Bupa Health Insurance Reviews
Latest Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“BUPA AAA+ ripoff”
Written on: 23/05/2013
I went into bupa today to sign up for health insurance ,I just wanted the basic corporate hospital saver cover cost $53 a fortnight, I was happy to pay that, I filled everything out ,even signed the form but I didn't have my banks bsb number so I went outside of the office and rang the bank up got the bsb went back inside and gave the Indian lady the bsb ,she finished the policy on the computer screen and turned the screen towards me to make sure everything was correct , I just managed to... (read more)
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★★★★☆
“Expensive but they do what they say”
Written on: 20/05/2013
Have had Bupa international for my whole family for 3 years in which time they have covered two births at an extremely expensive facility with the best obstetrician and paid back almost every claim however minor. Even small worries were covered with no quibbles. We have had no trouble getting back money in 3 different countries, whether we had claims pre-authorised or not and however badly the forms were filled out by the doctors (not all are expert at paperwork). Yes it's expensive but if... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“liars and absolutely disgraceful”
Written on: 29/04/2013 by pavithra
they did not explain me how to do a proper claim and when they did it sounded pretty easy.but when i had to face it it was a total mess! just to claim the 50 dollar general GP fee i had to pay extra 75 dollars just to get the paperwork done in this case the Bupa claim form this is totally a useless service and i should also tell that there were very unfriendly staff members. I personally do not recommend this health insurance to anyone ! not even to my enemies. (read more)
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★★★★★
“A1 wait till youve been with others then moan”
Written on: 27/04/2013 by mummy4ever (1 review written)
My boy had cancer Bupa covered him in full, he's 10. Then after 18 months of excellent service my company moved to AXA. Great service again and the advisor was sweet telling me when my boy was very ill that even for cancer we only cover 12 months !!!! Really wish stayed with Bupa ,!!! (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“incompetent liars ”
Written on: 10/04/2013
I felt I had to write a review as well. Bupa international is supposed to cover well, especially if you plan on having children (private obstetricians are expensive in the UK) Bupa intl lied to me on several occasions about my coverage before signing up. they also regularly "pretend" not to receive doctor's faxes, mail or emails to avoid paying the bill, leaving you in between to fix the issues. I've also been promised again and again "this will never happen again". No matter what the... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Bupa's own advice - use the NHS”
Written on: 23/03/2013
My bupa cover only covers me for £1000 in out patients consultations and diagnostics tests. I was told it would only take a couple of blood tests to use up the the £1000 limit and if I needed to have any scans as well which was pretty likely I was better off using the NHS, otherwise I would end up with a huge bill. What is the point of having BUPA cover??????????? Thought I has medical insurance, but heho the NHS I go. (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comMummy4Ever's Comment
Written on: 27/04/2013
Really hope u dont but if u get cancer its full cover and not out of your 1000. We had 1000 but when our son had cancer they paid 50 times more......
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★☆☆☆☆
“absolutely horrific”
Written on: 22/03/2013 by jjvtm
they say after 12 months u r covered for pregnancy and then they wont pay for hospital visits or nothing even if they do pay it will be months after u send them the claim forms. (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Horrible Customer Service”
Written on: 19/03/2013 by djitek (1 review written)
They will do everything they can to not have to pay a penny for your claims. I had a parasailing accident and injured my back. When I went to claim for medical care, they rejected it saying that I had previously in the last 3 years had mentioned that I had some back soreness from sitting in the office all day. These are two completely unrelated things. 1) back soreness from sitting in the office vs. 2) parasailing accident that left me unable to walk for weeks! What next? Petty soon the... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Go with a different insurer”
Written on: 08/03/2013
BUPA have a dominant position in the UK health insurance market. About 40% i think (but falling...some say rapidly) BUPA reduced there benefit maxima for almost all procedures approximately by 20-50% 9 months ago. They 'raised' very few or rebundled. BUPA have not increased benefit maxima (procedure fees) for about 20 years BUPA restricts choice of Consultants patients can see by only allowing you to see Consultants who agree to their fee structure. BUPA further restricts patient choice... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Don't blame doctors”
Written on: 07/03/2013 by blue.m00n (1 review written)
I am a consultant surgeon working mainly for the NHS with some private practice. I have always billed within the guidelines set by insurance companies. These guidelines were set by BUPA in 1993. Since then these guidelines have become the norm for other insurers and have not risen AT ALL (in my speciality at least). Meanwhile, BUPA (and other insurers) have increased premiums at around 10% per year, citing increases in fees paid to doctors. Within the last year, BUPA have reduced fees... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comMrmatt's Response to blue.m00n's Review
Written on: 14/04/2013
how much would you charge for a 15 minute consultation? just wondering?
