If you live in the UK, you can almost certainly get private health insurance, and you can get private healthcare without any insurance at all. The harder question is which way in suits you: a scheme through your job, a policy you buy yourself from an insurer, the same policy arranged by a broker, or paying a hospital directly when you need treatment. A broker can work out what a policy would cost someone of your age, health and postcode. If you want that figure, the form on this page passes what you enter to one FCA-authorised broker, at no charge to you.
This page answers the entry questions, who can buy and by which route, then hands you on. The decisions that follow a choice to buy are taken in order in our step-by-step buyer's guide, and the vocabulary of a quote is explained on what private health insurance is.
Can I get private health insurance in the UK?
For most adults who live here, yes. Of three things an insurer looks at, residence is the one likely to rule you out; the other two mostly change the price or the cover.
Where you live. Policies sold here are generally written for UK residents. The Exeter's Health+ product summary (MKTG770, June 2026 issue, read 21 October 2026), for one, sets two tests: a legal right to live in the UK, and physically living here for at least 183 days in each policy year; it is quoted in full on our page on getting a quote online. It turns on residence, not nationality, so a non-UK national living here is not barred by it; whether any other insurer attaches conditions for newcomers is for that insurer to say, and the broker who rings you back after the form is submitted can ask on your behalf, free (see private health insurance for non-UK nationals). For a short visit, cover written for residents is generally the wrong product (see private health insurance for visitors to the UK).
Your age. Whether there is a lower or upper age for buying depends on the insurer, so ask before you apply. Of everything a quote weighs, age generally counts most, and older buyers have a page on cost and quotes.
Your health. A history seldom stops you buying, but it shapes what you buy. Cover is built around problems that arise after the start date, so something already in your notes is, as a starting point, left out. If one known condition is why you are looking, start with whether insurers cover pre-existing conditions; it may send you to a different way in.
Do you need it, and why do people get it?
No one in the UK is required to hold health insurance, and holding it does not alter your NHS entitlement. Our page on free NHS care and what a policy adds takes that further.
People who buy usually want one of three things: treatment without an NHS queue, which counts for more where local waits are long or time off work costs income; a say in hospital, specialist and date, within the policy's list; and, with out-patient cover, quick access to the consultations and scans that find out what is wrong. Against that, emergencies, GP care and existing conditions stay outside, and the premium is owed whether you claim or not. Weighing that for yourself is the subject of our page on whether it is worth it, and waiting figures by specialty and provider sit on the comparison with the NHS.
On timing, whether an insurer limits when you can join is worth a quick question to it or to a broker, but your health is the clock that matters most: a condition that shows up before you join counts as pre-existing, so the same cover reaches further if bought while you are well. Our page on how to buy picks up at the application.
How to get private healthcare in the UK: the four ways in
Through your employer. Check this first: for many people, cover comes with a job. The employer holds the policy and chooses its settings, and some schemes are kinder to existing conditions than a personal policy, which only the scheme documents can confirm. It is rarely free to you: employer-funded cover usually counts as a taxable benefit in kind, though that is our reading, not tax advice; the page on tax goes further. It also tends to end when the job does. The employee's side of it is on our page on cover through work.
Direct from an insurer. Any insurer selling personal cover will deal with you with nobody in between. It is quick if you already know whose policy you want, and slow if you do not, since each insurer you try means another application.
Through a broker. A broker is a firm authorised to arrange cover with insurers it does not own. You set out what you want once and it brings back prices from its panel of insurers, which may be wide or narrow; whether its price beats going direct is not something to assume either way, and nothing stops you checking both. What a broker does and what one costs you have pages of their own.
Paying the hospital yourself. Private hospitals, and the private units in some NHS hospitals, treat patients who settle their own bills. There is no premium and no exclusions list; you meet the full cost of each treatment when it happens, which is why this is often the private route for a condition a new policy would exclude. The NHS comparison page lists cash prices for common operations. For routine bills such as dental check-ups, glasses or physio, look instead at health cash plans, a different and usually cheaper product.
| Way in | Who pays | Who sets the cover | Conditions you already have | When it stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employer scheme | The employer, with tax usually due from you | The employer | Depends on the scheme; ask HR | Usually when you leave the job |
| Policy bought direct | You | You, within one insurer's options | Generally excluded at first | When you cancel or stop renewing |
| Policy through a broker | You, to the insurer | You, across the broker's panel | Generally excluded at first | When you cancel or stop renewing |
| Paying the hospital | You, per treatment | You and the hospital, case by case | Treatable if you pay | Nothing to stop |
The table is a sketch, not anyone's terms; confirm each cell for the scheme or policy in front of you.
Which way in fits you: five questions, in order
The order matters, because an early answer can settle the rest.
- Does anyone in the household have cover through work? A personal policy may still be worth pricing, for people the scheme leaves out or for when the job ends.
- Is the worry already in your medical notes? A new policy will probably exclude it, so for that condition the comparison is self-pay against the NHS. Cover can still make sense for whatever else might go wrong.
- Is it routine costs rather than operations? A cash plan is built for that, and a full policy may be more than you need.
- Would a large, unexpected bill or a long wait be a real problem for you? That is the risk a policy exists to carry. If neither would trouble you, the case for a yearly premium is weaker.
- Do you know which insurer you want? If so, going direct is quick. If not, or if you want several prices on the same choices, a broker does that in one conversation.
After that, the choices are about who goes on the policy, what it includes, how your history is underwritten and which settings move the price, and the buyer's guide takes them in turn.
Five things to put to a broker on the first call
Someone who sees many buyers can test your answers to the questions above. Ask these before any quote:
- I have cover through work. Is a personal policy worth pricing alongside it, and what would happen to my cover if I left?
- Given what is already in my medical history, what would a policy realistically leave out for me, and on which underwriting route?
- I spend part of the year abroad, or I moved here recently. Will the insurers you can quote accept me as a UK resident?
- I have an insurer in mind. Can you quote it, and if not, should I approach it directly?
- What will you need from me to give a price, and how long does that take?
Those answers usually narrow the four ways in to one. To get them for your own household, send the short form here; the firm we work with will take them up; asking costs nothing, and going direct afterwards stays open.
Other things people search for
What does health insurance actually do in the UK?
It funds private specialist care for new, treatable conditions, so you need not wait for the NHS to provide it, while A&E and your GP remain NHS services. Our page on what it is draws that line in detail.
What is a health insurance intermediary?
A firm that arranges cover between you and an insurer; in everyday use, a broker. Check any intermediary on the FCA's public register before giving it your details. The other labels you may meet are explained on broker or agent: what's the difference.
Does private health insurance cover physiotherapy?
Often, but how depends on the policy: on some it comes with out-patient cover, on others as an add-on, and the limit is not always expressed the same way. How several insurers word the therapy line is set out on what private health insurance includes.
Which private health insurance is best in the UK?
No single insurer is best for everyone: each policy is underwritten on your history and priced on your age and postcode, and which insurer to choose sets out what does separate them. If the "which" in your search meant Which?, the consumer organisation, this page does not quote or summarise its views; read them on its own site.
Health insurance in Exeter: the insurer or the city?
If you meant The Exeter, it is an insurer, and its Health+ product summary is quoted on what private health insurance includes. If you meant cover where you live, policies are sold UK-wide; your postcode moves the price, so check that hospitals near you are on the list offered (hospital lists explained shows how).
By now you may know which way in suits you. If a policy is what you want, the last piece is a price built from your own details: add a name and number to the form and the authorised broker we introduce can ask several insurers for figures.