Health Insurance

The Average Cost of Private Health Insurance in the UK

How much is private health insurance in the UK? There are many factors that can affect this such as age, lifestyle and location — we've compiled a range of quotes so you know just how much it might cost you!

Data published by the Association of British Insurers found that around 1.6 million households in the UK have private health insurance. According to our research, the average cost of an individual private health insurance plan sits at around £85 per month or £1,020 per year!

However, just like any type of insurance, the cost of private health insurance can vary significantly depending on your circumstances. For example, it should come as no surprise that the cost of private health insurance increases with age as you are more likely to require medical care. So, if you are younger than 50 with no prior health conditions you are likely to pay less than this £1,020 price tag!

To help you understand more about private health insurance, and just how much a plan might cost you, we've compiled quotes from many of the UK's leading health insurance providers based on a few different scenarios. We hope this will give you a better picture of how the average cost changes depending on things such as your age and whether or not you plan on adding family members to your policy.

Table of Contents


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  • Bupa, Aviva, AXA, Vitality and more
  • Free, impartial advice to find the best cover
  • Individual, joint, child and family policies
  • Access to top consultants and hospitals
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  • Free annual policy review

The average cost of Private Health Insurance based on your age

It may come as no surprise but the older we get, the more likely we are to get sick or injured. One of the main things insurers will take into account when assessing your application for private health insurance is your age. This is because they see older people as inherently more 'risky' and more likely to make a claim.

The table below gives you an idea of just how large a role age plays in determining the cost of your private health insurance. We compiled the top ten quotes we received from the UK's leading health insurance providers to give you an average cost, by age, based on a mid-tier individual plan for someone who doesn't smoke.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a single person who is a non smoker (£month)

30 years old

£39

50 years old

£66

70 years old

£150

As you can see, age really is a significant factor in determining your premium. According to our research, a 30-year-old nonsmoker (who insurance providers would assume to be relatively healthy and consider less risky to insure) would pay on average £39 per month for a mid-tier health insurance plan with a £500 excess. In contrast, a 70 year old would pay almost four times this amount, at a whopping £150 per month!

So why is this the case? As we stated previously, as age increases so too does your likelihood of requiring healthcare services. Whilst it is certainly true that there are many healthy 70 years olds out there, and many 30 year olds that need extensive medical assistance. Insurers don't like to take risks so err on the side of caution.

We must stress that the quotes above are averages, and any quotes you receive may be higher or lower depending on your own circumstances. However, these do give you an good idea of the kind of ballpark figures you can expect to see.

We have broken down these averages by insurance provider as well, if this is of interest to you. Simply click the arrows below to reveal more.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 30 year old single person who is a non smoker (£month)

Bupa

£32

The Exeter

£33

General & Medical

£33

Aviva

£34

Vitality

£38

AXA

£41

Freedom

£49

WPA

£51

Average

£39

The quotes above were obtained using the profile of a 30-year-old nonsmoker, looking for a mid-tier plan with an excess of £500. According to our research, Bupa is the cheapest provider coming in at £32 per month. At the other end of the scale, WPA is the most expensive based on the quotes we received — 59% higher than Bupa at £51 per month!

Remember, these quotes reflect a 'mid-tier' level plan. Just because it is more expensive, doesn't mean it offers you greater protection (although of course sometimes this is indeed the case!). It's important to take a look at each plan in more detail, for example, how it is rated by the experts, customers and what is and isn't covered. Whatever the case, we always recommend prioritizing cover over cost. Your health is incredibly important, and it's crucial that you find a plan that suits your individual health needs.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 50 year old single person who is a non smoker (£month)

Vitality

£44

The Exeter

£55

Aviva

£56

General & Medical

£58

Bupa

£62

AXA

£67

WPA

£83

Saga

£85

Freedom

£86

Average

£66

The quotes above were obtained using the profile of a 50-year-old nonsmoker, looking for a mid-tier plan with an excess of £500. Based on the quotes we received, Vitality was the cheapest provider, with their mid-tier plan coming in at £44 per month. This is £22 cheaper than the average across all the quotes we received, so certainly seems like a good deal.

