Bupa, the UK's market-leading private medical insurer, has announced that they are changing the rules around how claims affect No Claims Discount Levels. The improvement to their terms will make Bupa one of the fairest in the market in this respect, enabling Bupa By You policyholders to claim for minor treatments with less worry about how that might affect renewal premiums.
The new rules, which retain the existing 14-level structure, will benefit new members immediately, with existing members benefits after their next renewal.
"We've recently made some positive changes to our No Claims Discount on our Bupa By You health insurance for new and existing customers when they renew. Now, smaller claims under £300 won't impact a customer's discount, and claims between £500 and £1200 have a smaller effect. Importantly, we've ensured that customers will never move down more than three NCD levels in one year, helping them to better manage the cost of their cover."
John Hunter-Brown, Director of Consumer Products at Bupa UK.
Comparing the old rules with the new
The table below shows how Bupa's changes will significantly benefit members, with policyholders now needing to claim over £1200 to drop down three levels on the NCD scale, compared to the previous modest amount of just £501.
Disclaimer: Changes apply to new Bupa By You health insurance policies. Existing members will benefit after their next renewal.
Remember, all of these figures are "after excess", meaning if a claim is £1250, but your excess is £250, the actual amount paid out by Bupa will be £1,000, and therefore, for this example, you'd drop by two levels, not three.
How this compares to the rest of the market
This change from Bupa sees them become one of the fairest in the market in relation to how claims affect your No Claims Discount level, second only to The Exeter at present. You can read more about how each insurer compares in this respect in this guide, which has been updated to reflect Bupa's changes.
Why is this important?
Unlike other types of insurance, such as home, car and life, the probability that you will claim at somepoint under your health insurance is relatively high; therefore, understanding the impact on premiums is essential. The fairer your insurer is about how claims impact your NCD the better and the more likely you won't need to shop around and try and switch insurers down the line.
This important but subtle information is often overlooked and rarely mentioned in online price comparisons. Our advice? Find an experienced health insurance broker who knows about this level of detail so that you get the best outcome.
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