Health Insurance With No Excess: Is £0 Excess Worth It?
You can get UK health insurance with no excess — paying nothing towards claims — but you’ll pay a higher premium for it. Here’s what excess actually means, what £0 really costs versus £250 or £500, who it genuinely suits, and how to keep the premium sensible if you want it.
Quick Answer
Excess is the amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays the rest — usually £0, £100, £250 or £500, applied once per policy year. A £0 (no excess) policy means you pay nothing towards eligible claims; the insurer covers them from pound one, in exchange for a higher monthly premium.
Who it suits: people who want predictable costs, couldn’t easily find £250–£500 upfront, expect to claim regularly, or are covering children. Who should skip it: the healthy and rarely-claiming, who usually save more by taking a higher excess and a lower premium.
The catch to remember: no excess makes claiming cheaper, not cover wider — pre-existing rules, waiting periods and limits all still apply.
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What Excess Actually Means
Start with the fundamental, because half the searches on this topic are really asking it: your excess is the amount you agree to pay towards a claim before your insurer pays the rest. Pick a £250 excess and you cover the first £250 of your private treatment in a policy year; the insurer pays eligible costs above it. Pick £0 — “no excess” — and you pay nothing towards eligible claims at all. It’s almost always applied once per policy year, not per claim, so a second claim in the same year typically has no further excess. The excess is one of four main premium levers, alongside your outpatient limit, hospital list and cover level — the full mechanics sit in our complete guide to health insurance excess, and this page focuses on the £0 end of that choice specifically.
£0 vs £250 vs £500: What It Costs
The rule is simple: the higher your excess, the lower your premium, because you’re taking on more of the risk. Removing the excess (going to £0) pushes the premium up. Illustrative monthly ranges for 2026 — genuinely illustrative, since postcode, age, underwriting and benefits all move them:
| Profile | £0 excess | Higher excess |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy 30-something, regional city | ~£45–£65/mo | ~£35–£50/mo (£250) |
| Couple, mid-40s, London | ~£150–£220/mo | ~£110–£170/mo (£500) |
| Family of four, parent early 50s | ~£160–£260/mo with £0 for children, £250 for adults — a common compromise | |
So the honest way to read it: going from £0 to a £250 excess often saves a meaningful slice each month, and you only “lose” if you actually claim — at which point you’d pay that £250 once in the year. Whether £0 wins is a bet on how often you’ll claim. Model your own numbers with the health insurance calculator, and when comparing quotes, don’t stop at the excess — check the outpatient limit, whether cancer and mental health are covered, and which hospital list you’re on, since those move the price as much as the excess does.
Who No-Excess Suits — and Who It Doesn’t
| £0 excess makes sense if… | A higher excess makes sense if… |
|---|---|
| You want predictable costs, no surprise bills | You’re young, healthy, rarely claim |
| You’d struggle to find £250–£500 upfront | You have savings to cover an excess comfortably |
| You expect regular claims (scans, physio, investigations) | You mainly want cover for major “just in case” events |
| You’re covering children or older relatives | You’re topping up an employer scheme |
The genuinely useful middle path for families: set £0 excess for children (who tend to need more GP, specialist and diagnostic visits) and a modest excess for healthy adults. Many insurers allow different excesses per person on one policy, which lets you spend the money where it’s actually used. If your budget is the real constraint, it’s also worth honestly weighing a health cash plan versus full insurance before defaulting to a top-tier £0 policy — different product, sometimes the better fit.
The “Everything’s Covered” Myth
The one misunderstanding worth clearing up
£0 excess does not mean everything is covered. It only removes your contribution to eligible claims — it doesn’t change what’s eligible. On a no-excess policy, exactly as on any other: pre-existing conditions are still excluded on new cover, waiting periods still apply, and every treatment limit, outpatient cap and exclusion is unchanged. Removing the excess makes claiming cheaper for you, not your cover broader. When you compare policies, read the cover terms — not just the excess number.
Keeping the Premium Down If You Want £0 Excess
Want the predictability of no excess without the top-tier price? Pull the other levers instead:
Use a guided or restricted hospital list. Let the insurer pick from a panel of hospitals rather than the full national network and the premium can drop 10–25% — often the single biggest saving, and for most people the excluded hospitals are London-premium sites they’d never use anyway.
Trim outpatient cover — carefully. Outpatient tests and consultations are a major premium driver. Rather than stripping them out, switch from unlimited to a £500 or £1,000 limit, keep full cancer diagnostics, and use the NHS or self-pay for minor issues. The outpatient limits guide walks the trade-offs.
