A Saga HealthPlan renewal that has come in higher puts a choice in front of you: pay it, change the policy so it comes down, or find out what comparable cover would cost from another insurer. A broker can run that comparison for you without charge, and the short form here is how you ask for one. Before deciding, it is worth knowing how the policy book explains a new premium, because it is far more specific about the no claims discount than about anything else.

The source throughout is one document: the Saga HealthPlan Super policy book, effective May 2025. It contains no premium figures and no percentage rises, so neither does this page.

How the policy book explains a new premium

The premium is worked out afresh each year rather than carried forward:

"This policy lasts for one year and at the start of each policy year we will calculate your new premium and let you know how much it is."

— Saga, Your Policy Book — HealthPlan Super, Super 4 Week Wait & Super 6 Week Wait, May 2025, page 31, read 4 September 2026.

The same page has a passage headed "Why do you make changes to my premium?", and its answer is about the whole book of policies rather than about you:

"We review premiums each year to take account of a range of statistical factors. Typically the cost of premiums has increased at a level higher than the Retail Price Index (RPI). You will receive reasonable notice of any changes in premium."

That gives three things: a yearly review, a “range” of statistical factors, and a record that premiums have typically risen faster than the RPI, a general measure of price inflation. The passage does not list the factors, and age, postcode and claims are not named in it. So a rise above inflation is what the book itself leads you to expect, and which factor moved your own figure is a question for Saga.

Who is the “we” in those sentences? The policy book answers on page 2: "Saga HealthPlan Super, Saga HealthPlan Super 4 and Saga HealthPlan Super 6 are underwritten by Bupa Insurance Limited, therefore any reference to ‘Bupa, we, us, our’ in this document means Bupa Insurance Limited." Every rule below is quoted from this Saga-branded book, and nothing has been carried across from Bupa's own policies; if you hold Bupa cover directly, our page on a Bupa renewal is the one to read.

Eleven levels, and what one claim does to yours

The mechanism the book sets out in most detail is the no claims discount, or NCD. It belongs to the policy, so everyone covered shares one level:

"Where nobody covered on the policy makes a claim The NCD for the policy is increased by one level at the following policy renewal date until level 10 is reached."

— policy book, page 31.

The scale on that page runs from level 0 to level 10, each a discount on the “basic premium rate”:

NCD level012345678910
Discount on basic premium rate (%)010202530354045505560

Table from page 31 of the policy book, May 2025.

Climbing is one level a year. Falling is quicker:

"For each claim made on the policy The NCD for the policy is reduced by two levels at the following policy renewal date for each claim made until level 0 is reached."

To illustrate, here is our own arithmetic on the table, not a Saga example: a policy at level 10 that records one claim drops to level 8, a 50 per cent discount in place of 60; a policy at level 3 drops to level 1, from 25 per cent to 10. Each later claim-free year wins back a single level. The pound effect depends on your basic premium rate, which only Saga can tell you.

Two details make the drop easier to trigger than people expect:

  • Size does not matter. For the NCD, a claim is "any amount of money we pay for providing treatment for one medical condition , no matter how small or how many eligible consultations, tests, scans or other surgical or medical services form part of the treatment". The book counts by condition, not by invoice. How a condition treated across two policy years is counted is worth asking about.
  • Anyone covered can trigger it. Because the level belongs to the policy, one person's claim lowers the discount for everyone on it.

If anyone on the policy was treated last year, start here. Ask Saga, in writing, for the NCD level on last year's policy and on this year's; set against the table, the difference shows how much discount the claim took away. Whatever is left of the rise belongs to the yearly review. If you would also like comparable cover priced elsewhere, a broker can do that from a short form.

Why a claim from last spring can bite this year

The level is not fixed on the renewal date itself:

"Your NCD level is calculated up to 3 months prior to your policy renewal date."

— policy book, page 32. The clause goes on to say that a claim paid in the calculation period "may not impact on your NCD until the following year’s renewal".

So a claim paid in the last few months before renewal may count at the next renewal instead, while one paid a year ago may be what this letter reflects. If the discount on the letter does not match your memory of the year, ask Saga which payments fell inside the period and at which renewal each one counts.

Paying a claim back, and the optional protection

The book describes two ways to hold on to a level, and they work very differently.

Paying back. The first is for small claims:

"If your treatment only costs a small amount, when you come to renew your policy, you can choose to pay us back for any claims paid during the previous year. If you do this within 30 days of the policy renewal date we will recalculate your premium so you continue to benefit from the NCD."

