Over 60 Health Insurance

Health Insurance Over 60 

While everyone is different and there are 60-year-olds who have stronger constitutions and healthier bodies than your average 40-year-old, on average people in their 60s are more likely to develop a serious medical condition or disease than a younger person might be. That’s why it could be a good idea to invest in a private health insurance policy if you’re in your 60s, which could help reduce waiting times and speed up the treatment process if you do take ill.  

Compare health insurance for over 60s 

Are there specific health insurance policies for the over 60s? 

There are one or two providers that specialise in over 50s health insurance and over 60s (Saga Insurance, for instance), but for the most part, this type of insurance policy isn’t specific to a certain demographic. 

Your age is an important factor in the insurance premium calculation, of course, because your risk of developing an illness that will be covered by that policy will increase as you age, but that doesn’t mean you can only take out over 60s health insurance with a provider like Saga.  

In fact, most private health insurance providers in the UK will be happy to sell their policies to individuals in their 60s, so it’s a good idea to shop around by comparing policies from a wide range of different providers. 

Is it true this type of health insurance is more beneficial for people in their 60s? 

Well, medical data indicates that people in their 60s are statistically much more likely to develop a serious medical condition or disease than someone in their 30s or 40s, so from that perspective this type of insurance could well prove beneficial for an individual in their 60s since they’re more likely to require that private medical treatment.  

Are there any drawbacks with over 60s health insurance? 

The main drawback is the cost, particularly because people in the UK are often used to viewing healthcare as something that they can or should get for free. 

Of course, when a person decides to pay for private health insurance they generally aren’t basing their decision on whether or not they can get an entirely different service than they could get on the NHS… they’re basing that decision on the speed with which they can gain access to that service when they ‘go private’, and also on which hospitals or specialists they can use in those situations. 

How much does over 60s health insurance cost? 

The fact that the policyholder is in their 60s is only one of the factors that go into the insurance premium calculation, so any averages will be fairly inaccurate unless they take your own risk profile into account.  

That’s why the team at Quotezone.co.uk always recommends that you compare quotes that have been calculated based on your real risk factors, because that way you’ll get an accurate idea of how much you’ll have to pay. 

What are those risk factors you mentioned? 

Well, your age is obviously one of the risk factors insurance companies factor into their insurance premium calculations – and an important factor at that. 

But as we mentioned, it’s not the only one. Your lifestyle, smoking habits, vaping habits, and drinking habits will also influence the cost of your policy, as will your medical history and your history of health insurance claims. 

How do I know if the quote I’m offered is a good one? 

Since your own risk factors can vary quite a bit to someone else’s when it comes to health insurance costs, comparing your quotes to someone else’s quotes won’t necessarily tell you if the prices you’re being offered are competitive. 

The best option is to compare policies from a wide range of different health insurance providers because they’ll generally all take the same risk factors into account when they’re offering you a price. You can then compare those quotes to decide if one is good value or not.  

Does health insurance cost more in my sixties than in my fifties? 

Yes, there’s a good chance you will pay a bit more for your private health insurance in your sixties than you would have done in your fifties. 

Having said that, if you’re able to build up a decent no-claims bonus that could offset much of that increase, and shopping around by comparing different providers will also go a long way towards ensuring you aren’t paying too much for over 60s health insurance.  

If I developed a medical condition in my fifties but haven’t suffered from it since then will that be covered by my over 60s health insurance? 

Possibly, although it will depend on the timing and on the policy you’ve taken out.  

Most health insurance policies in the UK use moratorium underwriting, which means they will exclude from coverage any medical conditions or disease that you were diagnosed with or received treatment for within the moratorium period. 

Some policies will have a moratorium period of two years, which means if you didn’t suffer from the condition at all within the past two years, and didn’t require any ongoing treatment for that condition during those two years, it may now be covered by your new policy. 

Some policies have a moratorium period of three or even five years, though, which could increase the likelihood that those conditions might still be excluded, so it’s worth double-checking this before you sign up for the policy. 

Is it true my over 60s health insurance won’t cover type 2 diabetes? 

Yes, that’s true. Most insurance providers in the UK will specifically exclude cover for type 2 diabetes when you take out private health insurance with them. 

While this condition is statistically much more likely to develop as you get older, it is classed as a chronic condition that will generally be excluded from coverage no matter your age. 

The same goes for arthritis, asthma or COPD, all of which are classified as chronic conditions and therefore excluded from coverage with most providers. 

Does health insurance for over 60s include coverage for tests and scans after hospitalisation or treatment? 

Yes, most policies will include coverage for aftercare following a period of hospitalisation or outpatient treatment, even ‘treatment only’ plans. 

Although treatment-only plans generally won’t cover diagnostic tests prior to a diagnosis, scans and tests after treatment don’t fall under this ‘diagnosis’ umbrella, and will therefore usually be covered as part of the treatment process.