Write a review

BUPA: Health Insurance reviews

Name: Health Insurance
Rating: 1.43 (76 reviews)

View other BUPA products

1.26

Based on 76 reviews, last reviewed 18th Apr 2025

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

43% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

85%

Latest highest rating:

4

Bupa customer service I have Bupa with my employer, the services provider exceed that offered on the NHS. It is a bit complicated when first signing up but you get used to ... Read more Reviewed on: 24th August 2024

Latest lowest rating:

1

Bupa refusing to authorize treatment their own speci... Bupa refusing to authorize treatment their own specialist wants to perform whilst the client is in severe pain and medically deteriorating by the day Reviewed on: 18th April 2025

Read all reviews See your review

About this product

BUPA offers two levels of cover: Comprehensive health insurance, or Treatment and Care health insurance. There are options to insure yourself as an individual, yourself and your partner, or your family. Policyholders can access a range of wellbeing rewards for fitness, nutrition and relaxation.

Before taking out a new health insurance policy, check out customer reviews. Our BUPA health insurance reviews can give you real peace of mind before signing on the dotted line.

Find out which level of cover customers chose and how satisfied they are with their selection. Learn more about the different conditions that are and aren’t covered to decide if it’s the right policy for your needs. Find out if policyholders have encountered any issues and how quickly BUPA has resolved these. Learn whether customers would renew their policies. Make an informed decision about your new policy by reading our BUPA health insurance reviews.

If you’re a BUPA customer, write an honest review on Smart Money People today. How long have you been with BUPA and how satisfied have you been so far? Which level of cover do you have and why? Have you encountered any illnesses or ailments that weren’t covered under your policy that you expected to be? Are you able to choose where you receive treatment and from whom? Have you ever redeemed any of the wellbeing rewards? Have you made a claim, and if so, how quickly was it paid out? Would you recommend the policy to your family and friends? Write a BUPA health insurance review today. Together, we can help people like you make better financial decisions.

BUPA Health Insurance reviews (76)

Review of the BUPA, Health Insurance:

Terrible do not use

The documentation hoops you need to… The documentation hoops you need to jumpt through are a NIGHTMARE. In Short, you require the NHS GP to fill out a pretreatment form EVERYTIME you want access to treatment and typically costs 40£!!. Which means you speed of treatment is bottlednecked by the overwhelmed(underfunded) NHS GP service and cost an additional 40£ each time. This process was not made clear to me when i bought the policy. Try Another provider!!! Further update, I asked to change my policy but they say I have to cancel and resubmit a new one. Which means NO TREATMENT for issues the started all of this in the first place. Reviewed on: 14th February 2024

Dragged ping pong

My husband has seen dr Ramindar Dhillon for a nose treatment in January 2024. Dr D said that all his treatment is covered by Bupa, and so it was, until some point when we received at home an invoice from HCA, saying that my husband has to pay 100£ for a nausal cautery (which he doesn’t even remember to have undertaken). We contacted Bupa regarding this; they said the healthcare provider shouldn’t send any invoice to us, but contact the insurer directly. We contacted HCA; they said that this is an auxiliary bill which cannot be sent to Bupa, but has to be payed by the patient (even though the treatment is covered). We contacted Bupa again; they realised that HCA didn’t send them the 100£ invoice within 6 months of the treatment and that’s why they can’t pay anything until contacted by the healthcare provider. We contacted HCA again; they say that they actually sent the invoice to Bupa, but didn’t receive the money for it. Everything has been an annoying ping pong over several months. In the end, we had to pay the invoice to HCA, otherwise a third party would have been involved and the outstanding balance would increase. We don’t know who is responsible for the error (dr D and his team, HCA, Bupa), sure is that there have been many emails (from us, to them) without replies. We are still waiting it to be resolved, if it will be. Reviewed on: 11th November 2024

Waiting list longer than NHS

When my son received an NHS diagnosis of a very aggressive stage 4b cancer, he turned to his BUPA policy for speedy treatment. However, the earliest initial consultation was 6 weeks away. He wouldn't have lived that long! The NHS had all his tests done and treatment started before BUPA would have even seen him. I guess I don't need to say more. Reviewed on: 14th October 2024

