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BUPA: Health Insurance reviews

Name: Health Insurance
Rating: 1.43 (76 reviews)

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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

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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:

WORST INSURANCE COMPANY I'VE EVER USED. PLEASE TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE!

I am honestly so utterly disgusted with BUPA, the way they have treated me and the absolute lies they have told me. I am 49 and have been with BUPA for a large part of my life through private and company policies and chose to stay with them when moving from a company to private policy in April as they offered a continuation policy (apparently!!) I was quoted approx £80 per month and having had around 10 brain operations I thought was very reasonable. I was then asked if I had had any issues with my back such as arthritis and whilst I hadn't, I explained that I had fallen over on an icy travellator a few years ago and had 2 lots of injections in my back (which didn't work) and some physio but that there was no further treatment that I could have nor would be able to have (I had written proof of this) as I had been left with chronic pain and not a back condition. Bupa do not cover treatment for Chronic Pain but despite this they loaded my premium by 150% from £80 per month to over £200 per month, purely because of my back pain and told me that it would not be reduced again at any point, even though they could see that I was not and could not claim anything for it and that it would increase further every year with age etc I asked them to exclude my back if they were happier doing so, although I did not really see why it was necessary, but they refused, and despite there being recordings and written proof that the loadings were solely because of the fall and not my brain ops (the brain condition has now been cured), they then lied and started suggesting that it was to do with the brain ops after all to justify the huge increase. They also said that I was told it could be changed within the first 21 days of cover and they could have looked at excluding it, another lie as I was never told that. I pointed out that they had already told me it was not to do with my brain and I asked for an explanation as to why the loading was so huge. They then told me they don't have to explain that to me and if I wasn't happy I could seek cover elsewhere, which will obviously leave me with no cover for anything that is considered pre existing, such as any treatment relating to my brain should I ever need it again. This is only a snapshot of what has happened and the way that I have been treated by them but I can honestly say I have never been treated with such total indifference and lack of compassion by a company before. They have absolutely stitched me up and taken an additional £1500 from me this year for something that they themselves admit they do not even cover. I would urge you to go elsewhere for cover. My family are now cancelling their policies too and I will never ever recommend BUPA to anyone, indeed I would urge anyone looking for cover to take their business elsewhere. Reviewed on: 21st January 2021

Terrible patient experience on the GP service

Endlessly on hold with staff who seem unable to book am appointment. Spoke with a remote supposed GP who cannot prescribe my medication. Take your credit card details with no difficulty. Complete waste of money- avoid! Reviewed on: 14th July 2023

PLEASE READ

Bupa underwriters are the lowest of the low. Their policy is that it’s not pre existing if you’ve had no treatment within 5 years. I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED TREATMENT IN MY LIFE, ONLY THING RELATABLE IS FROM 2008 WHEN I DIDNT RECEIVE TREATMENT. Bupa: “but how do we know that your condition isn’t ongoing and you have actually been receiving treatment in the last 5 years.. you need to prove that you’ve been well since 2008” Me: “but there’s nothing in my medical history to say I have received treatment ever!” Bupa: “we need letter from your doctor to prove you’ve been well in the last 5 years” Me: “but if I’ve been unwell and received treatment in the last 5 years it would be in my medical history and on the form” Bupa: “but how do we know you’ve not received treatment..” And round and round we go.. So I’m guilty until proven innocent. How can I prove that a condition isn’t pre existing other than not having it in my medical records?? So any condition that I try to claim treatment for they can say, although it’s not in your medical records you need to prove you’ve been well in the last 5 years.. How do I prove wellness? Your doctor needs to say you’ve been well. Medical records show no treatment. Not enough. What?!! Bupa are a joke of a company. I will soon to be cancelling my policy and advising my company to switch all employees to an alternate provider. Reviewed on: 29th June 2023

AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!

Impossible to receive treatment. Tried to receive treatment for a mental health condition and they have refused treatment based one thing vaguely similar being in my medical history from 15 years ago. Their policy says something is pre existing if you’ve had treatment within 5 years. I had to wait weeks for my GP to fill in the form (and pay them) to say I’ve had no treatment at all in the last 15 years but now Bupa are asking for more info from GP. To prove wellness in last 5 years, even though there are no related records in my history in the last 5 years!? So they don’t trust or even understand their own pre treatment form! Basically there trying everything they can to try find a loophole to withstand treatment for me. This is the worst company I’ve ever experienced with in dealing with private medical care. If I had known how poor their service was I would never have signed up with them. Please please please do yourself a favor and choose a different provider. Reviewed on: 28th June 2023

