Health insurance guides
What does it cost to add a family member to my health insurance?
Key takeaways: What does it cost to add a family member to my health insurance?
The cost of adding a family member to your policy will vary depending on:
- your insurer
- who you’re adding
- the options you choose
- your excess
Your premiums will usually go up if you add family members, but it may be cheaper to add family members to your plan than it is to take out an individual plan for each person. You can usually add your spouse or partner and children, and some insurers also cover grandparents and grandchildren. With some insurers, you don’t all have to live at the same address, and you may be able to choose different options for each family member.
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What does it cost to add a family member to my health insurance?
How does adding family members to my health insurance work?
What could affect the cost of my family’s health insurance?
What should I check if I want to add a family member to my health insurance?
What does it cost to add a family member to my health insurance?
The cost of adding family members to your health insurance varies between insurers because each insurer has its own rules, and takes different things into account, when setting their prices.
Your premium will usually increase when you add family members, but it may be more cost effective to add family members to your plan than it is to take out individual plans for each person.
How does adding family members to my health insurance work?
With most private health insurers, you may be able to add family members to your existing plan instead of taking out a separate plan for each person. That way, instead of juggling multiple policies for everyone, you just pay one premium, everyone has the same renewal date and you only have one set of paperwork.
What could affect the cost of my family’s health insurance?
Their age
Adding an adult family member usually costs more than adding a child, and adding an older adult is likely to cost more than adding someone in their 20s or 30s.
Their options
With some insurers, everyone on the plan needs to have matching cover, others let you pick and choose different options for each person. The more options you add for each person, the higher your premium is likely to be, so cutting cover you think your family members won’t use can help control the cost of your premium.
If you take out a new AXA Health Plan, you can choose different care options for each family member. For example, you might decide some family members don’t need the Cancer care option even if you’ve chosen it for yourself.
Their excess
If you choose a higher excess, your premium will be lower, but you’ll pay more if you need to claim. With some insurers you may be able to choose a different excess for each family member.
Read our guide, What is an excess? to find out more about how health insurance excesses work.
What should I check if I want to add a family member to my health insurance?
Price isn’t the only thing worth comparing. Make sure you know who and what’s covered under your plan so you don’t get any unexpected bills if a family member needs to claim.
Here are some things you may want to check:
Who counts as a family member?
Different insurers may have different rules about who counts as a family member – some don’t count grandparents, for example. You may want to compare which family members you can add – especially if you want to add a grandparent or grandchild.
Do they have to live with you?
Some health insurance only covers family members who live at the same address. With the AXA Health Plan, your family members don’t need to live with you. That means if you have a child who’s moved out, you can add them to your cover to make sure they can get fast access to specialist treatment, or use our online GP service.
Can family members have different cover to you?
With some health insurance, you can only add family members if they have the same cover as the policyholder. With an AXA Health Plan, you can tailor cover to each member of the family. This can help to keep your costs down.
Do family members get a discount?
Some insurers will offer discounts on family members that you add to your plan.
Find out more about comparing health insurance quotes in our guide: Top tips for comparing health insurance quotes.