Health insurance excess
Find out how excess works with health insurance policies, and how having an excess could benefit you.
Edited by Graham Lewis,
health
insurance expert at Bupa
Last updated 28 May 2024
4 minute read
What is health insurance excess?
When you take out a health insurance policy, you may be able to add an excess to your cover. An excess is an amount of money you pay towards the cost of claims that you make.
For example
If you choose an excess of £200, and you have treatment that costs £500, you would pay £200 and your insurer would pay the remaining £300.
Having an excess usually lowers the price of private health insurance. The higher your excess, the lower the price will be. If you choose a lower excess or no excess, this will usually increase the price.
So choosing a higher excess can mean a cheaper price for health insurance. But remember, you'll need to pay the excess if you make a claim.
Excess works differently depending on the insurance provider you choose. Make sure you understand the details of any health insurance policy you're considering.
How does health insurance excess work?
If you have an excess on your policy and you make a claim, your excess is the amount you'll pay towards your treatment.
So, if you have an excess of £100, and you need a consultation that cost £200, you will pay £100, and your insurer would pay the remaining £100.
Some health insurance policies will ask you to pay your excess each time you make a claim. Whereas other policies will ask you to pay your excess once each year. Then once you've paid your excess, you won't have to pay it again that year, even if you make more claims.
Sometimes, if treatment carries across two policy years, you'll need to pay your excess twice.
For example, imagine you have an excess of £200, payable once each policy year. And your policy year starts on March 15th. If you had treatment that began in February and continued into April, you would pay your £200 excess twice - once in February and again after March 15th.
Tip
It's a good idea to compare health insurance policies to find a policy with an excess that's right for you.
What are the benefits of health insurance excess?
The main benefit of having health insurance excess is that it lowers the cost of your policy. The higher excess you choose, the lower your monthly or annual payments will be.
However, it's important to remember that if you choose a higher excess you will have to pay this amount when you make a claim. Think about how much you may be able to afford if you needed to make an unexpected claim.
If you choose a lower excess, the price of your policy will be higher, but the amount you'd need to pay if you make a claim would be lower. It's important to consider what will work best for you.
How much is health insurance excess?
This depends on the policy you choose and how much excess you choose to add.
Some health insurance providers offer policies with no excess at all. The price of these policies may be higher, but there is much less chance of any unexpected costs when you claim.
Some health insurance policies are available with a choice of excess amounts. You might be able to choose anything from £100, £150, £200, £500, £2,000 or more.
Choosing a higher excess amount will usually reduce the cost of your monthly or annual payments for your policy. But it's important to remember that you will need to pay this amount when you claim.
To find out how much health insurance could cost for you, you can get a Bupa health insurance quote.
Does claiming when I have an excess affect my health insurance policy?
This depends on the provider you choose. Some policies come with a no claims bonus, like car insurance. If you make a claim on these policies, it will increase the cost of your policy when you renew for the next year.
Some insurers won't count claims that are entirely covered by your excess.
So, if your excess is £500 and you have treatment that costs £200, that would be entirely covered by your excess. You would pay for this treatment in full and your insurer would pay nothing. When this happens, this usually won't count as a claim, so your no claims bonus wouldn't be affected.
All health insurance policies work differently. So make sure you fully understand how excess works on any policy you're considering.
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Bupa health insurance is provided by Bupa Insurance Limited. Registered in England and Wales with registration number 3956433. Bupa Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Arranged and administered by Bupa Insurance Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales with registration number 3829851. Registered office: 1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ.