Absolute crap

Absolute crap. Absurdly hard to navigate app Bupa Touch that makes you open a separate app Babylon. Try to schedule a call consultation, takes all your info..confirms... then no one ever calls. You try again and you're asked to pay....You give up and call...but wait...their phone lines are limited or closed depending on the day. Forget Sunday. And when they are opened prepare to wait a LONG LONG time. We pay for this!??? Why is it impossible to get BUPA to answer the phone? - the worst customer service. Reviewed on: 7th May 2023

Incredible incompetence

We became Bupa customers by default when IHI (our insurer) was bought by Bupa. A few years after that, Bupa took over the customer service for we former IHI members. It was a nightmare. IHI customer service staff are empowered, switched on, problem solvers, team players with their colleagues and well trained -- Bupa UK customer service basically just answer the phones (not our questions) and would email us incorrect answers which meant we had to follow up again and again. Different departments in Bupa don't work together well, (or at all) and no one person takes responsibility so you are constantly in a merry go round of explaining the situation to the next person who answers the phone. Bupa even offered us $ (just a few hundred) as apologies for some of their errors. And for some reason Bupa are still sending us emails informing us that "document(s) are now available to view on MembersWorld, your dedicated self-service portal:", when we clearly no longer have access to MembersWorld since we are no longer "members"! Ridiculous and laughable, except that it cost us so much time and energy to communicate with them and get them to do their job-- while at the same time we had a family member in hospital. IHI was amazing and Bupa is a nightmare that I suggest you avoid. Reviewed on: 30th April 2023

Phone Lines and Customer Service are a Joke

Cannot get through, wait times are incredibly long. The mental health line (which I assumed would be well staffed) had a hold time in excess of 10 minutes after going through numerous menu choices, I hate to say it but you could be dead by time they responsd., I gave up, I will be ringing the Samaritans about this experiance. Reviewed on: 28th April 2023

Why BUPA should never be used

BUPA has the worst customer care and technology of any company I have ever dealt with in the U.K. In January I tried to make an appointment for a family member via the BUPA app, but can't as family member not listed. When I call BUPA I'm told they aren't “listed on the app” although they are on the policy. The app people blame BUPA, BUPA blame the app. pupa outsource their app. Both side say it is the other sides issue. It is currently impossible for me to make an appoint for 2 people in my family. Every contact I’ve had with BUPA has been extremely poor. When dealing with a family member who had Scarlet Fever I spent over 3 hours on the phone to Bupa and the app company when trying to make an appointment. I think in total 9 phone calls. In the end we went to A&E, some 10 hours after first making contact with BUPA. 10 hours lost at a critical time. BUPA’s action and processes are actually detrimental to the health of their members. Essentially I am paying BUPA to make my family more ill. What was even more annoying were the return phone calls from BUPA to tell me the complaint was being looked at. On these calls I asked if I could make an appointment, the answer was always no. This morning I called to follow up on my complaint and the automated responses were: The process: - Press 1 for complaints - I had to listen to a 30 second message about you being closed over Christmas and New Year! 4 months out of date - Then a message to say the offices are closed!!!!! Numerous links on the apps and the BUPA website don’t work. BUPA have some serious issues with your website and how Cloudflare is set up as it is blocking logins from your site. Reviewed on: 1st April 2023

Customer service !!

Bupa is one of the tier one health insurance provider in Australia but their customer service is the worst in my experience. The online platform, myBupa doesn't work most of the time. A simple contact details update will require multiple days of waiting. Very easy to buy a policy but not so easy to cancel one. Still need to fill up forms sign and scan them and send it back to them and then call them to cancel. Very lengthy and hectic process. Moreover, each time you call their support / admin team, you will need to hold for 45min - 1 hour. A big NO. Reviewed on: 2nd February 2023

Bupa killed my husband

Disgusting company. They took months to approve my husband’s drugs, and by the time they approved it was too late. They on purpose delayed the decision so that patient would not benefit. When it comes to real help, they turn their backs. Staff is extremely incompetent, had no idea what they were doing and also they lack knowledge. People received that drug on nhs, and we could not get it on private. All because of money. The life is lost. Reviewed on: 9th September 2022

An absolute con!

I was born with a large mole on my back… it’s been there my whole life. Just seen a dermatologist who said it needs to come off for analysis as it’s not looking great. Had GP confirm in the paperwork that BUPA asked to have completed, that this is a current issue and I have had zero pre treatment for this particular mole in the past, however, BUPA won’t cover it as they are saying it’s pre existing because the mole was already there! HELLO… everything on my entire body has been with me since the day I was born… does this then mean that nothing on my body since day dot of signing up and paying for private medical cover is actually covered? Complete waste of time, money and effort. DO NOT USE! Fraudulent!!! Reviewed on: 9th September 2022

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