Like a car policy in principle — but which claims count against it varies enough to change the maths.
What the policy documents actually say
The Exeter includes a no-claims discount that earns reductions on premiums if you stay healthy and do not claim. Aviva offers a protected no-claims discount as an option, which holds your discount at its current level rather than letting it fall after a claim.
What does not count is where the value hides. Aviva ring-fences dental and optical: claims in that benefit group do not affect the no-claim discount. AXA Health exempts more — dentist fees, optician fees and eye tests under its cashback option, its external prosthesis payment, Doctor at Hand consultations, and its NHS cash benefits — and none of those affect the discount either.
That creates a genuine decision on small claims. A £200 physiotherapy claim that drops your discount several levels can cost more over the following years than paying it yourself, whereas an exempt benefit costs nothing to use.
It also complicates switching. A discount accrued with one insurer does not transfer, so a cheaper headline quote elsewhere may be more expensive once you account for the discount you are abandoning.
Ask for the discount ladder in writing: how many levels there are, what each is worth, and how many you drop per claim. Insurers rarely volunteer it and it is the only way to work out whether to claim.
Questions to put to the insurer or broker
- Which benefits are exempt from affecting the discount?
- How many levels do I drop for one claim?
- Can I protect the discount, and what does that cost?
Related questions
- Is company-paid private health insurance taxed as a benefit in kind?
- Does private health insurance cover A&E or an emergency?
- Will private health insurance pay for cosmetic surgery?
- Does private health insurance cover dental treatment and glasses?
Sources
- Source: Aviva — Healthier Solutions Terms and conditions (2025-04), read 4 September 2026.
- Source: AXA Health — Personal Health membership handbook, October 2024, read 4 September 2026.
- Source: The Exeter — Private Medical Insurance — Insurance Product Information Document (Health+) (2025-10), read 4 September 2026.
The limit behind every answer here
None of this reaches a condition you already have. Cover is written for problems that arise after it starts, so anything you have symptoms of when you apply is excluded — permanently under full medical underwriting, or until a symptom-free period has passed under a moratorium. Chronic conditions are excluded by every insurer whose wording we hold. Figures quoted come from current policy documents and change at renewal, so check the document you are actually offered.
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