# £29billion a year spent on out of pocket health expenses
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2018-04-26
Category: NEWS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news
Meta Title: Private Medical Insurance: Most Affordable in Years
Meta Description: Discover how private medical insurance is at its most affordable in years. Get cover for as little as £38.74 a month for a family of four. Learn more!
URL: https://financedigest.com/29billion-a-year-spent-on-out-of-pocket-health-expenseshtml

![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/fd260418-8-1736842797193-compressed.jpg)

_Yet private medical insurance is at its most affordable in years, according to ActiveQuote_

Brits spend £29billion a year on out of pocket health expenses, according to new research released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS)\* today (April 25th), yet according to leading comparison site [ActiveQuote](http://www.activequote.com), private medical insurance (PMI) is at its most affordable for the past decade.

The ONS research found that an average of £2,920 was spent per person on healthcare in the UK in 2016, that included NHS, insurance and out of pocket expenditure. Fifteen per cent of total expenditure was out of pocket expenses, which includes non–insurance spending on healthcare goods and services and equates to £438 per person.

Private Medical Insurance would pay for most out of pocket health expenditure experienced by an UK average family, yet PMI insurance only makes up 3.3% of health expenditure.

Mark Todd, [Private Medical Insurance team leader at ActiveQuote, explained that the days of Private Medical Insurance only being the realm of the rich](https://www.financedigest.com/gucci-banks-on-private-salons-for-the-ultra-rich-to-revive-sales.html "Gucci banks on private ‘salons’ for the ultra-rich to revive sales") are gone: “There are so many insurance and mutual societies now offering PMI, yet many people still believe that private medical insurance is expensive and out of their reach.

“In fact, the opposite is true. PMI is at the most competitive it has been in years and cover is available for all budgets. A [family of four can get private medical insurance](https://www.financedigest.com/types-of-insurance-for-yourself-and-your-family.html "Types Of Insurance For Yourself And Your Family") for as little as £38.74 a month\*\*, which works out at £464.88 a year, just above the average expenditure on out of pocket expenses per person – and that’s for four people.”

Mark added: “The fact that only 3% of the UK spend is on private medical insurance shows that as an industry we really have to [work hard](https://www.financedigest.com/how-does-hard-money-lending-work.html "How Does Hard Money Lending Work?") to re-educate the British public that private medical insurance is available and relatively affordable.

“The days of limited options and companies in the [market](https://www.financedigest.com/omicron-found-in-europe-11-days-ago-jolts-markets-on-vaccine-fears.html "Omicron, found in Europe 11 days ago, jolts markets on vaccine fears") are long gone and the days of one policy fits all are also gone. Here at ActiveQuote, we [work with customers every day to find a policy and a price](https://www.financedigest.com/eu-sees-more-work-ahead-to-implement-russian-oil-price-cap.html "EU sees more work ahead to implement Russian oil price cap") that suits them and their families, so they don’t have to scrimp and save for those unexpected health bills.”


---
This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more.
---