Private health insurance certainly isn’t cheap, but one fan of Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert (MSE) claims he saved a staggering £1,001 on these bills – here’s how
With Lord Ara Darzi’s scathing NHS report unveiled this week, it’s no wonder that more Brits are turning to private healthcare. The report laid bare concerns over doubling A&E queues, ‘normalised’ year-long waitlists and the deterioration of cardiovascular treatment across 14 years of Tory rule.
But going private doesn’t come cheap. On average, a typical ‘family premium’ of two middle-aged adults and two children younger than 10 may cost anything between £700 and £1,800 per year, according to the MoneyHelper.
That’s why experts at Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert (MSE) have unveiled some game-changing tips to help slash this price down – and it’s saved one man a staggering £1,001. ‘Tony’, the savvy MSE fan, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his gratitude for the financial guru’s advice, writing: “I saved £1,001 (35%) on a private health insurance renewal quote by haggling.”
While picking the cheapest insurance rate or haggling costs down may seem like a no-brainer, the experts insist that ‘perfecting it is an art’ – especially if you’re looking to cut hefty bills by hundreds or even thousands. Writing in their most recent Money Tips update, they said: “The NHS and its staff are true national treasures, but much as it’s painful to write, the pandemic and cost of living crisis have seen it struggle – even the Prime Minister has said it’s ‘broken’.
“So it’s unsurprising we’re getting questions about medical insurance, both for getting treated privately and for covering NHS costs too.” Before you get to the haggling part, it’s crucial to first pick a private medical insurance policy that’s suited to you.
MSE experts recommend looking at comparison sites to start off with, including MoneySupermarket and Howden Life & Health, which may allow you to put different firms up against each other. Often, they can provide more than £100 cashback too.
When picking your rate, they advise considering some important questions as well: what hospitals do you need, what treatments do you want and is there anything you’d be happy to use the NHS for? This will help to narrow down the best options.
However, even if the rate seems affordable to start with, MSE warns that its cost may rise over the years. That’s where the haggling may come in handy.
Usually, the first port of call is to give comparison sites another try to find the cheapest rates and see whether your current provider can match them. Aside from this, gurus at myTribe Insurance also suggest asking to remove additional options from the policy that you know you probably won’t need.
This may include travel cover or dental care, for instance. They wrote: “If you primarily have health insurance to protect you from severe medical conditions, you could remove some additional options to reduce your renewal premiums.”
Adding a ‘six-week NHS option’ can cut the price down too. This means that if you can be treated in the NHS within six weeks, you’ll opt for that instead.
However, the experts warn that it may undermine the point of private healthcare in some instances. “This isn’t something we tend to recommend too frequently,” they said. “However, it is a good way to reduce the cost of a policy.”
Have you got a story to share? Get in touch, at lauren.haughey@reachplc.com
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