Top health insurance compared

About Top health insurance compared

Health cover is bought for a single reason: paying for care when it cannot be absorbed out of pocket. This ranking sets out the brands that sell it, and it weighs what households check before signing. Cost comes first, because a policy cheap on paper can turn expensive once the cover runs out. Safety of the money and the honesty of the provider sit alongside that, and the way the account runs decides how much effort it takes to keep the policy alive month after month. A health policy is a family of products, not a single one. Private treatment cover, a hospital stay plan, a travel health add-on and a senior health plan answer different needs, and a brand may cover a single product, several or the whole family. A broker places cover with an insurer, a comparison site puts several side by side, and an insurer underwrites the risk itself. That difference decides who answers when a claim is disputed and who carries the cost. A further point to weigh early: the cheapest entry price is rarely the whole bill. Cover limit, excess and the definition of an eligible claim decide what you pay on the day. The ranking covers 200 brands, partners listed first and the rest by score. Prices vary by market, so each brand is judged on its own terms rather than on a single currency.

How we picked

Every brand here is scored on the same measures, and the weights are published so the order can be argued with. Trust carries the most weight at 40%, because a health policy is a promise to pay and the provider has to keep it. Cost accounts for 35% of the score, and the offer itself for 25%, which is where the limits available and the flexibility of the terms are judged. Each score was built from the data listed on this page: the entity behind the brand, whether it is a broker, an insurer or a comparison site, the cover limit offered, the excess, the starting premium, the payment model and the support channels available. Site-wide figures such as the median starting premium were used as context, so a low entry point is judged against what the rest of the market charges. Support channels were counted the same way, since a policy that can only be discussed in writing is harder to run than one with a phone line and a help centre. The listing rule is simple: partners are listed first, in the agreed order, and everything after them is ordered by score. Across the site the data covers 2,247 brands, of which 1,336 are licensed, and this ranking draws on 200 of them with 2 partners. Brands lower down are not poor; they score less well on the weighted measures or serve a narrower need.

Our top picks

1. 6. CHECK24

   This ranking places CHECK24 on range and reach. It is a comparison site founded in 1999 that places health alongside dental, income protection, auto, home, life, travel, pet, motorcycle and gadget cover, among the broadest catalogues here, and it runs monthly payments. It quotes a stated entry premium of €0.69 rather than a free starting point. Support runs on chat, email and phone, a fuller setup than most, and claims can start through CHECK24 Versicherungscenter online claim form, insurer online claim form and post by form or post. Against Singlife PH below it, the difference is who carries the risk: CHECK24 compares plans from others, while Singlife underwrites the cover itself.

   • Premium from: €0.69
   • Insurance types: Auto, Home, Life, and 7 more
   • Provider type: Comparison site

   Pros

   • Broker model: broker means loan, mortgage and policy terms come from partner banks and insurers rather than from a single provider
   • Daily-access savings with no notice period, cancellable at any time, at a headline rate of 3.82%
   • A single catalogue covering auto, home and life, so most household policies can be compared in one place
   • Support runs on chat, email and phone, with phone and a help centre listed alongside email and chat

   Cons

   • A comparison site rather than an insurer or lender: comparison site means the terms and the protections depend on the partner matched to you
   • The median easy-access rate across the site is 3%, under the CHECK24 headline rate of 3.82%, so cheaper listings exist
   • The listed credit check is soft prequal, which leaves any hard search to the partner bank once an offer is accepted
   • Claims run on CHECK24 Versicherungscenter online claim form, insurer online claim form and post, so a claim is filed through an online form or by post and no counter service is listed

What to look for

What the cover actually pays for

A low premium means little if the ceiling is low, so read the cover limit before the price and check whether it applies per person or per treatment. IATI Seguros offers medical assistance in Europe up to a stated ceiling on its IATI Escapadas product, while Singlife PH caps medical bills for dengue, coronavirus and accidents on its bundled protection plan. Across this ranking the median starting premium is €9.14, with the lower quarter of brands at €3.73.

The excess, the part you pay

The excess is what a claim pays out first, and it is the usual reason a cheap policy feels expensive later. IATI Seguros starts the stated excess at €0, while Wafir.ma quotes excesses that run MAD 1,000 to MAD 5,000. The median figure for this field across the ranking is €17.54, with the upper quarter at €508.31.

Who stands behind the policy

An insurer carries the risk on its own balance sheet. A broker or a comparison site places cover with someone who does, which adds a step between you and the claim. Brokers account for 32.7% of this ranking, comparison sites for 26.5% and insurers for 39.3%. Ask who underwrites the policy before you start.

How the account runs

A policy paid monthly can be changed or paused more easily than one settled in a block, and most health cover in this category is set up that way. Monthly payments account for 90.6% of the ranking, with 9.4% running without them. Check who bills you and what happens to the cover if a payment is missed.

Who you reach when a claim runs

Support is a practical measure of how a provider behaves under pressure. A phone line appears for 86.1% of the ranking, with email at 75.4% and a help centre for 71.7%. GoHealth LLC runs on phone only, so questions need a call.

What health cover leads to

Health sits alongside other lines for most of these brands, and a wider selection helps if you want one provider for several risks. Health cover leads for 100% of the ranking, with life at 64% and home at 65%. GoHealth LLC and Singlife PH sit at the narrower end of that spread.

Frequently asked questions

Top health insurance compared by country

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV