A standard UK health insurance quote asks for your age, postcode and smoker status, then your cover choices: outpatient level, hospital list and excess. Age is the biggest single factor — premiums roughly double between 40 and 60 — while smoking, postcode and cover level each shift the price meaningfully. Medical history usually comes later, at underwriting.
- ✓Age is the biggest price driver — a mid-level plan runs ~£38 at 30 and ~£88 at 60.
- ✓Most quotes don't ask your medical history — underwriting handles that separately.
- ✓Your cover choices (outpatient, hospital list, excess) move the price as much as your profile.
The personal questions: who you are
The first screen of any quote is about risk you can't change. Date of birth matters most: claims rise steadily with age, so premiums track it closely. On an illustrative mid-level plan, a 30-year-old pays around £38/month, a 45-year-old around £58, and a 60-year-old around £88. Postcode matters because private treatment costs vary by region — London hospitals charge more, so London premiums run higher. Smoker status typically loads the premium noticeably, reflecting higher expected claims; insurers generally count you as a non-smoker after 12+ months nicotine-free, though definitions vary.
The cover questions: what you're buying
The second half of the form is choices, not facts — and they move the price just as much. Each one is a dial you can turn to trade cover for cost.
| Question | Why it's asked | Typical price effect |
|---|---|---|
| Outpatient cover level | Consultations and scans are the most-claimed benefit | Biggest cover-side dial — full vs none can halve a premium |
| Hospital list | Central-London and premium hospitals cost more per treatment | Wider lists cost more; regional lists save meaningfully |
| Excess | You fund the first £X of each year's claims | ~10–20% saving per step up the ladder |
| Six-week option | You use the NHS when its wait is under 6 weeks | Typically 15–25% cheaper |
| Extras (dental, travel, therapies) | Optional add-ons priced separately | Each adds a few pounds/month |
Who's on the policy matters too: adding a partner roughly doubles the price (an illustrative couple pays around £146/month), and children add less per head — a family of four averages around £167/month. One thing no quote form shows separately: Insurance Premium Tax at 12% is already baked into every price you see, so there's no extra tax surprise at checkout.
Ready with your answers?
Privacy: what happens to your answers
Quote data is personal data, and UK GDPR applies. A few practical notes before you fill anything in.
- Expect follow-up contact. Most quote forms take a phone number and email, and comparison services generally follow up. Look for the marketing-consent tickboxes and untick what you don't want.
- Health details are special-category data. Insurers must handle them under stricter rules — but at quote stage you usually haven't shared any, which is worth remembering if a form asks for more than it needs.
- Accuracy beats optimism. Understating your age or smoker status doesn't save money; it risks a declined claim later. Every answer you give becomes part of the contract.
Your five-minute prep checklist
You'll get a sharper, more comparable set of quotes if you decide a few things before you start rather than guessing mid-form.
- Dates of birth and postcodes for everyone going on the policy.
- Smoker status, honestly, including vaping — insurers ask about nicotine use, and definitions vary.
- Your outpatient decision. Full, capped (say £1,000) or none — decide the principle first, then price all three.
- Your excess. Pick a number you could pay tomorrow; £250–£500 suits most people.
- A view on hospitals. Check which hospitals are near you before paying extra for a list you'd never use.
Run the same choices past several insurers and the comparison becomes genuinely like-for-like. That's the whole game — most bad-value policies are bought because two quotes with different settings got compared as if they were the same product. Our guide to comparing health insurance properly picks up from here.
And keep the quotes. A saved comparison from this year is the fairest benchmark you'll have when the renewal letter lands next year — the questions won't have changed, but the answers' prices will.
Frequently asked questions
What questions do health insurers ask for a quote?
The standard set: date of birth, postcode, smoker status and who's being covered, then your cover choices — outpatient level, hospital list, excess and optional extras. Most quote forms don't ask detailed medical history; that's handled at underwriting, usually via a moratorium or a questionnaire.
Why does a health insurance quote ask for my postcode?
Because private treatment costs vary by region and insurers price to local hospital charges. London and the South East typically quote higher than the national average for identical cover. Your postcode can also determine which hospital lists are practical for you, which is worth checking before you pay for a wide one.
Do I have to give medical history to get a health insurance quote?
Usually not at quote stage. Prices assume standard terms, and medical history comes in at underwriting: moratorium underwriting excludes recent conditions automatically without a questionnaire, while full medical underwriting asks for your history upfront. The quote question that does affect price immediately is smoker status.
Will I get sales calls after filling in a health insurance quote form?
Often, yes — quote forms typically collect a phone number and email, and follow-up is standard across the market. Check the consent boxes before submitting and untick marketing you don't want. Under UK GDPR you can also ask any provider to delete your details after you've finished comparing.
What should I prepare before starting a health insurance quote?
Dates of birth and postcodes for everyone covered, honest smoker/nicotine status, and three decisions: outpatient level (full, capped or none), excess (£250–£500 suits most people) and hospital list. Deciding these first means every quote you run is genuinely comparable with the last one.