Freedom on the other hand was the most expensive provider for us, coming in at almost double that of Vitality at £86 per month! Is this high price justified? We recommend taking a look at our review of Freedom to determine whether it offers more than some of its less pricey rivals.

Another provider of note is Saga, who market themselves as a health insurance provider tailored to those aged 50 and over. This specialist insurer was the second most expensive provider out of those we sampled from, and we'd urge you to take a look at our review to determine whether this is the provider for you.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 70 year old single person who is a non smoker (£month)

Vitality

£110

Aviva

£121

The Exeter

£124

General & Medical

£139

Bupa

£144

AXA

£179

Saga

£182

Freedom

£205

Average

£150

For those readers over the age of 70, private health insurance really does come at a price. However, when you think about the level of protection it offers and peace of mind it can give you when times get tough, we'd argue it is certainly worth considering.

The quotes above were obtained using the profile of a 70-year-old nonsmoker looking for a mid-tier plan with an excess of £500. As you can see, the monthly costs we received vary significantly depending on the insurer, and we found a difference of almost £100 between our cheapest and most expensive provider!

For more cost-sensitive customers, Vitality was our most affordable provider with a monthly cost of £110 per month — just over a third cheaper than the average! At the other end of the scale is Freedom, at a whopping £205 per month and £55 more than the average we calculated.

Why are these premiums so high? Well, as we have stated, the older you get the more likely you are to need medical attention. As a result, insurers see the level of risk to be higher with age as you are more likely to make a claim on your insurance. We would recommend taking a look at the above providers in more detail to determine whether their plan is right for you — we always recommend choosing cover over cost if you can and everyone will look for something different in their cover. You can see our detailed reviews of all the providers listed above by clicking on each name!

The average cost of Private Health Insurance based on your family

The great thing about private health insurance is that you can almost always add additional people to your plan, for example, a partner or any children you might have. You will often find you can get a pretty good deal on family plans compared to what you would otherwise get if you were, say, a couple taking out an individual plan each. But, naturally, the more people you add to your plan the higher the premiums overall.

We've compiled a range of quotes from the UK's leading private health insurance providers so you can see how adding additional members to your plan affects your premiums. Remember, the quotes below are averages for our sample people, and any that you receive may be higher or lower depending on your own circumstances.

Single person

Average cost (£ month)

Single personSingle person + 1 child (5yrs)Single person + 2 children (5 + 10 yrs)

30 year old

£39£50£56

50 year old

£66£80£86

70 year old

£150n/an/a

Couples

Average cost (£ month)

CoupleCouple + 1 child (5yrs)Couple + 2 children (5 + 10 yrs)

30 year old

£73£85£93

50 year old

£126£142£148

70 year old

£284n/an/a

The quotes above relate to those looking for a mid-tier plan with an excess of £500. We sampled from the UK's leading health insurance providers based on the profiles of individuals, couples and families of differing sizes and ages to give you a broad picture of how these factors influence the premiums you may pay.

As we have just seen, as age increases so too do your health insurance premiums and the figures above certainly follow that trend! What's interesting is that couples get a better deal, on average, by opting into a plan together than they would paying for an individual plan each.

Let's take a 50-year old, for example. Based on our findings, an individual will pay, on average, £66 per month. A 50-year old couple, however, would pay a total of £126 per month, or £63 each. It may not be a huge saving, but it's a saving nonetheless!

If we look at the average prices based on the addition of children we see that adding one child (in this case, aged 5 yrs) generally increases the cost of your premium by around £10-15. Interestingly enough, the addition of a second child does not seem to increase your cost by as much!

Based on our own research, any increase was found to be below the £10 mark which is certainly positive! In fact, many insurers offer incentives for adding more than one child to your policy. For example, one of Freedom's benefits is that you only have to pay for one child, and any additional children can be added to your policy at no extra cost! Be sure to look out for other insurers that offer similar benefits, too.