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Lkellett's reply to Mrmatt's Comment
Written on: 28/04/2013
Interesting question Mrmatt. Some insurers have a limit on fees for initial and for follow up consultations. Consultation fees come out of a members outpatient benefit which is usually restricted to say £500 or £1000 per annum. Because insurers have not increased procedure reimbursements for the past 20 years ( and then BUPA decided to chop many of these by as much as half or more again last year!), some doctors are pushing up consultation fees as a means to get partial compensation for their loss! BUPA don't limit consultation fees, they only limit procedure fees. If you think about it, that's quite clever of BUPA. By pinning down the procedure fees to a paltry level, the patient sees their outpatient benefit eroded more quickly by rising consultation fees...and blames the doctor, rather than the insurer. Mrmatt - perhaps you should look at what is happening to indemnity premiums and other overheads - cost of regulation/revalidation etc...these have risen at an alarming rate over the past 20 years and form part of a specialists overheads. Why don't you ask yourself "Is it right for BUPA to half procedure reimbursement levels after keeping them static for 20 years?" Would you like to work for half the rates you were getting 20 years ago?
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Mrmatt's reply to Lkellett's Comment
Written on: 29/04/2013
Er......I was just wondering what the going rate was these days? The only thing I would say is that if you charge over a hundred for example per consultation at the moment and really you want to add over 20 years worth of inflation on top of that, surely Bupa or any other insurer would add the additional cost on to the private patient! What amount do you think is fair to charge for a consultation?
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Blue.m00N's reply to Mrmatt's Comment
Written on: 30/04/2013
Thanks Lkellett. I couldn't have put it better. Personally, I have kept all fees the same for insured and uninsured patients within the levels approved by all the insurance companies (until BUPA's recent changes). I think that's the fairest way. I'm not complaining about overall fee levels, just that BUPA should not be claiming that they cover all of them.
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Lkellett's reply to Blue.m00N's Comment
Written on: 10/05/2013
Blue Moon - every heard the saying about "Shooting the messenger"? What really gets me is that BUPA are not being transparent with policyholders about how their cover is changing. They are relying on practitioners to be the bearer of bad news at a time when the policyholder is most vulnerable and needs to make a claim on their policy! Why this sneaky trick? After all, BUPA have a contract with the policyholder, and their policyholders are paying a lot of money and seeing large year on year increases in their premiums! (I should know - I was also a policyholder) - why not keep them informed about the changes they are making which may or may not affect them in future so that person can make an informed choice when they are well about whether to stay with them or go with another insurer?
The only time that one of their policyholders becomes aware of a problem with their cover is when they come to make a claim...and by then, they have a condition that would be classed as "pre-existing" (and as such - would be exempt from cover if they "jumped ship" to another insurer). So BUPA have changed reimbursement levels along with new and evolving rules about what they will and won't cover....and how many treatments of a particular kind patients will now be rationed to etc. And BUPA keep "sshtum" until a claim is necessary, by which time the poor policyholder is "trapped" into staying with BUPA.
I have another acromyn for BUPA. "Be Unwell Prepare (for) Aggro!"
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Lkellett's reply to Mrmatt's Comment
Written on: 10/05/2013
Each specialist sets their own fees for consultation. With AXA PPP for example, new consultants are not expected to charge more than £150 for an initial consultation and £100 for a follow up. The length of time for each consultation will differ depending upon the practitioner and the speciality. I work for a specialist physician who gives 45 minutes for each new consultation and 30 minutes for a follow up (and he charges all insurers at the lowest common denominator - i.e. at the AXA recommended rates). However, you must remember that there is more time involved than the time the patient is actually in the room: time needed to dictate letters, secretary's time to type letters, doctors time to read letters/ results of investigations/or perhaps discuss clinical cases with professional colleagues also involved in that patient's care by telephone. I'd thank your lucky stars that doctors do not charge along the lines of the legal profession, adding up all this extra time and charges for letters and telephone calls!
Now again, I would ask you to consider what overheads a specialist has to pay out of his/her hourly rate and the responsibility they have to carry for the work they do. I am really rather disgusted that BUPA blame the doctors for increasing fees - frankly that's a load of rubbish. Have you ever seen the hospital fees associated with many of the procedure fees? They can make consultants fees look like small fry! But has BUPA targetted hospital fees? NO, because the hospitals are owned by big corporate organisations like themselves who have more teeth than an individual practitioner!
My advice to you is definitely "Don't blame the doctors" Either accept that BUPA are now giving you much less for your money, or go elsewhere! PS You might be interested in last October's BBC Watchdog clip (available on the internet) on Private Health Insurance).
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Mrmatt's reply to Lkellett's Comment
Written on: 11/05/2013
I understand your point on hospital fees, I have seen with my own eyes how much they charge for use of facilities however I have seen short falls on hospital accounts where hospitals have overcharged and the member was not liable. I have seen the Watchdog clip and that relates to a small number of specialists that charge more than my policy covers and yet there are a large majority of specialists that stay within the amount my policy covers. Are you one of the specialists that charge above what Bupa and AXA pay or are you in the 97% that do not? Why is it that a lot of specialist agree to not charge more?
