What is Comprehensive health insurance?
Comprehensive health insurance is our highest level of cover. It covers both private diagnosis and treatment. You can opt for either full cancer cover, or no cancer cover.
If you're happy to be diagnosed by the NHS, take a look at our Treatment and Care health insurance.
How much does Comprehensive health insurance cost?
Everyone’s policy is different and specific to them, so the price varies from person to person. The cost can depend on your age, lifestyle and where you live. It also depends on the level of cover you want. For example, if you choose an unlimited outpatient allowance, your policy will cost more.
To see exactly how much your policy could cost, get a personalised quote for Comprehensive cover.
What does Comprehensive health insurance cover?
Outpatient appointments before treatment
These are appointments that you have at a hospital, but where you don’t stay for the day or overnight. You’ll be covered for these if a GP or consultant has referred you for them. You can also be referred by some healthcare practitioners such as physiotherapists.
These appointments are covered in full unless you’ve chosen to put a limit on your outpatient allowance.
If you have put a limit on your outpatient allowance, we’ll pay up to that amount. So, if you have an outpatient limit of £500, and your treatment costs £550, we’ll pay £500, and you’ll pay the remaining £50.
Tests before treatment
These are tests that you may have at a hospital, but where you don’t stay for the day or overnight. You’ll be covered for these if a GP or consultant has referred you for them. You can also be referred by some healthcare practitioners such as physiotherapists.
These tests are covered in full unless you’ve chosen to put a limit on your outpatient allowance.
If you have put a limit on your outpatient allowance, we’ll pay up to that amount. So, if you have an outpatient limit of £500, and your treatment costs £550, we’ll pay £500, and you’ll pay the remaining £50.
Scans before treatment
These are scans that your consultant may ask for to help them find out what’s wrong. You may have these scans at a hospital. This could include MRI, CT, or PET scans. You’ll be covered for the costs of these scans in full.
Hospital treatment
You’ll be covered for the cost of your care while you’re being treated in a hospital in your chosen network. We’ll pay the hospital costs in full if you stay for the day or overnight, or if you’re treated as an outpatient. Outpatient means you’re treated in hospital, but you don’t stay for the day or overnight.
Hospital costs for outpatient treatment are covered in full unless you’ve chosen to put a limit on your outpatient allowance.
If you have put a limit on your outpatient allowance, we’ll pay up to that amount. So, if you have an outpatient limit of £500, and your treatment costs £550, we’ll pay £500, and you’ll pay the remaining £50.
Mental health cover
You’ll be covered for mental health treatment from a consultant or mental health and wellbeing therapist. We’ll cover eligible treatment in full unless you’ve chosen to put a limit on your outpatient allowance.
If you have put a limit on your outpatient allowance, we’ll pay up to that amount. So, if you have an outpatient limit of £500, and your treatment costs £550, we’ll pay £500, and you’ll pay the remaining £50.
You may also be covered if you need to be admitted to hospital. This would depend on the terms of your individual policy.
Outpatient therapies
This means you’ll be covered for therapies such as physiotherapy. Outpatient means you’re treated in hospital, but you don’t stay for the day or overnight.
Treatment that's covered by your policy will be paid for in full unless you’ve chosen to put a limit on your outpatient allowance.
If you have put a limit on your outpatient allowance, we’ll pay up to that amount. So, if you have an outpatient limit of £500, and your treatment costs £550, we’ll pay £500, and you’ll pay the remaining £50.
Tests after treatment
These are tests that take place after treatment. They need to be linked to the treatment you’ve had. You may have these tests while you’re staying in hospital, or you may have them as an outpatient. Appointments are usually covered up to six months after your treatment.
These tests are covered in full unless you’ve chosen to put a limit on your outpatient allowance.
If you have put a limit on your outpatient allowance, we’ll pay up to that amount. So, if you have an outpatient limit of £500, and your treatment costs £550, we’ll pay £500, and you’ll pay the remaining £50.
