It is tempting to assume that all private medical insurance policies are basically the same and that shopping for the lowest premium will save you money. In our experience, this is one of the costliest assumptions you can make. Cheap PMI policies usually achieve their low price by cutting benefits. They may exclude outpatient consultations or set very low limits, offer a narrow hospital network or insist you wait to see if the NHS can treat you within six weeks before private cover kicks in. Some low‑cost plans apply large excesses, meaning you pay the first £250 or £500 of each claim, or they require co‑payments that erode any saving. Others omit mental‑health support, have long “black‑out” periods before you can claim or ask employees to pay upfront and claim back later. When staff cannot access the services they expect, morale suffers and the perceived value of the benefit evaporates.
Another hidden cost of cheap policies is the hospital network. Restricted networks might exclude the private hospital nearest to your office or limit you to providers outside major cities. If your preferred consultant or hospital isn’t on the list, you either travel further or pay a shortfall out of your own pocket. Similarly, cheap plans often exclude diagnostics from their core cover, meaning employees must wait on the NHS for scans before treatment. These limitations defeat the primary purpose of PMI – quick access to diagnosis and treatment.
The six‑week wait option illustrates the trade‑off perfectly. By agreeing to use the NHS if the wait for surgery is under six weeks, you can reduce your premium by around 20–40%. However, if you need treatment in a specialty where the NHS can operate within that timeframe, the policy will not pay and you will be treated as an NHS patient. This might be acceptable if you are comfortable waiting and only want cover for longer delays. But for many, the point of PMI is to avoid NHS waiting lists entirely. A low‑premium policy with a six‑week clause may therefore be the wrong choice if immediate private care is important to you.
There are ways to control costs without stripping your policy of its core value. Adjusting the excess, choosing a regional rather than national hospital list, or adding a six‑week clause selectively (e.g., only for certain staff groups) can reduce premiums while preserving essential benefits. For example, choosing a small excess and a guided consultant list may lower costs without removing outpatient or cancer cover. On the other hand, if you have international staff or frequent travellers, upgrading to IPMI or adding overseas emergency cover may be more cost‑effective than relying on a domestic policy that becomes invalid abroad. The key is to balance cost with cover. A professional broker can help you model different scenarios and find a policy that meets your needs today and remains sustainable in the years ahead. Cheap isn’t always cheerful when it comes to your health; invest in the right cover and you will reap the benefits when it matters most.