The Exeter's Health+ is private medical insurance from a friendly society, built for acute conditions: in-patient and day-patient treatment, out-patient surgery, CT, MRI and PET scans and cancer care once diagnosed are unlimited as standard, out-patient consultations, therapies and mental health are add-ons, and ongoing care for chronic conditions is not covered. Whether that makes it good depends on what you want paid for, and the policy wording answers more of that than a star rating can. Quotes for Health+ on your own age and postcode are something an FCA-authorised broker can arrange, and the enquiry form on this page leads to a free phone call.

How one Health+ policy differs from the next

Health+ is assembled from choices: a treatment option (guided specialist or one of three hospital lists), an excess, up to four add-ons, an underwriting basis, and either a No Claims Discount or community-rated pricing. Two people can hold quite different policies under the same name, so one customer's account of a refused claim describes that person's contract, not necessarily yours.

The sections below follow the wording that decides a claim, taken from the Health+ Policy Document (MKTG762, dated July 2026) and the Insurance Product Information Document, or IPID (MKTG770, dated June 2026), both on The Exeter's website and read on 21 October 2026. The Exeter reissues its terms, so check the edition sent with your own quote.

Exeter Friendly Society, its members' vote and the complaints route

The legal entity behind the brand name is Exeter Friendly Society Limited, a friendly society incorporated under the Friendly Societies Act 1992 and answerable to both the PRA and the FCA (Policy Document, page 36). The Policy Document says that "Members of Health+ will also become members of The Exeter", and that members over 18 may vote at the Annual General Meeting, which gives them "a say in how we’re run" (page 3). None of that is a promise about price or claims.

If you are unhappy with a decision, the Policy Document sets out a route: complain to The Exeter, then an impartial complaints handler, and then the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free to use, if the complaint is unresolved or there has been no response within 8 weeks (page 33). The Exeter is also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so you may be entitled to compensation if it became insolvent and could not meet its obligations (page 34).

What Health+ pays for as standard, and what you add

The Exeter describes Health+ as "designed to give you quick access to private healthcare in the UK, for acute conditions that are likely to respond to treatment" (IPID, page 1). The standard cover in the Policy Document (page 10) includes:

  • in-patient and day-patient treatment, with specialist fees, diagnostic tests, pre-admission tests and hospital charges, shown as unlimited;
  • out-patient surgery, and CT, MRI and PET scans, both unlimited;
  • post-operative physiotherapy, up to 3 sessions per procedure;
  • home nursing after in-patient or day-patient treatment, private ambulance and parental accommodation;
  • an NHS cash benefit when you choose free NHS treatment for something the policy would have covered: £250 for each in-patient night or £150 for each day-patient day, to a ceiling of £10,000 per policy year.

Cancer is part of the standard cover. The IPID says it gives "Cover for all stages of cancer once diagnosed, including palliative and terminal treatment, with no time or financial limit." Note the words "once diagnosed": consultations and tests to reach a diagnosis fall under the out-patient or unlimited out-patient diagnostics add-on, if you chose one, or, for scans and in-patient or day-patient procedures, core cover (Policy Document, page 13). Drug therapy for cancer is covered where it has NICE approval for clinical effectiveness.

That NICE rule applies across the policy. The Policy Document says: "Treatments that have not been approved by NICE for clinical effectiveness are not covered under this policy." (page 12). Anyone who expects a specialist's preferred new drug to be paid automatically should read that sentence and ask about it before buying.

Four optional add-ons sit on top (page 11). Out-patient cover, for specialist consultation fees and diagnostic tests, comes as unlimited, up to £1,000, up to £500 or no cover. Unlimited out-patient diagnostics can be added where you take £500 or £1,000. Therapies (physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, acupuncture, podiatry, speech therapy, pain clinic and dietician) is offered at unlimited, £1,000, £500 or none, with a maximum of two dietician consultations for each member per policy year. Mental health is offered simply as cover or no cover. Taken, it pays without a cap for out-patient care, meaning consultation fees and diagnostic tests from a psychiatrist, psychologist or CBT therapist (Policy Document, page 11), and in-patient and day-patient care is "limited to 28 days of treatment and hospital charges" (IPID, page 1), counted for each member each policy year. Without that add-on, mental and psychological treatment is not insured. Pricing a bare-bones Health+ against one with every add-on shows what each choice does to your premium.

The choices that shape your policy

Guided specialist or a hospital list

Four treatment options are on offer: guided specialist, or a hospital list at essential, standard or extended level. With guided specialist you ask your GP for an open referral, which names the type of specialist and not the individual, and you are then offered up to three named specialists to choose from (page 7), and eligible specialist fees are paid in full (page 12). With a hospital list you may only be treated at hospitals on your list, and since the lists often change, the Policy Document tells you to confirm with The Exeter before arranging treatment (page 5). Fees on a list option are paid up to the amounts in The Exeter's fee schedule, and any shortfall is yours (page 12). The lists themselves are covered on The Exeter hospital list explained.