Appointments after treatment
These are appointments that come after you've had private treatment in hospital. You'll be covered for these if they're linked to your treatment and if the treatment is covered by your policy. This includes appointments that come after private operations, even if you didn’t need to stay in hospital. Appointments are usually covered up to six months after your treatment.
These appointments are covered in full unless you’ve chosen to put a limit on your outpatient allowance.
If you have put a limit on your outpatient allowance, we’ll pay up to that amount. So, if you have an outpatient limit of £500, and your treatment costs £550, we’ll pay £500, and you’ll pay the remaining £50.
Scans after treatment
These are scans that take place after treatment. We’ll cover these in full if they’re linked to the treatment you’ve had. For example, you may need an MRI, CT, or PET scan. You may have these scans while you are staying in hospital, or you may have them as an outpatient. Appointments are usually covered up to 6 months after your treatment.
Choice of cancer cover
You can choose between two levels of cancer cover when you join:
- Cancer Cover
If you choose to add our full cancer cover option to your Bupa health insurance policy, all of your eligible treatment costs are paid in full. You must use a healthcare facility from your chosen Bupa network and a Bupa-recognised consultant who agrees to charge within our limits. This is sometimes known as a fee-assured consultant. We're here every step of the way; from your cancer diagnosis to your treatment. - No cancer cover
You can choose to exclude cancer cover from your policy.
When you buy our health insurance online, we automatically include full Cancer Cover. If you’d like a quote for health insurance with no cancer cover, you’ll need to call us on 0345 609 0111. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. We may record or monitor calls.
Choice of three hospital networks
You can choose from three hospital networks when you join Essential Access, Extended Choice, or Extended Choice with Central London. If you have treatment that’s covered by your policy at a hospital in your network, we’ll pay the hospital costs in full, as long as you use a fee assured consultant. This is a Bupa recognised consultant whose fees we have agreed to pay.
Anytime HealthLine
With this cover, you’ll get access to Bupa Anytime Healthline, our 24-hour phone line. You can call day or night and talk to our GPs and nurses. And there’s no limit to the number of times you can call.
Parent accommodation
If a child needs to stay in hospital for treatment that’s covered under the policy, we’ll pay for one parent to stay with them. The child needs to be 17 or under and included on the policy.
Private ambulance
If you’re admitted to private hospital and it’s medically necessary for you to travel by ambulance, we’ll pay for this. We’ll pay up to £60 for each journey, as many times as you need it.
NHS cash benefit
If you have treatment through the NHS instead of using your health cover, we’ll pay a cash benefit into your bank account.
NHS cancer cash benefit
If you have treatment through the NHS rather than using your health cover, we’ll pay a cash benefit into your bank account. The amount depends on the treatment you have. For example, if you stay overnight in an NHS hospital for cancer treatment, we’ll pay £100 for each night.
You can also claim £100 for NHS treatment you have in hospital without staying overnight, or that you have at home. You could also receive £100 every three weeks if you need to take oral cancer treatments.
What’s not covered on any policy?
- Life events like pregnancy, menopause or ageing.
- Allergies and food intolerances.
- Conditions you had before your policy started
We also call these pre-existing conditions. Your policy usually won’t cover injuries or conditions you had before your cover started.
For example, if you had a knee injury in March, and then took out health cover in June, your new policy wouldn’t cover this injury. You also couldn’t claim for any tests or treatment related to the knee injury. This is because your symptoms began before you had cover. - Ongoing health issues with no known cure,
We also call these chronic conditions. Diabetes and asthma are examples of ongoing health issues with no known cure. Your policy usually won’t cover treatment related to ongoing or chronic issues.
There are some exceptions. Bupa may cover ongoing care for mental health or cancer. Even if there is no cure.
There are other exceptions to the rules that might apply to you. So, if you have a question, it’s worth getting in touch.
What’s not covered on our Treatment and Care policy?
