If you're looking to buy health insurance you will likely have come across Benenden Health - a member-owned organisation with low prices and access to some private health benefits. In this article, we'll describe what Benenden Health offers and how it compares against more conventional private health insurance. We also explain how to access guidance from a health insurance expert and get £100 cashback* when you buy a private health insurance policy. Offer ends 31st July 2024.
1 minute summary - Benenden Health Review
- Benenden Healthcare is a discretionary health cover policy
- Benenden Healthcare is not private medical insurance
- You may only be able to claim if your diagnostics or treatment cannot be carried out within certain time limits on the NHS
- Cancer, heart and brain surgeries are not covered under Benenden Healthcare
- You will get access to virtual GP services as well as helplines for mental health care advice from Day 1 of your cover
- The policy costs a flat rate of £15 per month regardless of your age and health
- There is a qualifying period of at least 6 months for Diagnostics and 24 months for Surgeries
- Speak to a health insurance expert* to compare the benefits of Benenden with basic health insurance from other providers that may offer more opportunities to claim and get £100 cashback when you buy your cover
Who is Benenden Health?
Founded in 1905, Benenden Health initially started as a healthcare provider that treated people with tuberculosis in the early 1900s. It later changed its name to Post Office Sanatorium Society, extending its membership to the civil service and following subsequent name changes, Benenden Health emerged. Benenden Health is a mutual company and acts on a not-for-profit basis returning any profits to the health community.
What does Benenden Health cover?
Benenden Health offers a number of different ways to access and pay for private medical treatment. We describe each of these briefly here and in more detail further on in the article.
Benenden Healthcare – you will receive access to 24/7 GP and Mental Health Helpline, Physiotherapy and Cancer Support as well as limited private medical treatment and diagnostics (we explain the limitations below).
Benenden Health Cash Plan – you can add this policy to the Benenden Healthcare plan and it will give you cash if you pay for prescriptions, dental work, optical needs or therapies and if you are treated in a hospital either as a day-patient or in-patient as well as a personal accident payment.
Benenden Health Assessments – a range of private health assessments and home test kits that you can buy which are discounted if you are a Benenden member but can be booked by non-members too.
Benenden Self-pay treatment – you can access a number of private medical treatments and diagnostics at a Benenden Hospital should you choose to simply pay at the point of use. Although you can access self-pay treatment without buying the healthcare plan, you will get a discount if you have a healthcare plan making you a Benenden member.
What is Benenden Healthcare?
Benenden Health's healthcare policy is marketed as an affordable alternative to private medical insurance with no need for medical checks and a low price. It is a discretionary policy where your premium goes into a pot of money and Benenden provides private medical care based on the resources available through this pot.
It is important to point out that it isn't the same type of insurance that is provided by most mainstream private medical insurance providers such as Bupa, Vitality or Aviva. Some of the main benefits are offered on a discretionary basis and as such are subject to change or removal.
The biggest difference is that most other private health insurance policies will cover the cost of medical diagnostics, tests and treatments even if they can be carried out by the NHS, Benenden does not.
Benenden Healthcare provides you with access to its benefits in two stages. Policyholders are only able to access a few of the policy features from day one and have to wait six months to unlock the full benefits package and 24 months to access surgical treatment. We explain this in more detail below.
If you want to understand the difference between Benenden Healthcare and more conventional private health insurance policies that are not limited in the same way, you should speak to a private health insurance broker*. They will search the market and recommend health insurance that suits your needs.
What does Benenden healthcare cover?
| Benenden Healthcare Benefit | When can you claim? |
| 24/7 GP Helpline | Day 1 |
| 24/7 Mental Health Helpline | Day 1 |
| Care Planning and Social Care Advice | Day 1 |
| Medical Diagnostics costs up to £2,500¹ | After 6 months |
| Physiotherapy | After 6 months |
| Mental Health Counselling | After 6 months |
| Cancer Support (not treatment) | After 6 months |
| Surgical Treatment¹ | After 24 months |
¹ These benefits are available subject to NHS wait times
How do NHS wait times affect my Benenden Healthcare claim?
Benenden Healthcare differs from conventional private medical insurance in that a claim will only be authorised if the medical diagnostics or treatment you require cannot be provided by the NHS within the stipulated wait times. Furthermore, these wait times can change from time to time but at the time of writing you would qualify as follows:
- Medical diagnostics that cannot be carried out by the NHS within 3 weeks
- Surgical treatment that cannot be carried out by the NHS within 5 weeks
What is not covered by Benenden Healthcare?
In the event that you require medical diagnostics or treatment, you are not covered if:
- You can be treated by the NHS within Benenden's wait time thresholds
- Your procedure or test is not included in Benenden's approved list which includes surgeries related to cancer, heart or brain conditions as well as joint replacements
How much does Benenden healthcare cost?
Benenden Health's healthcare policy costs £15.50 per person per month and is a fixed price that remains the same regardless of how many claims you make.
How much excess will I pay with Benenden healthcare?
None, there is no excess payable with a Benenden healthcare policy so the full cost of your claim will be covered if you qualify.
How does Benenden Healthcare compare with mainstream private health insurance?
Benenden Health provides an array of healthcare benefits that are similar to full private medical insurance but there are many differences and not all for the better, so you really do have to weigh up what type of benefits are important to you. Benenden's health solutions are a pick-and-mix type of insurance policy which means that all parts of the covers available aren't available as standard but more importantly, the main health insurance cover works on a discretionary basis.