Excess

Seven excess levels are offered: nil, £100, £250, £500, £1,000, £3,000 and £5,000, each applying per member per policy year (page 19). A course of treatment that runs from one policy year into the next meets the excess again. Generally, taking a higher excess brings the premium down, though how far depends on your age, postcode and other choices.

Underwriting

The policy certificate records which underwriting basis applies, and the options depend on whether you are new to insurance or switching. The Policy Document (page 27) lists full medical underwriting, standard moratorium, continued personal medical exclusions and continued moratorium. Under a standard moratorium, a condition is left out if you had symptoms, medication, treatment or advice for it during the five years before the policy began; it can come back into cover if you then go a continuous two years from the start without any of those. If you claim under a moratorium, The Exeter "may request up to five years of medical records in English", and where they cannot be provided it may not pay. How these choices play out for a given condition is worked through on The Exeter and pre-existing conditions.

No Claims Discount or community rating

Premiums are either on a No Claims Discount scale or community rated. The scale has 15 levels and a maximum discount of 75%, and a discount, if you have one, is shown on your Policy Certificate (page 5). Which one you hold decides how a claim affects your renewal price, and why Health+ premiums rise at renewal goes through the scale level by level, so it is not repeated here. What it costs to start is on what Health+ costs.

Before settling on a combination of treatment option, excess and add-ons, it helps to see them priced together. Health+ quotes on your own age and postcode can come from the broker, and asking costs nothing.

Where Health+ stops

The IPID lists what is not insured (page 1). The items readers most often meet include:

  • treatment or monitoring of ongoing, recurrent and long-term conditions, which The Exeter calls chronic conditions, and which the Policy Document says include illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and multiple sclerosis (page 21), though that exclusion does not apply to cancer treatment; for a condition it treats as chronic, The Exeter pays for the initial investigations and up to three months of treatment to stabilise it, and pays for an acute episode such as an asthma attack that leads to hospital admission (page 24);
  • pre-existing conditions, which depend on the underwriting type;
  • dental care, and treatment by your GP, optician, dentist or orthodontist;
  • pregnancy, family planning and sexual health;
  • emergency treatment until a consultant has decided you can transfer to private facilities and The Exeter has authorised it; the Policy Document confirms that care in an A&E unit or urgent care centre is not covered (page 8);
  • cosmetic surgery, weight-loss surgery, renal dialysis and major organ transplants.

One condition on every claim: "Claims must be authorised by us before any consultations, tests or treatment" (page 8). If you do not ring first, the claim may not be paid.

Eligibility also has limits. You must have the legal right to reside in the UK and live there for at least 183 days in each policy year, and be registered with a UK GP (Policy Document, page 6). The cover is for private healthcare in the UK only.

Who Health+ may suit, and who may want to look further

These are questions for you, not a verdict from this page. Health+ may fit someone who wants a policy they can build up in steps: a core that pays for hospital treatment and cancer, with out-patient, therapies and mental health only if wanted. A person who values the friendly society structure, or who likes the idea of earning a discount by staying claim-free, may find the No Claims Discount structure attractive. It matters less to someone who already expects to claim often.

It may suit less well a person who needs routine, continuing care for a long-term condition, because chronic conditions are excluded, or one who wants every new drug paid regardless of the NICE test. Someone who wants a very wide choice of private hospitals will want to compare the hospital list options with those of other insurers. How Health+ stands against another insurer, side by side, is on The Exeter against Bupa.

Four more things readers ask about Health+

Is Exeter health insurance good?

It depends on what you want paid for. Health+ is built for acute, treatable conditions, with unlimited standard cover for hospital treatment and cancer once diagnosed, and it excludes chronic conditions. That is a sound design for some readers and a poor match for others. A broker can explain the fit for your situation on the call-back.

Is The Exeter a good health insurance company?

Judge it on what you can check: it is a friendly society authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA, it is covered by the FSCS, and a complaint it cannot resolve within 8 weeks can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Does Exeter health insurance renew every year?

Yes, Health+ is an annual policy. The Policy Document says "You can expect to be able to renew year after year as long as Health + is still being offered" (page 28). In rare cases The Exeter may decide not to renew a policy, and it says it will always give due notice; before each renewal date it writes with the coming year's terms and premium.

Can I change my Health+ cover after buying it?

Only at renewal. Lowering cover (dropping an add-on, raising the excess, or moving to a smaller hospital list or to guided specialist) reduces the premium; adding cover needs every member to be free of an open claim, and The Exeter asks members for an update on their health so it can decide whether to accept (Policy Document, page 29). Cancelling is different: you can do it at any time, and within 30 days of the start date, with no claims made, the premium is refunded in full (IPID, page 2).

If Health+ is on your shortlist, the form here puts you in touch with the broker, who can go through the options with you by phone, free.