Private Health Insurance for couples: quote comparisons

We have broken down these averages by insurance provider, so you can easily compare costs. Remember, all the quotes in this article are averages based on our own research so may not be reflective of any quotes you receive.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 30 year old couple who are non smokers (£month)

Vitality

£51

Aviva

£59

Bupa

£61

The Exeter

£62

General & Medical

£67

AXA

£82

Freedom

£97

WPA

£101

Average

£73

If you're a 30-year-old couple on the lookout for private health insurance, the quotes above should give you a good picture of what you might expect to pay for a mid-tier plan with a £500 excess. We found the cheapest insurer to be Vitality, averaging at £51 per month. The most expensive insurer we sampled from was WPA, almost double the cost at £101!

We would recommend taking a look at each insurer in more detail to determine if their plan is right for your needs. To make things easy for you we have done just that, and you can see all of our individual reviews by clicking on the relevant providers names in the table. There are many things to consider in addition to cost, such as how comprehensive the cover is and any additional benefits. Whilst the above quotes reflect a 'mid-tier plan', some providers may offer more or less protection as standard!

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 50 year old couple who are non smokers (£month)

Vitality

£82

Aviva

£100

The Exeter

£104

General & Medical

£117

Bupa

£118

AXA

£133

Saga

142

WPA

£167

Freedom

£171

Average

£126

The quotes above reflect a 50-year-old couple who are looking for a mid-tier plan and a £500 excess. As you can see, there is a lot of variation! The cheapest insurer we found was Vitality, averaging £82 per month (or £41 per person). The most expensive insurer we sampled from was Freedom at a cost of £171 per month. This is over double the cost of Vitality's plan, and just over a third more expensive than the average across all the quotes above!

Cost is obviously an important factor in deciding which provider to opt for, but it's important to remember that there are other things to consider as well. We would recommend taking a look at each insurer in more detail to determine if their plan is right for your needs. In addition to cost, it's important to consider what is and isn't covered as well as any additional benefits offered by the insurer.

To make things easy for you we have done just that, and you can see all of our individual reviews by clicking on the relevant providers names in the table. Whatever the case, we always recommend prioritizing cover over cost to ensure you have a plan that is right for your healthcare needs.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 70 year old couple who are non smokers (£month)

Vitality

£201

Aviva

£213

The Exeter

£235

Bupa

£273

General & Medical

£278

Saga

£304

AXA

£358

Freedom

£411

Average

£284

As we get older we may find ourselves needing to access healthcare services more frequently. Private health insurance is certainly worth considering as it can offer you protection when you need it most, and access to private medical treatment without the long waiting times you may experience through the NHS.

We have compiled quotes from the UK's leading health insurance providers for a 70-year-old couple looking for a mid-tier plan with a £500 excess. The figures above should give you a good idea of what you might expect to pay for each insurance provider — you can see quite clearly how much the cost changes from insurer to insurer!

If we start at the most affordable plan, our research found Vitality to be the cheapest provider on average with a monthly premium of £201. You can see that most of the other providers we sampled from fall neatly between the £200-300 mark. At the top end we have the likes of AXA and Freedom, whose monthly premiums are £358 and £411, respectively! The difference between these two is quite significant — £53 in fact! If we compare Freedom to our most cost-savvy plan, Vitality, it is just over double the price! That's a pretty heavy price tag, to say the least.

Cost is obviously an important factor in deciding which provider to opt for, but it's important to remember that there are other things to consider as well. We would recommend taking a look at each insurer in more detail to determine if their plan is right for your needs. In addition to cost, it's important to consider what is and isn't covered as well as any additional benefits offered by the insurer.

To make things easy for you we have done just that, and you can see all of our individual reviews by clicking on the relevant providers names in the table. Whatever the case, we always recommend prioritizing cover over cost to ensure you have a plan that is right for your healthcare needs.

Private Health Insurance for couples with 1 child: quote comparisons

We have broken down these averages by insurance provider, so you can easily compare costs. Remember, all the quotes in this article are averages based on our own research so may not be reflective of any quotes you receive.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 30 year old couple with 1 child (5 yrs) who are nonsmokers (£month)

Vitality

£54

Bupa

£67

The Exeter

£68

Aviva

£71

General & Medical

£91

AXA

£93

WPA

£112

Freedom

£121

Average

£85

If you're a 30-year-old couple with a young child on the lookout for private health insurance, the quotes above should give you a good picture of what you might expect to pay for a mid-tier plan with a £500 excess.