It is expected that any health insurance plan will have some limitations but it is unusual for it to be payable on a discretionary basis. Benenden explains the discretion as follows:
“We are a friendly society providing benefits from a discretionary fund. This means that the provision of services is subject to the resources we have available through membership contributions.”
There are listed hospitals that are accessible through Benenden as well as a list of procedures and treatments that can be covered. However, you would likely have to prove that you were not able to access timely treatment through the NHS first. This is generally not what is expected when you buy private health insurance but this is why Benenden is significantly cheaper than traditional health insurance plans.
However, the cost of Benenden health insurance is a fraction of what it might cost for full private medical insurance.
What is a Benenden Health Cash Plan?
The Benenden health cash plan covers an array of different everyday health costs such as dental, physiotherapy and optician's fees with the payout ranging from £50 to £600 depending on the type of plan you are on. It is a way to get cash back on some of the costs of medical expenses.
There are 5 levels of cover to choose from and you can choose between an individual or a family plan to suit your needs.
The Benenden health cash plan is available to buy if you have the main healthcare cover or if you are a travel insurance or home insurance policyholder.
What does a Benenden Health Cash Plan cover?
| Benenden Health Cash Plan covers: ² | Cashback |
| Optical | £250 |
| Dental | £250 |
| Dental Trauma | £300 |
| Therapies | £350 |
| Chiropody | £250 |
| Hearing aids | £600 |
| Hospital in-patient | £50 per night |
| Hospital day case surgery | £40 per day |
| New child / Adoption benefit | £400 |
| NHS Prescriptions | £25 |
| Personal Accident | £25,000 |
² some events are covered for their full cost while others may be covered for a proportion of the full cost
How much does Benenden health cash plan cost?
The health cash plan is available at five different levels. The plans vary in cost according to the benefits that are included and the level of cover available under each benefit type. All plans include personal accident cover up to a maximum payout of £25,000.
Monthly cost of Benenden Health Cash Plan
| Plan level | Individual price | Family price |
| Level 1 | £8.71 | £17.16 |
| Level 2 | £17.72 | £34.93 |
| Level 3 | £30.27 | £61.18 |
| Level 4 | £41.30 | £81.07 |
| Level 5 | £51.04 | £98.38 |
How do Benenden health assessments work?
Benenden health assessments offer members access to health checks even if they don't have symptoms with a view to highlighting any early health concerns.
How much do Benenden health assessments cost?
Benenden health assessments start at £84 for a full health assessment at a clinic and £53 for home test kits.
How does Benenden Self-pay work?
Besides offering policies that give customers access to private healthcare and cashback, Benenden provides private medical treatments for those without a healthcare policy. You can access private medical treatment, surgeries and diagnostics at a Benenden Hospital and pay for it yourself.
Benenden offers customers the choice of paying in full and offers ways to spread the cost of medical care when they choose to self-pay.
The self-pay route can also be accessed at a discounted rate by those whose claim for medical treatment or diagnostics is declined under the Benenden healthcare policy.
Benenden health reviews
Benenden Health scores 4.6 out of 5 stars on the independent customer review site Trustpilot, based on over 6,200 reviews. This ranks it 11 out of 23 of the best health insurance agencies by Trustpilot. The majority of poor reviews cite problems at the claim stage with policyholders claiming that they were unaware of the limitations of the health insurance. 80% of all reviewers rated Benenden Health ‘excellent' and mentioned timely appointments and value for money.
Benenden Health cover receives a 1-star Defaqto rating in the ‘individual private medical insurance' category due to the limited features of the policy. It is important to understand that Defaqto ratings indicate the comprehensiveness of a private medical insurance policy and not necessarily the quality of how it delivers for customers.
Who should buy Benenden health insurance?
Anyone who wants access to health support when the NHS is struggling should consider Benenden health insurance. Benenden is not a fully comprehensive private medical insurance proposition so may not meet your expectations if you buy it intending to replace the NHS for your healthcare needs. It is vital to bear in mind that you will need to wait for 6 months after you start your plan before you are able to access diagnostic cover.
Clearly, there will be people who would like to have some backup but are largely satisfied with the healthcare services provided through the NHS and perhaps don't mind having parts of their diagnostics and treatments covered by Benenden while being directed back to the NHS where this is suitable.
Who should not buy Benenden health insurance?
Those who want access to full private medical care that provides access to consultations, diagnostic testing and treatment, regardless of what is available through the NHS should think twice before buying Benenden health insurance, as it is likely that the insurance will fall short of their expectations.
How to work out what kind of health insurance is right for you
Health insurance can be complex. While it is possible to search for health insurance options online as well as access online comparison quotes, most websites won't draw attention to the small print and the nuances that exist between health insurance plans.
There is a wide range of health insurance options available and even if you don't wish to buy the most comprehensive health insurance option, you'll want to know that your main concerns and needs are met by the plan. Also, a large amount of technical language may prevent you from understanding exactly what is and isn't covered within any particular plan.
For this reason, we suggest that you speak to an independent private health insurance specialist*. They will take the time to understand what is important to you and how much you wish to spend before they make recommendations using their in-depth knowledge. They will use plain language to explain the pros and cons of different health insurance plans to help you make your mind up. Additionally, you can get £100 cashback* when you take out a private healthcare policy. Offer ends 31st July 2024.
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