Bank no-claims discounts and rewards. Some insurers reward a claim-free year with a discount, and wellness perks (gym discounts, activity points) chip away further. The point of all three: keep the £0 excess you want, and offset it by economising on benefits you’ll use less.
Changing Your Excess Later
Usually you can only change your excess at renewal, not mid-policy — so if you start with a £500 excess to keep costs down and later want to move to £0, that’s a renewal conversation, and reducing the excess may trigger fresh underwriting or a terms review as well as raising the premium. The practical takeaway: your excess isn’t a life sentence, but it’s an annual decision, so revisit it each renewal as your health, budget and family change. The mechanics are in changing your excess mid-term, and if you’re weighing the whole policy afresh, is private health insurance worth it and the best health insurance reviews are the places to start.
No-Excess Health Insurance FAQs
What is excess on health insurance?
Excess is the amount you agree to pay towards a claim before your insurer pays the rest. Common levels are £0, £100, £250 or £500, usually applied once per policy year rather than per claim. So with a £250 excess, you pay the first £250 of your annual private treatment and the insurer covers eligible costs above that. A £0 (no excess) policy means you pay nothing towards eligible claims — the insurer pays from pound one — in exchange for a higher monthly premium.
Can you get health insurance with no excess?
Yes — most major UK insurers let you choose a £0 excess when you set up a policy, and many let you set different excess levels for different family members (for example £0 for children, £250 for adults). The trade-off is a higher monthly premium. No excess doesn’t mean everything is covered, though: pre-existing condition rules, waiting periods and treatment limits still apply exactly as they would on any policy.
Is £0 excess health insurance more expensive?
Yes, all else equal. Choosing no excess raises your premium compared with the same policy at £250 or £500 excess, because you’re handing the insurer more of the risk. As a rough sense of scale, moving from £0 to a £250 excess often trims a meaningful slice off the monthly cost. Whether that’s worth it depends on how often you expect to claim — frequent claimers may come out ahead with £0, infrequent ones usually save with a higher excess.
Is no excess better than a higher excess?
It depends entirely on how you’d use the policy and your cashflow. No excess suits people who want predictable costs, would struggle to find £250–£500 upfront, expect regular claims, or are covering children. A higher excess suits the healthy, the rarely-claiming, and anyone comfortable self-funding a few hundred pounds if they do claim — they pocket the lower premium. There’s no universally ‘better’ answer; it’s a bet on your own likely usage, and the honest move is to price both and compare.
Does no excess mean everything is covered?
No — this is the commonest misunderstanding. A £0 excess only removes your contribution towards eligible claims; it doesn’t widen what’s eligible. Pre-existing conditions are still excluded on new policies, waiting periods still apply, and every policy’s treatment limits, outpatient caps and exclusions are unchanged. Removing the excess makes claiming cheaper for you, not more comprehensive. Read the cover terms, not just the excess, when comparing.
How can I get no-excess cover without a huge premium?
Pull the other levers instead of the excess. A guided or restricted hospital list can cut the premium 10–25% versus a full national network; trimming unlimited outpatient cover to a £500 or £1,000 limit reduces cost while keeping the important stuff; and no-claims discounts and wellness rewards chip away further. The idea is to keep the £0 excess you want but offset it by economising on the benefits you’ll use less — so you get predictable claiming costs without the top-tier price.
Can I change my excess later?
Usually only at renewal, not mid-policy. You can typically move from, say, £500 to £0 (or the reverse) when the policy renews each year, though reducing your excess may prompt fresh underwriting or a terms review, and it will raise the premium. If your circumstances change — a new baby, a tighter or looser budget — renewal is the moment to revisit the excess level rather than assuming you’re locked into your original choice.
Can businesses choose £0 excess for staff?
Yes — most corporate and SME health insurance lets the employer set a £0 excess for employees, which is popular for recruitment and retention because staff never face a bill when they claim. It raises the employer’s premium, so it’s worth modelling the cost difference against a modest excess, but as a benefit it’s clean and easy for employees to understand, which is part of its appeal on a benefits package.
Important Information
This guide is general information, not financial or insurance advice. Premiums, excess options and terms vary by insurer, postcode, age, underwriting and benefits — the figures here are illustrative for 2026 and not quotes. Always read the policy wording and obtain personalised quotes, and take regulated advice where needed. No-excess cover does not remove pre-existing condition exclusions, waiting periods or treatment limits. For a personal recommendation, speak to an FCA-regulated adviser or broker. If you compare quotes through this site, we may receive a commission from our FCA-regulated partners at no cost to you; this does not influence our editorial guidance.
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