According to our research, Vitality was the cheapest insurer at £54 a month, which is £31 cheaper than the average across all of the providers we sampled from. At the other end of the spectrum is Freedom at £121 a month! This is over twice the cost of Vitality!

Cost is obviously an important factor in deciding which provider to opt for, but it's important to remember that there are other things to consider as well. We would recommend taking a look at each insurer in more detail to determine if their plan is right for your needs. In addition to cost, it's important to consider what is and isn't covered as well as any additional benefits offered by the insurer.

To make things easy for you we have done just that, and you can see all of our individual reviews by clicking on the relevant providers names in the table. Whatever the case, we always recommend prioritizing cover over cost to ensure you have a plan that is right for your healthcare needs.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 50 year old couple with 1 child (5 yrs) who are nonsmokers (£month)

Vitality

£91

The Exeter

£107

Aviva

£111

Bupa

£120

General & Medical

£141

AXA

£144

Saga

£171

WPA

£178

Freedom

£214

Average

£142

The quotes above reflect the profile of a 50-year-old couple with a young child, looking for a mid-tier plan with a £500 excess. As you can see there is quite a lot of variation, with the difference between the cheapest and most expensive providers being over £100!

According to the quotes we received, the cheapest provider is Vitality with their family plan costing £91 per month. Our research found the most expensive insurer to be Freedom, with their plan costing £214 per month! This is 50% more expensive than the average cost we calculated and over double the cost of Vitality! It is also £36 more costly than our second most expensive provider WPA, which was quoted at £178 per month.

Cost is obviously an important factor in deciding which provider to opt for, but it's important to remember that there are other things to consider as well. This becomes increasingly important as we get older. We would recommend taking a look at each insurer in more detail to determine if their plan is right for your needs. In addition to cost, it's important to consider what is and isn't covered as well as any additional benefits offered by the insurer.

To make things easy for you we have done just that, and you can see all of our individual reviews by clicking on the relevant providers names in the table. Whatever the case, we always recommend prioritizing cover over cost to ensure you have a plan that is right for your healthcare needs.

Private Health Insurance for couples with 2 children: quote comparisons

We have broken down these averages by insurance provider, so you can easily compare costs. Remember, all the quotes in this article are averages based on our own research so may not be reflective of any quotes you receive

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 30 year old couple with 2 children (5 & 10 yrs) who are nonsmokers (£month)

Vitality

£61

Aviva

£71

Bupa

£76

General & Medical

£91

AXA

£105

Freedom

£121

WPA

£124

Average

£93

The quotes above reflect the profile of a 30-year-old couple with two young children, looking for a mid-tier plan with a £500 excess. As you can see, the cost per plan varies quite considerably! According to our research, Vitality offered the cheapest plan with their private health insurance coming in at £61 per month. We also found Aviva and Bupa to be at the lower end cost-wise, hovering around the £70-75 mark.

At the other end of scale, AXA, Freedom and WPA were the most pricey out of all the providers we sampled form, with their policies each surpassing £100 per month. WPA was the most expensive overall, at £124 per month — this is double the cost of Vitality!

So, is WPA really worth the premium? From our research they certainly do give a good range of cover, with their mid-tier cover 'above average' compared to the rest of the market. If we compare them to Vitality, the cheapest provider we found, the results are interesting. Take cancer care, for example. Vitality's standard plan includes advanced cancer care cover as a core feature, whereas WPA only offers this as part of their mid-level and premium-level cover!

So, just because a private health insurance plan from one provider is more expensive than another, doesn't mean it offers better cover. In fact, this is common in the insurance industry in general. This is why we recommend taking the time to read through your insurance policy documents carefully before agreeing to take out a plan. It's important to understand your cover, especially what is and isn't covered. This way you can avoid getting into sticky and potentially costly situations later down the line.