Bupa customer service

I have Bupa with my employer, the services provider exceed that offered on the NHS. It is a bit complicated when first signing up but you get used to the process and the customer service teams can explain well Reviewed on: 24th August 2024

cheaper than AXA but also much worse

cheaper than AXA but also much worse - you really do (or do not in this case) get what you pay for. i have been with axa for many years and had a number of claims from big to small and the service and ease with which you deal with axa was (looking back) the gold standard from my perspective. but, looking to economise, i thought i would switch to bupa - seemed the same on paper, and i had not heard anything overtly bad. booking a gp appointment with the app was "ok" at best - really lousy app design and disjointed but got there in the end. but i will share the exact experience which has made me start the process of switching back to AXA. - son had a breathing problem for which GP made a referral and used the phrase "problem had been going on for a long time" (using my son's words) - BUPA stated this is "pre existing" as the wording "long time" was used and i needed a letter from my own GP stating my son had no pre existing conditions - i then got this letter (paid for by myself) and sent along to BUPA - they then reviewed this letter and decided to disregard it, reverting back to the original and saying this is considered pre-existing - i was then asked for ANOTHER GP referral explicitly stating when symptoms started - using BUPA's own GP i had ANOTHER appointment and then obtained a referral explicitly stating symptom start date and sent along thinking this should be the end. - BUPA rejected this third letter (even though it was from a GP in their own network) referencing the first letter saying they consider this to be pre-existing. obvious questions... why ask for me to pay for a pre-existing medical conditions statement when it was going to be disregarded? why ask me to get a second referral (from their own GP) if it was going to be disregarded? if they cannot trust a referral from THEIR OWN GP, what is anyone to do? how will the GP feel when i inform them (which i will) that their professional medical opinion is being ignored? since then, i have booked and paid for my own appointment as i don't have the time to waste with BUPA. i have also started the process of going back to AXA where i have used their claims process for more minor issues than this (mild rash and seen a skincare specialist also for my son). i am sure BUPA are great when there are serious black and white problems that obviously cannot be classified as pre existing (but i am sure they would try). however, be warned, if you have something a little less clear cut (especially with children it would seem) such as my case, you are probably in for a bit of a scrap with BUPA to get coverage as it seems they will do WHATEVER they possibly can to make this as difficult or impossible for you. sadly, in this case they have won as i don't have the time to waste with them anymore. i am fortunate that i can cover this out of my own pocket, but if you are not, then I STRONGLY suggest that when working with BUPA make sure you tell whatever GP to be crystal clear and water tight in any referrals and try to eliminate any possibility for BUPA to push back on the claim. hopefully, someone finds this disappointing and cautionary tale useful Reviewed on: 24th July 2024

Every time I call them, I have to mentally prepare m...

Every time I call them, I have to mentally prepare myself for a fight because they seem unwilling to provide you with cover for anything Reviewed on: 2nd April 2024

Just cancelled my membership as the customer service...

Just cancelled my membership as the customer service is terrible. It took me over 6 months just to get reimbursement on a claim that I should not have paid due to being misinformed by a Bupa agent. I then spent several hours on several different occasions chasing the payment as the customer service reps kept giving me incorrect information. Very very disappointed and glad I cancelled! Reviewed on: 29th February 2024

We paid for highest cover but when we tried to claim...

We paid for highest cover but when we tried to claim help we were told to pay for a private scan , they take your money and your on your own !! PLEASE FOLK DO NOT RISK PAYING BUPA Reviewed on: 3rd January 2024

What a waste of money

We took out the highest level of cover , as soon as we needed to claim they made every excuse possible not to help they insist you then get a doctor letter before they help which csts £96 extra and takes weeks and weeks to arrive meanwhile your in limbo , we were told to pay for a private scan !! Even though we had paid into Bupa PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT BE FOOLED INTO PAYING BUPA Reviewed on: 27th December 2023

Stay away

Sad joke they are, saty as far away as possible Reviewed on: 7th December 2023

Its a con

My policy covers me for the treatment i'm claiming for but still they won't pay, how are they allowed to get away with this its criminal. Reviewed on: 25th November 2023

Are you a business? Get insights, reply to reviews, invite customers and understand their needs

Alternative products

Health Insurance
from General and Medical Health Insurance 5.00 from 4 reviews
Health Insurance
from WPA Health Insurance 1.47 from 28 reviews
Simply Cash Plan
from Simplyhealth 4.29 from 5 reviews

Join Smart Money People

Keep up to date on ratings of your favourite businesses. Find out about our awards and write new reviews with ease

Create an account

News, guides and insight from our team

View resource hub