For many people in their late 50s and early 60s, it can be, because this is the stage where you’re more likely to need scans, consultant appointments and planned procedures, and where fast diagnosis and treatment matter most. If you’re still earning and want to avoid long NHS waits for things like hip, knee or cataract treatment, private cover buys speed and certainty. It’s less compelling if you’re in good health, on a tight budget, and comfortable using the NHS. The honest test is how much you value being seen and treated quickly in the years around retirement, versus the monthly premium, which rises with age.

If your cover is through your employer, it usually ends when you leave, which can be a shock if you’ve relied on it for years. The important option to know about is CPME (Continued Personal Medical Exclusions): many insurers let you move from a company scheme to your own personal policy within a limited window, often 30 to 60 days of leaving, keeping continuity of cover for conditions that arose while you were on the company plan. Miss that window and a brand-new policy may treat those conditions as pre-existing and exclude them. So if you’re retiring and losing employer cover, act within the window and take advice, rather than letting the cover simply lapse.

Premiums rise steadily with age. As a rough 2026 guide, comprehensive cover for a healthy person around 60-65 often runs in the region of £150-265 a month, and higher into the 70s, though your actual price depends on cover level, excess, hospital list, location and medical history. Age is the single biggest driver, because the likelihood of needing treatment rises. This is why buying before retirement and keeping the policy running is usually more economical than taking out cover for the first time at 65 or 70, when premiums are higher and some insurers stop accepting new applicants. Comparing like-for-like quotes is the best way to manage the cost.

Generally, keeping an existing policy is the safer strategy once you’re past about 65. Switching to a new insurer later in life is harder: a new policy usually imposes fresh underwriting, so pre-existing conditions may be newly excluded, and some insurers decline new applicants over 70 or 75. An existing policy preserves continuity of cover for conditions you’ve already been treated for. Even if the premium feels steep, holding onto cover you already have is often better value than the apparent saving of switching, once you factor in the exclusions a new policy would apply. A broker can tell you whether switching genuinely helps in your specific case.

The aim is the right structure, not the most expensive plan. The main levers are the hospital list (a regional list is often plenty unless you specifically want central London hospitals, which cost more), outpatient and diagnostics cover (valuable at this age for scans and consultations), your excess (a higher excess lowers the premium), and the underwriting basis (moratorium, full medical underwriting or CPME if moving from employer cover). Some retirees also like plans that only trigger private cover when NHS waits exceed a set period, which reduces the premium. Getting these right lets you transition into retirement smoothly, so it’s worth comparing options or taking broker advice.

Usually not on a new policy. Standard private health insurance doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, and this matters more as you get older and are more likely to have a medical history. This is exactly why the CPME route and continuity of cover are so important around retirement: keeping an existing policy (or porting it properly when leaving employer cover) preserves cover for conditions already recognised, whereas starting fresh risks having them excluded. If you’re healthy now, taking out cover earlier means fewer exclusions later. If you already have conditions, focus on continuity rather than switching, and get advice before making changes that could lose you cover.