To make things easier for you, we've reviewed all of the insurers in the table above — simply click on the name of the insurer to see the benefits, reviews, cost and details of their cover.

Private health insurance quote comparison for a 50 year old couple with 2 children (5 & 10yrs) who are nonsmokers (£month)

Vitality

£99

Aviva

£111

The Exeter

£118

Bupa

£129

General & Medical

£141

AXA

£156

Saga

£171

WPA

£189

Freedom

£214

Average

£148

The quotes above reflect the profile of a 50-year-old couple with two young children, looking for a mid-tier plan with a £500 excess. We calculated the average price of a plan to be around £148 per month, based on the quotes we obtained from many of the UK's leading private health insurance providers.

Based on our research the cheapest provider we found was Vitality, with their mid-tier family plan setting you back £99 per month, almost £50 below the average! We are certainly impressed, especially giving the range of benefits offered by Vitality as standard. This includes inpatient and day-patient treatment, diagnostic tests, specialist fees as well as full advanced cancer cover!

Of the insurers we included in our search, WPA and Freedom were the most expensive at £189 and £214 respectively. If we compare Freedom to Vitality, the difference in price is staggering — a whole £115 more! So, is it worth paying this premium? Well, Freedom also offer an attractive benefits package. Freedom are one of the few insurers who offer no location-based pricing (good news for Londoners!) and you only need to pay for one child, meaning additional children can be added to your plan at no extra cost. They offer good cover, too, including fixed cash benefits for inpatient, day-patient and cancer treatment as well as full diagnostic imaging.

So do we think Freedom's high price is worth it? Well, based on our own research we think you may be able to find similar or even better cover elsewhere. You could start by looking at Vitality's offer but we would recommend shopping around. We've put together some handy reviews of all the providers in the table above covering the reviews, benefits, cost and breakdown of their cover so you can see which insurer is best for you and your family. Simply click on the name of the insurer in the table to be taken to our detailed review!

The average cost of Private Health Insurance based on your lifestyle

There are certain behaviours that insurers deem to be 'risky' as they are believed to increase your risk of developing certain medical conditions that make it more likely you'll need to seek medical assistance and submit a claim. Smoking is one of these behaviours, and you may notice it's a question that is often asked when you are looking to obtain a private health insurance quote. This is because insurers will typically use this information to help determine your premium, with smokers often facing higher costs than non-smokers.

Again, for an insurer it all comes down to risk — the more likely you are to make a claim on your private health insurance, the more expensive your plan is likely to be. To show you the extent to which smoking can affect this cost we obtained a range of quotes from the UK's leading private health insurance insurers and calculated the average price for a mid-tier plan with a £500 excess. You can see in the table below comparisons between those who smoke and those who don't.

Average cost (£ month)Non SmokerSmoker

30 years old

£39£40

50 years old

£66£68

70 years old

£150£155

You may be slightly surprised at the numbers above. Based on our research, You can see that for a 30-year-old individual the average cost is almost the same regardless of whether you do or do not smoke. This may due to the fact that insurers view the average 30 year old as relatively healthy and so less likely to make a claim on their health insurance. In this light, smoking has a lesser effect overall.

However, as age increases you can notice that smoking does have a slightly greater impact on prices (although these may still be less significant than you expected!). The average 50 year old who smokes may pay an extra few pounds per month compared to those who don't, and those aged 70 and above may find a difference of £5 or more.

Remember these are averages based on the quotes we received at the time of writing. Individual insurers may place more or less importance on smoking so you may find the quotes you receive to be higher or lower than the averages in the table above.

Again, these may not seem like a huge difference but these costs do add up over time. In any case, it's good to be aware of the types of things insurers look at when determining the cost of a plan!

The average cost of Private Health Insurance based on your location


Do you want health insurance quotes?

Submit your details here

  • Bupa, Aviva, AXA, Vitality and more
  • Free, impartial advice to find the best cover
  • Individual, joint, child and family policies
  • Access to top consultants and hospitals
  • Pre-existing conditions
  • Free annual policy review

Do you want health insurance quotes?

