How to Choose Private Health Insurance: A Complete Checklist

Private health insurance can feel bewildering — dozens of insurers, endless tiers, and jargon at every turn. But underneath it all, choosing the right policy comes down to a manageable set of decisions. Work through them in order and you’ll cut through the noise. Here’s the complete checklist for how to choose private health insurance that actually fits you.

1. Start with what you want to protect against

Before looking at a single quote, get clear on your goal. Are you mainly worried about long NHS waits for planned surgery? Fast diagnosis of something serious? Comprehensive cancer cover? Family peace of mind? Your priorities shape every other choice — so name them first. The best policy is the one that protects your specific concern, not the one with the flashiest brochure.

2. Choose your underwriting basis

This is one of the first real decisions:

• Moratorium — no medical forms upfront; recent conditions (usually last 5 years) excluded, some returning to cover over time. Quick and simple.
• Full medical underwriting — you disclose your history upfront and know exactly what’s covered from day one. More effort, total clarity.

If you have a clean bill of health, moratorium is often easiest. If you have a history you want certainty on, full underwriting can be worth the paperwork.

3. Decide on your hospital list

The hospital list is the single biggest driver of price. Full access to every private hospital (including premium London names) costs the most; a guided or regional list costs far less. Ask yourself: do I need a specific hospital, or am I happy with good hospitals near me? Getting this right is where a lot of value — and saving — lives.

4. Set your outpatient cover

Outpatient care (consultations, scans, diagnostics with no hospital bed) is where policies quietly differ. Choose between full/unlimited outpatient cover (comprehensive, pricier) and a capped limit (cheaper). Match it to how you’d actually use it — if fast diagnosis matters to you, pay for generous outpatient cover; if you’re mainly insuring against surgery, a leaner limit saves money.

5. Pick your excess

The excess is what you pay towards a claim. A higher excess lowers your premium; a lower excess costs more monthly but less at claim time. Set it high enough to save money, but low enough that you’d never hesitate to claim.

6. Consider the add-ons — carefully

Insurers offer modules: enhanced mental health, dental and optical, therapies, worldwide cover. Each adds cost. They can be genuinely worthwhile — but only if you’ll use them. Add what fits your life; skip what doesn’t.

7. Check the things that matter most to you

Finally, scrutinise the specifics tied to your priorities from step one — for example:

• Cancer cover — does it fund licensed drugs not yet on the NHS? How’s ongoing care handled?
• Mental health — session and inpatient limits.
• Exclusions — read them, don’t skim them.

A good policy isn’t the cheapest or the most comprehensive — it’s the one whose choices line up with what you actually want it to do.

The shortcut: let a broker do the legwork

That’s a lot of decisions — and the honest truth is that a good wide-panel broker does all of this for you, for free. You describe your priorities; they translate them into the right underwriting, hospital list, outpatient level, excess and add-ons, compared across the market, and hand you a clear recommendation. It’s the difference between guessing and choosing.

Choose with confidence

Because ComparePMI uses a wide panel of insurers, we work through this checklist with you, compare multiple insurers, and help you find the policy that genuinely fits — in plain English, with no jargon and no obligation. It’s free — ask us for a comparison today.