Key takeaways
- Renewal rises come from medical inflation, age, and any claims — not a personal penalty.
- You can often cut the cost by adjusting excess, hospital list or underwriting basis rather than dropping cover.
- Switching insurers can protect your existing conditions if it’s done on the right basis — get advice first.
Every year, thousands of Bupa customers open their renewal letter and get a shock. A double-digit increase isn’t unusual — and it rarely means you’ve done anything wrong. The good news: there are several ways to bring the premium back under control without stripping your cover to the bone.
Why has my Bupa premium gone up?
- Medical inflation — the cost of private treatment and drugs rises faster than general inflation, every year.
- Your age — premiums step up as you move through age bands.
- Claims — if you (or your family) claimed, that can feed into the renewal.
- Loss of introductory terms — new-customer or no-claims discounts can taper off over time.
The levers that lower the cost
Before you cancel anything, know that premium is only one of several dials you can turn:
- Increase your excess — a higher voluntary excess can meaningfully cut the annual premium.
- Refine your hospital list — dropping a handful of the most expensive London hospitals you’ll never use can save a surprising amount.
- Review outpatient limits — moving from unlimited to a generous capped limit can reduce cost with little practical impact for many people.
- Re-market your cover — another insurer may offer comparable cover for less.
Will I lose cover for my existing conditions if I switch?
This is the number-one worry — and the reason so many people stay put and overpay. The key is continued personal medical exclusions (CPME) switching, which moves you to a new insurer on a like-for-like basis so conditions covered before generally remain covered. It isn’t right for everyone, and it must be set up carefully, which is exactly where impartial advice pays off.
Staying loyal rarely saves money in PMI. Checking your cover against the market each year often can.
The two-minute health check
The simplest move is to benchmark your Bupa renewal against the rest of the market. ComparePMI compares your renewal across a wide panel of insurers so you can see where it stands. We don’t give advice or favour any insurer; if you’d like advice or decide to go ahead, we introduce you to an FCA-authorised firm who provides it and arranges your cover. It’s free and there’s no obligation.
With a different insurer? See our renewal guides for AXA Health, Vitality, Aviva, WPA and The Exeter.
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This article is general information, not personal advice. Cover, terms and availability vary by insurer and individual circumstances. ComparePMI is the trading style of ComparePMI Limited (company no. 16755241), an independent comparison and introduction service, not tied to any insurer. We do not provide advice or arrange cover ourselves and are not FCA-regulated; we introduce you to FCA-authorised and regulated firms who provide the advice and arrange your cover.