Health Insurance for Heart Conditions. How Can You Get It?

I have lived with a heart condition for years, so I get how tough it can be. In 2011, doctors diagnosed me with a failed aortic valve. Since then, I've gone through three valve replacement surgeries, two on the NHS and one privately.

In my experience, private health insurers won't cover heart conditions you already have or take medication for. They classify these as pre-existing conditions and exclude them from policies offered by AXA PMI, Bupa, Vitality, and Aviva. That said, if you already hold a policy and develop new heart symptoms, your insurer may still cover those. Here's a bit more on how that works.

Your health insurance options with a heart condition

Health Insurance for pre-existing heart conditions

If you have a heart condition, choosing private health insurance in the UK is not as simple as it sounds. I did not realise this at first either. Most insurers will cover heart issues, but only if they are new and occur after your policy starts.

If you have already had symptoms or you are on medication, that is where it gets tricky. Most insurers will class it as pre-existing and exclude it from your policy. Every provider does this, so it is worth knowing upfront.

What are the main types of underwriting?

When you actually start looking into policies, you'll come across two options Moratorium and Full Medical Underwriting (FMU):

Moratorium

With moratorium underwriting, your insurer excludes any pre-existing conditions for the first two years of your policy. During that time, if you don't have symptoms or need treatment or medication, those conditions may be covered later. It's a simpler option as you don't need to provide your full medical history upfront.

Full Medical Underwriting

You must declare your full medical history from the start under the FMU underwriting option. Your insurer reviews everything and clearly tells you what is covered and what is excluded from day one before underwriting your policy. It takes a bit longer to set up, but you know exactly where you stand.

Health Insurance for new heart conditions

Private health insurance does not focus on your past. It focuses on what comes next. Insurers build all policies around new conditions, so if something develops after you take out cover, your policy covers it in full. Think of it less as a safety net for what's already happened and more as protection for what hasn't happened yet.

Take chest pain as an example or an irregular heartbeat, something you notice but keep telling yourself is probably nothing. With private cover, you do not have to wait weeks to find out. You can get referred to a cardiologist, have the right tests done and walk away with actual answers.

Outpatient Limit and Diagnostics

One way to bring down your monthly premium is to adjust your outpatient limit. These typically cost £500, £750, or £1,000, though some policies are unlimited. It sounds straightforward, but the limit itself is only part of the story. What really matters is whether diagnostics come out of that same pot.

Cardiac tests are not cheap privately, an angiography can cost between £1,500 and £3,000, an MRI can cost between £400 and £1,000 and an echocardiogram can cost £500. If those costs eat into your outpatient limit, it does not take much to use it up.

AXA private health insurance covers outpatient diagnostics in full, regardless of the limit you choose, which takes a lot of the guesswork out. With the Exeter, Vitality and Aviva, you can add diagnostic cover for an extra fee. Bupa and Freedom Health do not offer that option, so any diagnostics and consultations will come straight out of your outpatient allowance.

How to get health Insurance

1. Work out if you need it and what you want covered
2. Set a budget and choose your excess
3. Decide on any extras like dental, mental health or travel
4. Compare providers: Bupa, Aviva, Vitality, WPA, The Exeter and AXA healthcare provider
5. Check for deals and discounts before you commit
6. Pick your quote, pay your first premium and you are covered

Managing Costs with Heart Conditions

What to look for in a plan

Price grabs your attention first, but it rarely tells the full story. The policy wording does. Read it. Check how the insurer defines pre-existing conditions, what they class as acute, and whether they impose any waiting periods.

Look out for restricted hospital lists, consultation limits and caps buried in the small print. Most people only discover these when they go to claim, and by then, it's too late to do anything about it.

Maintaining your health insurance policy

Keep your policy going and review it every year. Life changes, and your cover should keep up. If the price jumps at renewal, don't just cancel. That's the worst thing you can do, especially if your health has changed since you first took out the policy.

Talk to your broker first. They can go back to your insurer and negotiate, or shop the market to find you something better. Our advisers at PremierPMI typically save clients up to 38% at renewal. It takes one conversation and it could save you a lot.

Conclusion

Living with a heart condition is hard enough without worrying about whether your insurance will actually come through when you need it. The right policy gives you fast access to the right people, without the NHS wait.

Whether you are looking at AXA private health insurance, Bupa, Vitality, or any of the other main providers, the most important thing is to find cover that fits your situation. We help people do exactly that every day. If you are not sure where to start, just get in touch and we will figure it out with you.

The content has been authored in collaboration with our guest contributor,  Mashum Mollah