How 3 UK insurers word cosmetic exclusion in their own policy documents, quoted rather than paraphrased.
| Insurer | Plan | What the policy document says |
|---|---|---|
| Aviva | Healthier Solutions | Cosmetic treatment is excluded, along with any consequence of it, whether or not it is carried out for psychological reasons. |
| Bupa | Bupa By You | Cosmetic, reconstructive and weight-loss treatment is excluded even where it is needed for medical or psychological reasons. |
| The Exeter | Health+ | Cosmetic and plastic surgery, bariatric and weight-loss treatment, convalescence and rehabilitation, and self-inflicted injury are all excluded. |
Where they differ
- Aviva excludes it outright.
- Bupa excludes it outright.
- The Exeter excludes it outright.
Those three axes — included or optional, capped or open-ended, referral or direct — are what separate policies that look alike on price. A plan that includes cosmetic exclusion with a low cap can be worth less than one that prices it as an option with none.
What separates them
The differences that change a claim are rarely the headline. They are whether a benefit sits in the core plan or an add-on, whether a referral is needed, what the yearly limit is, and how the excess interacts with it. Two policies at a similar price can differ on all four.
None of this covers a condition you already have. Every insurer here excludes chronic conditions, and pre-existing conditions are handled through underwriting — either declared and excluded upfront, or excluded until you have gone a defined period without symptoms or treatment.
The full document for each insurer
- Aviva Healthier Solutions: every benefit we have quoted
- Bupa By You: every benefit we have quoted
- The Exeter Health+: every benefit we have quoted
Who is not in this comparison
This page covers Aviva, Bupa, The Exeter. It does not cover AXA Health, Vitality, WPA — either because their current policy wording is not published openly, or because the document we hold does not address this benefit. Vitality, for example, keeps its plan terms behind a member login rather than publishing them, so we have no current wording to quote.
A comparison built from four documents is not the whole UK market, and saying so is more useful than implying completeness. A broker with access to a wider panel can tell you how the insurers not listed here would treat the same benefit.
Sources
- Aviva — Source: Healthier Solutions Terms and conditions (April 2025), read 4 September 2026. Page 21.
- Bupa — Source: Bupa policy guide — Bupa By You health insurance (BINS 14718) (2024), read 4 September 2026. Page 30.
- The Exeter — Source: Private Medical Insurance — Insurance Product Information Document (Health+) (October 2025), read 4 September 2026. Page 1.
Each row above is our reading of the wording in the document named against that insurer. The full quotation sits on the insurer’s own page, linked below, so the figures here can be checked against the sentence they came from rather than taken on trust.
Compare cosmetic exclusion on a quote
Get a free quote and a specialist broker will call you back to compare how these insurers handle cosmetic exclusion for your circumstances — free, no obligation. See also the guide to comparing UK cover and the list of FCA-authorised brokers.
Insurers publish these documents openly and revise them at renewal, so the figures above have a shelf life. Ask for the current policy document and the benefit schedule before deciding, and check the firm on the Financial Services Register. An FCA-authorised broker can compare the insurers available through its service and explain how each would treat your history.