Our Treatment and Care policy also has these three exclusions. These are as well as the exclusions that apply to all policies.
- Outpatient appointments before treatment
These are appointments that a GP or specialist might recommend that you have before you’re diagnosed. You might have these at a hospital, but you wouldn’t need to be admitted for the day or stay overnight. These appointments would help to diagnose what’s wrong with you. - Tests before treatment
These are tests that a GP or specialist might recommend before you’re diagnosed. The tests would help to diagnose what’s wrong with you. - Scans before treatment
These are scans that a GP or specialist might recommend before you’re diagnosed. The scans would help to diagnose what’s wrong with you.
Our Treatment and Care policy is designed for those who are happy to be diagnosed by the NHS. It doesn’t cover appointments, scans or tests that you may need before you are diagnosed. If you’d like to include these, choose our Comprehensive health insurance.
Important documents
Check our Comprehensive cover summary for a quick overview of what’s covered. Or see Policy benefits and terms for full details. Our booklet, Important points about your cover, has examples showing how our cover works.
Choose the right cover for you
Take a look through our Comprehensive and Treatment and Care cover options side by side and see which one is best for you.
Benefits of our health insurance
With private health insurance, we’re there for you when you need us most. Take a close look at some of the benefits you’ll get with Bupa.
Learn more about private health insurance
Get a better understanding of our health insurance cover. We also cover topics such as looking after yourself as a parent and looking after your children’s health.
Private health insurance exclusions
Before you take out health insurance, check what is and isn’t covered.
Inpatient and outpatient cover
Find out what terms like inpatient and outpatient cover mean.
Getting insurance when you’re self-employed
We’ve put together some FAQs about health insurance when you’re self-employed.
Will I need an excess on my health insurance policy?
Health insurance policies often include an excess. See our guide to understanding how excess works.
You can ask the NHS to refer you to a private hospital if:
- you have a private health insurance policy and would like to use your policy to claim for treatment
- you don’t have private health insurance, but you’d like to pay for your own treatment
- you’ve had an NHS appointment and would like a second opinion on your treatment or diagnosis from a private healthcare expert
- you feel you’d benefit from a health assessment.
It is also possible to receive private treatment within some NHS hospitals or clinics. You would need to be referred for this in the same way.
You don’t always need to see a GP first. If you have our Direct Access service and are worried about cancer, mental health or muscles, bones and joints, you can call us directly. We’ll check that you’re covered and let you know if you need to see a GP, or if you can get treatment without a referral.
Most of the time you will need to see a GP first. They’ll usually give you a referral letter explaining which specialists they’d like you to see. Sometimes a GP appointment isn’t necessary, and you may be referred by another healthcare practitioner.
Most of our health insurance customers can access digital healthcare in the My Bupa app where you can speak to GPs, nurses, physios and mental health specialists. You may be able to get a referral from here instead of visiting your NHS GP. You’ll need to check with us before arranging any private tests or appointments that your digital GP service recommends.
A doctor cannot refuse to treat a patient based on their personal views of the patient’s lifestyle. However, if a doctor has a legitimate objection or concern about a procedure, they can refuse to carry out a treatment. If this happens, all patients have the right to see another doctor.
Any treatment carried out on the NHS is free, regardless of if you have private medical insurance or not. The NHS won’t pay for private treatment.
Get a health insurance quote now
Our health insurance is designed to suit you. You can get a personalised quote by chatting to us and answering a few questions about your health and lifestyle.
Call us for a quote on
We may record or monitor our calls. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm.
Anytime HealthLine is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority. Digital GP Services are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority.
The My Bupa App is provided by Bupa Insurance Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Registered in England and Wales at 1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ. Its company number is 3829851. VAT Registration Number: 239731641.
Bupa health insurance is provided by Bupa Insurance Limited. Registered in England and Wales with registration number 3956433. Bupa Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Arranged and administered by Bupa Insurance Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales with registration number 3829851. Registered office: 1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ.
