A broker compares insurers for you, matches the cover to your health and budget, arranges the policy, and handles renewals and switches — usually paid by the insurer, not you.
How it works in practice
The first job is comparison. An FCA-authorised broker looks across insurers rather than selling one company's products, so it can tell you not just what a policy offers but how it compares with the rest of the market — something you cannot do from inside a single insurer.
The second, and more valuable, job is matching. A broker weighs your age, your medical history, the hospitals you want and your budget, then explains which policy fits and why — the underwriting basis, the hospital list, the out-patient limit, the excess. Two policies at the same price can be very different, and this is the part that stops you buying the wrong one.
The third job is ongoing. A broker arranges the policy, helps if you need to claim, and comes back at each renewal to check whether your insurer is still competitive — and if not, to switch you without losing cover. It is a relationship, not a one-off transaction.
And it is usually paid by commission from the insurer rather than a fee from you. So what you get is expertise and whole-market comparison for a cost that was already inside the premium — which is why, for most people with anything to weigh, a broker is worth using.
Questions to put to the insurer or broker
- How many insurers do you compare, and are you whole-of-market?
- Why does this policy fit my health, hospitals and budget?
- Will you review it for me at renewal each year?
Related questions
- Are comparison sites the same as private health insurance brokers?
- Broker or direct: which is the better way to buy private health insurance?
- Can a broker get me cheaper private health insurance than going direct?
- Can a broker help me get private health insurance with a pre-existing condition?
How this site fits in
This explains how UK private health insurance brokers work in general. Health Insurance UK is not itself a broker and is not FCA-authorised; when you request a quote we introduce you to one selected FCA-authorised broker, which is responsible for any regulated advice, and we may be paid for the introduction. Always check any firm on the FCA Financial Services Register before you act, and remember a broker cannot cover a condition you already have — that is set by underwriting, not by who arranges the policy.
Get a free quote — a specialist broker calls you back, free and with no obligation.
Or see how UK cover compares and the FCA-authorised broker list.