Does Claiming on Private Health Insurance Increase Your Premium?

It’s one of the most common worries people have about private health insurance: “if I actually use it, will my premium shoot up?” It’s a fair question — and the honest answer is more reassuring than most people expect. Here’s how claiming really affects your premium, and what actually drives your renewal price.

The short answer

Making a claim can influence your renewal premium, but for most people it’s rarely the dramatic spike they fear — and it should never put you off using cover you’re paying for. The bigger drivers of your premium are usually age, general medical inflation, and the cover level you choose, not a single claim.

How insurers handle claims

Different insurers take different approaches:

• No-claims discount (NCD) model — some insurers work a bit like car insurance, where you build a discount for claim-free years and may lose some of it after a claim. The discount typically rebuilds over time.
• Community/pooled models — others price based on broader factors rather than your individual claims history, so a single claim has less direct effect.

Which model your insurer uses is worth knowing, because it shapes how (and whether) a claim affects your price.

Don’t pay for cover and then be too afraid to use it. A policy you won’t claim on isn’t protection — it’s just a standing order.

What actually drives your premium up

In reality, the main reasons premiums rise at renewal are usually:

• Age — you move into a higher age band as the years pass.
• Medical inflation — the cost of private treatment rises across the board, affecting everyone.
• Your cover level — a broad hospital list and extras cost more each year.

A single claim is often a small factor next to these — which is why shopping the market at renewal matters far more for your price than avoiding claims.

The smart move at renewal

Whether or not you’ve claimed, the biggest lever on your premium is comparing a wide panel of insurers at renewal rather than auto-renewing. If a claim has nudged your price up, that’s exactly when a fresh comparison can find better value — and if you move insurers, switching on the right basis protects any conditions you’ve claimed for.

Keep your premium in check

ComparePMI compares your cover across multiple insurers at renewal, claim or no claim, 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.