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How do health cash plans work?

You pay a monthly payment that covers you for routine medical and dental expenses up to a specified limit. For example, you could pay £10 a month on a health cash plan and be covered for up to £150 for dental costs, £100 for physio and £100 for optical. You pay for your treatment upfront and the insurer reimburses you.

 

What do healthcare cash plans cover?

This will vary depending on your provider, however, the best health cash plans in the uk include: 
  • Opticians
  • Dental check-ups
  • Dental treatment
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropody
  • Chiropractic treatments
  • Osteopathy
  • Maternity payments
  • Acupuncture
  • Health screenings
  • Personal accidents
  • Mental health care
  • Hearing aids
  • Homoeopathy
  • Prescriptions
Some health cash plans also include complementary treatments such as aromatherapy massages, cosmetic tooth whitening or medical pedicures.
 
 
 

Things to consider before taking out a health cash plan

 

It may be cheaper to self-insure

If you’re young and healthy, it may be cheaper to self insure by paying money into a high-interest savings account monthly. It also means you’ll have access to the money if you don’t make a claim. 

 

Only buy a policy if you’re going to claim every time

Make sure you send in your claim form each time you use a health service that you can claim back on. Cash plans are only worthwhile if you make claims.

Make sure you know the policy end date

Healthcare cash plans entitle you to an allowance of money per policy year and if you don’t use up your full allowance, you won’t be able to access it anymore. If your policy ends in September, check your existing allowance in August and if you still have money left, book some appointments so you can claim back the cash. 

Pick a plan that suits your individual needs

Plans vary greatly between providers so you should compare health cash plans and pick one that best suits your needs. If you have nice teeth you won’t need a policy with lots of dental allowance or if you have perfect vision, a high optical allowance won’t be a necessity. 

Your monthly payments could add up to more than you’ve claimed back

If you don’t require regular healthcare appointments or treatments, you could end up paying significantly more into your healthcare cash plan than what you claim back.

Do you have cover through your employer? 

Healthcare cash plans are popular work perks so your employer may already offer the cover for free or for a small fee each month. 

 

Compare health insurance providers

Compare health insurance providers on Compare by Review today. We’re the first and only comparison site that ranks health insurance providers exclusively on customer experience and product quality rather than price. Our full table of providers will give you an impartial and unbiased overview so you can purchase health insurance from a high-quality provider that you can rely on when you need them most.
 
1st

Review Score

9.3/10
based on 55433 reviews

Basic Cover Quote*

£50.30
per month

Comprehensive Cover Quote**

£60.86
per month

Comprehensive Cancer Cover***

Included

Levels Of Cover Available****

2
Read Reviews
2nd

Review Score

8.8/10
based on 24745 reviews

Basic Cover Quote*

£28.94
per month

Comprehensive Cover Quote**

£37.77
per month

Comprehensive Cancer Cover***

Included

Levels Of Cover Available****

2
Read Reviews
3rd

Review Score

8.4/10
based on 245 reviews

Basic Cover Quote*

£44.13
per month

Comprehensive Cover Quote**

£46.99
per month

Comprehensive Cancer Cover***

Included

Levels Of Cover Available****

4
Read Reviews
*This quote is for a comprehensive policy with full outpatient cover, full cancer cover and London hospital access.
**This shows how many different levels of cover you can choose from.
***This shows whether the provider includes cancer cover as standard on all health insurance policies.
****This shows how many different levels of cover you can choose from.