Private medical insurance

The factors that cause medical premiums to rise above inflation

Private medical insurance isn't cheap, and it gets more expensive every year. Premiums are rising by around 10% per year, which is almost four times the rate of inflation. No claims discounts can help reduce the long term cost, but the upward trend is likely to continue.

With more and more people opting for private health care you would expect the costs to fall, but the opposite has happened: the cost of private medical insurance is increasing by around 10% per year, which is almost four times the rate of inflation.

There are several reasons for the increasing cost of private medical insurance. We're living longer, which means we're making more claims; conditions that were previously considered incurable are now treatable, but some treatments are very expensive; and private firms are building more facilities, which has an impact on their costs.