Ask for a breakdown, request a cheaper equivalent, and get the same cover priced elsewhere — because a renewal can legally exceed a new-customer price.
What actually happens
The first move is to make the insurer justify the number. Ask for a breakdown of the increase and a like-for-like alternative at a lower price. Insurers can usually offer a cheaper version of the same cover by adjusting the excess, the hospital list or an NHS-wait option, and they rarely lead with it unless you ask.
The second move is leverage from the wider market. Private medical insurance is not covered by the FCA rules that stop home and motor insurers charging existing customers more than new ones, so your renewal can sit above what a new customer would be quoted for identical cover. A cheaper quote elsewhere is both a saving in its own right and a lever in the conversation with your current insurer.
The third is to switch cleanly if the numbers justify it. Moving on continued personal medical exclusions, with no gap in cover, keeps your existing conditions recognised, so you can act on a better price without restarting your medical history or your qualifying periods. That removes the main reason people feel trapped into paying the renewal.
A broker does the comparison across several insurers and knows which will accept your switch and on what terms. That turns challenging the quote from a single phone call into a proper market check, which is where the real savings usually appear.
Questions to put to the insurer or broker
- Can you break down the increase and offer a cheaper equivalent plan?
- What is the new-customer price for the cover I am renewing?
- Which insurers would take me on continued exclusions, and at what price?
Related questions
- Can I cancel my private health insurance mid-term and get a refund?
- Can I switch health insurer and keep my condition covered?
- What is continued personal medical exclusions (CPME) when switching?
- Does private health insurance get more expensive every year in the UK?
What a switch cannot change
Switching insurer or adjusting cover changes the price, not your medical history. A condition you already have stays excluded when you move — carried across as it stands on continued personal medical exclusions, re-declared under full medical underwriting, or parked under a fresh moratorium. Chronic conditions are excluded by every insurer whose wording we hold, and renewal terms change each year, so read the document you are actually offered before you commit.
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