Moratorium and Full Medical Underwriting options", because those routes give no cover for pre-existing conditions that continued exclusions may keep covered. That is Saga's statement about its own plan, not a rule for other insurers.

Which of these you qualify for turns on what you hold, when it started and whether you have had a break. Hand a broker your certificate and dates when they ring back after your form is sent, and they can put the question to several insurers in one conversation, at no cost.

What can still change on the new policy when your exclusions carry over

Continued terms carry your list of exclusions, not every other feature of the old plan. Freedom's Elite Policyholder’s Guide to Cover (footer dated 01/04/2025, page 37, read 21 October 2026) is blunt about it: "Transferring to us does not mean you can claim the same benefits as those on the previous policy and we do not guarantee we will continue to pay for treatment that started, and may have already been paid for, under a previous policy." The next line requires a call to its claims helpline before any further treatment, to make sure it is covered.

The same guide says an endorsement on a previous policy "will continue under this policy with us" (page 37), and on excess it warns that a transfer "may mean an excess now applies to a claim that did not apply under the previous policy", or that the amount or type of excess has changed (page 31). Vitality notes that "the benefits, terms and conditions of this plan may be different from those of your previous plan" and that it "may be unable to authorise any eligible claims if we do not receive your previous insurer’s membership certificate" (page 31). So keep the old certificate safe. One Vitality term works in your favour: for switch joiners, time covered by the previous insurer counts towards the childbirth cash benefit's waiting period (page 13).

When to change: at renewal, or part-way through the year

Renewal is the natural point. Bupa describes its policy as "one year’s insurance" that renews automatically while you keep paying, and says it can change terms, premiums and cover at the renewal date, writing at least 28 days beforehand (Bupa, page 41; page 43). That answers whether health insurance rates change: on that wording they can, at each renewal, and the letter comes before the date. For why a renewal price rises and what you can change without leaving, see the renewal price page.

A change you do not accept: Bupa's 28-day clause

People searching for a detrimental change to their cover are usually asking whether they can leave if the insurer makes things worse. Bupa's wording on page 43 gives one answer: "If you don’t accept any of the changes you can cancel your Bupa By You health insurance policy within 28 days of the date on which the change takes effect, or 28 days of Bupa letting you know about the change, whichever is later." That is Bupa's clause for Bupa By You; whether another policy offers a comparable right is set by its own terms.

Mid-year changes are the less tidy case, because the exit costs depend on the policy. WPA describes its policy as an annual contract with cover starting from "your chosen start date, once we accept you as a customer in writing" (WPA Complete Health product information, effective 1 November 2025, page 2), which is useful: you choose the new start date, so you can line it up with the old policy's end.

Ending the old policy without a gap or paying twice

The exit terms differ enough to change when you should give notice. Four insurers' wording, as quoted:

  • Bupa: "You can end your cover ... at any time", and "We’ll refund any premiums you’ve paid for the period after your cover ends" (page 41).
  • AXA Health: after the cooling-off period, "if you pay monthly you can cancel your plan from the next monthly payment date", while an annual payer gets a pro-rata refund "based on whole months remaining in the year", less "an administration fee of £20 and the costs of any claims for that year" (PDF pages 34 to 35 of the intermediary-hosted copy).
  • WPA: "Where payment of premium has been made by monthly instalments you will not be entitled to a refund", and after a claim the rest of the year's monthly instalments fall due on cancellation; an annual payer is "entitled to a pro-rata refund", but "No premium is refundable if you have made a claim in the Policy year" (page 2).
  • The Exeter: "You can cancel your policy at any time", with a full refund if you cancel within 30 days of the start date and have made no claims (Health+ product information, June 2026, page 2).

Aviva's and Vitality's clauses on leaving early are on the page on cancelling private health insurance, and there is a page specifically for cancelling Bupa.

Set side by side, these terms show why the end date matters. Where a monthly payer can leave only from the next payment date, or gets nothing back, a new policy that starts earlier means two sets of premiums for the overlap. Where the new start falls after the old end, the days between are uninsured, and with carry-over wording that turns on "no break in your cover", a gap can cost more than the premiums. Get your current insurer's cancellation date and any refund in writing; the full order of steps is on the switching page.

Changing medical insurance: quick answers

Can I change private health insurance companies anytime?

You can apply to a new insurer whenever you like, and some policies let you end cover part-way through the year, on terms that differ by insurer (see the list above). Renewal is the usual point, because nothing paid for is left unused.

Can health insurance rates change at any time?

Bupa's wording ties changes to premiums and terms to the renewal date. AXA's handbook names mid-year exceptions: a change you make to your membership during the year, or a change in the Insurance Premium Tax rate or new taxes (PDF page 35). For other policies, the call-back from the form is a free chance to have a broker explain when the price can move.

Can I change my health insurance agent?

The policy is with the insurer, so changing who arranged it does not by itself end your cover. How a servicing change is handled depends on the arrangement you have, so ask the firm you use, and see how a broker differs from an agent.

What the broker will want to know

The first questions on the call are about what you hold: the underwriting basis printed on your certificate, the date you were first insured without a break, and anything treated since. Send the form with those to hand, and a few minutes with the broker who rings back can show whether your terms could travel, before the old policy is touched.