— policy book, page 32.

The 30 days run from the renewal date, and the clause is framed around treatment that cost “only a small amount” without saying how small. Before the 30 days run down, ask Saga for the amount you would repay and the recalculated premium side by side; those two numbers decide whether repaying is worth it.

Protection. The second is optional NCD protection. Where one claim was paid in the previous NCD year, the book says "you retain your current No Claim Discount level", and then adds:

"We will work out your renewal premium using this same level (please note, as your premium is based on a number of factors, your premium will still increase)."

— policy book, page 32.

So even a protected policy is told its premium will still increase, because the level is one input among several. A rise with protection in place does not mean the protection failed. The clause deals with a single claim, so if you are thinking of adding it, ask what it costs and what happens after a second claim in the same year.

Tax and changes to the policy: parts of the figure that are not your claims

Some of the figure has nothing to do with you. The premium has tax inside it:

"Your premium will also include the amount of any insurance premium tax or other taxes or levies which are payable by law in respect of your policy."

— policy book, page 31.

On that wording, the amount you are asked for already includes insurance premium tax, so a change in a tax or levy payable by law would show up inside it. Whether your letter shows the tax as a separate line is worth checking; our page on health insurance and tax covers the tax itself.

The other cause is a change to what you are buying:

"We can change all or any part of the policy from any renewal date. We will give you reasonable notice of changes to your policy terms."

— policy book, page 36.

That is a wide power, so a higher figure and a changed policy can arrive together. Put this year's schedule beside last year's and look for limits, options or hospital arrangements that have moved, because a price comparison is only fair on matching cover. The book promises “reasonable notice” of premium changes and of term changes without defining it; if the letter left you little time, say so when you call.

The excess, and treatment that runs past the renewal date

The lever the book names for bringing a premium down is the excess:

"Choosing an excess on your policy may help to reduce your premiums."

— policy book, page 32.

“May help” comes with no figure. As a general rule a higher excess usually lowers the premium and leaves you paying more of any claim; how an excess works compares wordings. On Saga HealthPlan Super, one rule matters at renewal:

"Should treatment continue beyond your policy’s renewal date then we will apply the excess once against the costs incurred before this date, and again against the costs incurred on or after the renewal date."

— policy book, page 32.

If you are part-way through treatment, the renewal date splits it in two and an excess applies on each side. The clause does not say what your excess is or how the new year's amount is set, so ask before changing it.

Other insurers frame renewal differently. AXA Health's renewing-members page says new drugs, treatments and technology "could be reflected in the cost of your plan", and Freedom's cost page says it "currently offers a 6% reduction for annual payments" (both read 21 October 2026). Whether Saga prices monthly and annual payment differently is a fair question to add to your list.

Turning the letter into a phone call

A vague sense that the price is too high gets a vague answer. These get specific ones:

  1. What NCD level did the policy have last year, what is it now, and which claims explain the difference?
  2. Were any payments made in the three months before renewal, and do they count now or next year?
  3. Is NCD protection on the policy, and what happens after a second claim?
  4. If I repay a small claim within 30 days, what would I repay and what would the new premium be?
  5. What has changed in the terms, options or hospital arrangements since last year?
  6. What would the premium be at a different excess, or paid annually rather than monthly?

With those answers you can judge what is left. If you are thinking of moving, read what to do with a renewal price first: it explains how a new insurer underwrites you again, which matters most if anyone on the policy has recently been treated. And if you want the renewal set against other insurers, the form here passes a few details to a broker who can do it.

Quick answers on a Saga renewal

My policy was claim-free. Why is the Saga figure still higher?

A claim-free year moves the discount up one level, but the policy book says premiums are reviewed every year for "a range of statistical factors" and have typically risen faster than the RPI. The discount can rise while the rate underneath it rises too.

How far does one claim move my Saga discount?

Two levels at the next renewal date for each claim, down to level 0. Any amount paid for treating one condition counts, however small.

Can I pay a claim back to keep my Saga no claims discount?

Yes, if the treatment cost only a small amount: the book lets you repay the previous year's claims within 30 days of the renewal date, and the premium is then recalculated. Ask Saga what counts as small before you decide.

Will a higher excess lower my Saga renewal?

The policy book says an excess "may help to reduce your premiums" but gives no figure. A quote at the new excess shows the effect, and if treatment runs past the renewal date the excess applies twice.

Your next step is to put those six questions to Saga and keep the answers in writing; if they leave the decision open, a broker can price comparable cover through the form on this page.