Submit your details here


  • Bupa, Aviva, AXA, Vitality and more
  • Free, impartial advice to find the best cover
  • Individual, joint, child and family policies
  • Access to top consultants and hospitals
  • Pre-existing conditions
  • Free annual policy review

Sadly, the 'postcode lottery' does indeed apply to private health insurance in most cases. Your location can be a factor that insurers use to determine your premiums, with certain areas in the UK being thought to carry more health risks than others. London, for example, is heavily populated and with that comes higher levels of pollution! Others areas are simply more expensive overall, meaning medical costs are also more pricey (sorry again, Londoners!).

To illustrate the effect your postcode can have on your premiums, we obtained a range of quotes for 30-year-old individuals living in the various regions in the UK. The quotes reflect a mid-tier private health insurance plan with an excess of £500. Take a look for yourself to see the average cost for your region!

cost of health insurance by region UK
Private health insurance quote comparison for a 30 year old single person, by region (£month)

North East England

£34

Scotland

£35

South West England

£35

East of England

£37

West Midlands

£37

Wales

£37

East Midlands

£38

Yorkshire and The Humber

£38

South East England

£40

North West England

£44

London

£46

As shown in the table above, the average cost of private health insurance varies widely across the UK. The region with the cheapest premiums is North East England, with an average cost of £34. It may come as no surprise to see private health insurance is the most expensive in London, averaging £46 per month!

Remember though, these estimates are based on quotes we received at the time of writing, for a mid-tier plan and for an individual of a certain age. You may find you are quoted a price that is more or less than those listed above, so do take these with a pinch of salt. They are designed to be used for guidance only.

Summary

As you can see, there are many different factors that can affect the cost of private health insurance. Whilst there are some things out of our control (sadly, there is no cure for aging!), there are others that we can control such as our lifestyle.

In terms of factors that have the greatest impact on premiums, age comes out on top. This is not surprisingly given as age increases, so to does the likelihood of needing to access healthcare services and therefore the likelihood of making a claim. So, insurers balance their books by increasing premiums with age.

Remember, whilst we all like a bargain, private health insurance is something we recommend not skimping on if your circumstances allow. Now, more expensive plans don't always mean better cover. In fact, you can find many affordable plans that offer a great range of benefits! What is important is that you take the time to do your research and really think about what you need from health insurance. This way you can ensure you are choosing a plan that is specific to your needs.

Methodology

This guide is designed to give you an idea of the typical costs you may see when searching for private health insurance, but remember any quotes you receive may be higher or lower depending on your own circumstances.

To determine the average cost of private health insurance for UK consumers, we first collected comprehensive health insurance quotes from one of the UK's leading health insurance comparison sites, Assured Futures.

We then compiled these quotes (which we have included for transparency) and calculated the average. In order to standardize our results, we made certain assumptions about the type of plan and level of coverage sought by the average consumer. Hence, these quotes reflect a mid-tier policy which excludes optional features that come at an added premium. Another way we standardized results was by holding all the policyholders profile variables constant, only changing the target variables when comparing scenarios (e.g., 30 year old vs 50 year old).


Compare private health insurance with Assured Futures

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  • Bupa, Aviva, AXA, Vitality and more
  • 4.9/5 Trustpilot customer rating
  • Free, impartial advice to find the best cover
  • Individual, joint, child and family policies
  • Access to top consultants and hospitals
  • Pre-existing conditions
  • Free annual policy review

Compare private health insurance with Assured Futures

Get your quotes


  • Bupa, Aviva, AXA, Vitality and more
  • 4.9/5 Trustpilot customer rating
  • Free, impartial advice to find the best cover
  • Individual, joint, child and family policies
  • Access to top consultants and hospitals
  • Pre-existing conditions
  • Free annual policy review

Emily Bunt

Emily is a psychology graduate from the University of Kent, who is currently contributing to the health insurance content at NimbleFins. She also works in healthcare strategy and planning at Lexica. Prior to this she worked in market research at Kantar, investigating consumer behaviour and decision making, as well as in a supporting role in the field of mental health. Learn more at LinkedIn.

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