The Exeter does not give Health+ buyers one hospital list. It gives a choice of four treatment options, and the hospital list is what three of them come with: a smaller list, a middle one and a larger one. The fourth route, guided specialist, has no list at all. The four options differ in which hospitals or specialists you can use, so it is worth having them priced against the places you would really go. The form on this page takes your contact details; the broker they go to is FCA-authorised and phones you back for nothing.
The four Health+ treatment options and where the list fits
The Exeter's Insurance Product Information Document for Health+ (code MKTG770, June 2026) names the choice as "A choice of four treatment options: Guided specialist, Essential hospital list, Standard hospital list, and Extended hospital list". The same document says the hospitals or specialists you may use depend on the treatment option you select, so the list you pick is part of what you are buying, not a detail added later.
The Exeter's hospital choices web page (viewed 29 October 2026) says that traditional cover brings a choice of three lists, Essential, Standard and Extended, "all of which include London hospitals", and that with guided there is no choice of list. The Policy Document (code MKTG762, July 2026) spells out the either-or: "If you selected guided specialist then your policy will not include a hospital list", and a policy with a list does not include guided specialist. Which hospitals sit on the Essential, Standard and Extended lists is not something to guess from the names. They are on the Exeter's own page, and a broker can tell you whether yours is on each.
The Exeter's own renewal rules show the direction: moving to a reduced hospital list or to guided specialist lowers the premium, and moving to a larger list raises it. How big that gap is on your cover only a quote shows.
Where to see your own list: certificate, website and the PDFs
The Policy Document defines the list in terms of your paperwork: "you are only eligible for treatment at hospitals on your chosen list, which will be shown on your Policy Certificate". Your certificate shows the treatment option you hold, and the website shows what each list contains. Entering a postcode on the hospital choices page makes the lists "re-order according to distance from your location", so you can see which list reaches the hospitals near you.
If you searched for a hospital list PDF, the downloads on the hospital choices page are the Health+ Product Guide, Policy Document and IPID, which explain the options and the rules; the lists themselves are on that page, ordered by your postcode. For the cancer benefit, the Policy Document gives the address of the hospital choices page for "an up to date list of eligible hospitals". If you would rather have the hospitals near you checked against each list than search them yourself, a broker can do that free on the call-back.
One warning from the Policy Document is worth acting on: "Hospital lists often change, so always check with us before arranging treatment". A list you read when you bought is not a promise about next year's. Look at the website again before you book anything.
What the list decides when you claim
The Exeter's Health+ rules make the treatment option the test of eligibility: "If you selected a hospital list, we will only pay for treatment at a hospital on your chosen list". A hospital that is not on the list is not covered under that option, even where the treatment itself would be. Claims must also be authorised before any consultations, tests or treatment, and the Policy Document warns that without authorisation the claim may not be paid.
The claim path differs by option. With a hospital list, your GP refers you, you contact the Exeter with the referral, and it uses the GP's letter to decide whether the claim is eligible. With guided specialist you ask the GP for an open referral and, if the claim is eligible, the Exeter offers a choice of up to three specialists.
The list also affects specialist fees. Under a hospital list, the Exeter pays "up to the amount published in our fee schedule"; if a specialist charges more than the schedule's maximum, "you will have to pay the remainder of the fee, this is commonly known as a shortfall". Under guided specialist, it says it pays eligible specialist fees in full. The fee schedule is published at the-exeter.com/feeschedule. Emergency treatment in an A&E unit or other urgent care centre is not covered, so the list is for planned, authorised care.
Weighing guided against a list comes down partly to that shortfall rule, and a broker can lay the two out with the same excess when they ring you.
Changing your list, or leaving it for guided
You can switch treatment option only at renewal, not part-way through the policy year, the Policy Document says. Moving down to a reduced hospital list or to guided specialist is set out there, with the premium reduced and the new figure confirmed before the change is made. Moving up, from guided to a list or to a larger list, can be made at renewal only if no members are claiming at the time, and the Exeter will ask for an update on medical information "to assess whether we can accept the change in cover". An upgrade raises the premium.
The Exeter adds that if you are claiming or receiving ongoing treatment, changing option may not be appropriate where you want to attend a specific hospital facility or see the same consultant. Think about whether you expect to need a particular hospital in the next year before you shrink the list to save on the premium. How age and the discount scale move the premium at renewal has its own page: why your Exeter premium goes up at renewal.
How other insurers set their lists, and where to compare
Insurers do not share a model. Bupa sells a Guided Care option alongside its lists, explained on Bupa's hospital list and Guided Care page, and AXA's approach is on AXA Health's hospital list page. WPA's Complete Health IPID (November 2025) describes a Premium Hospitals option to "Extend the choice of 1,000 hospitals, clinics and scanning centres across the UK by adding Premium Hospitals, primarily based in Central London". For how lists work across the market, see private health insurance hospital lists explained.
Exeter hospital list questions
Can I use a hospital that is not on my Exeter list?
Not for a hospital-list policy: the Exeter pays only for treatment at a hospital on the chosen list. Ask before you book, and a broker can check your hospital against each list on a free call-back.
Does the Extended list include London?
The Exeter's website says all three lists include London hospitals. Which London hospitals each list reaches is shown on its hospital choices page by postcode.
Does guided specialist mean I never see a hospital list?
Correct: the Policy Document says a policy has either guided specialist or a hospital list, not both. Instead, all your treatment is with a specialist the Exeter has helped you find, from a choice of up to three if the claim is eligible.
Who can check my own list before I buy?
Your certificate shows your option once you hold the policy, but the better time to find out is before you buy. Name the hospitals you would want to use when the broker calls, and the quote can be priced on the lists that reach them; the form here is where you ask for that call.