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Lkellett's reply to Mrmatt's Comment
Written on: 13/05/2013
MrMatt,
At present, the specialist who I work for charges within BUPA guidelines. He is not BUPA fee assured however, since signing such an agreement would mean that BUPA have the right to set his charges. That is unfair in any market! He did have to lower his procedure fees somewhat to meet BUPA's new policy. He did this to help his patients and not for BUPA's sake. That said, he used to not charge a consultation fee alongside a procedure fee before BUPA dropped their rates. This is not affordable now for many simple procedures - for example you couldn't book a patient in for a 30 minute appointment to review and also perform a soft tissue injection all for £50!! Mate, you'd be hard pressed to find a hairdresser these days who would charge you less than £50 for half an hour's work! Do you want to start comparing a hairdresser's experience, qualifications, length of training and their overheads to a doctor? So where a consultation fee is allowable beside the procedure fee - the specialist I work for does now charge this to partly compensate for his reduced BUPA income. Yes, it means that the patient's outpatient allowance is hit harder, but you have to be realistic about what you can expect doctors to work for. I would ask you again if you would be prepared to accept a 50% wage cut following a 20 year pay freeze?
BUPA says that they have reduced fees because technology has made procedures easier and quicker to perform. That's a smoke and mirrors tactic and in most of the procedures they have cut fees for, there is no evidence that technological advances have changed the way these procedures are performed. It's just how BUPA dress it up to excuse themselves!
However, I do wonder where you have got your figures (aka your 97% quote) from. I know many experienced surgeons for example who now refuse to work for BUPA rates. I don't know how many specialities BUPA affected when they cut their rates, but in the worst affected specialities, I can tell you that doctors who are prepared to charge at BUPA levels can be thin on the ground and often the local choice consists of a couple of relatively newly qualified consultants! I think more doctors would resign from BUPA if it weren't for the fact that most doctors do only a small amount of private work with their main income coming from the NHS. Ironically, after overheads, the specialist I work for gets paid a better hourly rate from his NHS work than his private work!
The facts are pure and simple: BUPA made heavy investment losses during the recession (and the patients and doctors are now paying for this!) and this was coupled with an exodus of policyholders as more and more corporates tried to cut their own overheads (and the benefit of private health insurance became an obvious choice to be axed in tough times). Now BUPA has less money in the pot...so it tries to pay out less for claims. And they do this by cutting reimbursement levels and bringing in more rules about what it will and will not pay for!
So there we are! The customer now has to accept that private health insurance does not give them the right to see the specialist of their choice (without possibly having to pay top up fees). So if you have a complex problem and are not confident that a newly registered consultant can deal with it, and if the highly experienced specialists are charging more, you might have a dilemma! Neither does it give patients the right to have the treatment that has been recommended to them! Again, this is often a box ticking exercise by junior staff at BUPA who are incapable of understanding a complex clinical problem and tailoring their response to deal with that. As long as policyholders accept these limitations with their policies, there is not a problem.
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Mrmatt's reply to Lkellett's Comment
Written on: 14/05/2013
Mate, I got the 97% from the watchdog report you told me to look at. I simply asked if your specialist stuck to what Bupa pay or if I would be left with a shortfall. You still have not addressed how much YOU think a consultation should cost in light of this 20 year pay freeze? I am not talking about procedures.
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Lkellett's Response to blue.m00n's Review
Written on: 15/05/2013
Okay, let me clarify those points for you:
1. The 97% is not accurate. Remember that the Watchdog Report was screened last autumn and the evidence they used was clearly gathered before then. It was only about last May when BUPA started to roll out their aggressive policies...choosing a different section of the Schedule of Procedures to downgrade as the months went by. And here we are at May 2013 and I can tell you that things have changed a lot since last year. Where fee-assured specialists have refused to reduce their fees in line with new BUPA payouts, they effectively have had to deregister from BUPA, or be deregistered. And since the reimbursement reductions have happened in a step-wise fashion over the course of the last year, there are a lot more non-fee assured consultants who have kept their fees static, leaving more patients with significant shortfalls.
2. Now to answer your point about what I think consultants should charge for a consultation:
i. Since the level of risk, training, expertise etc varies hugely between specialities and practitioners, I think it would be unfair to expect them all to charge the same and I would expect the fee to vary fairly widely. I would be ignorant indeed if I expected them all to charge the same hourly rate.
ii. I did tell you what my consultant charges, and actually I think his charges should be higher for the work he does!
iii. I would not blame doctors who put up their consultation fees to partly compensate for pretty rubbish procedure reimbursement levels.
iv. I think patients should have a right to pay a "top up" to see the specialist of their choice if they are not happy to see the cheaper one. At present, they can only do this with doctors who meet two criteria - (a) they never entered into any fee assurance agreement with BUPA and (b) they have been registered with BUPA since before around 2010. This means that the specialist of your choice may not now be BUPA registered and if you wanted to see them, you'd have to pay the whole bill yourself.
v. Finally, I think it is unethical of BUPA to try to tell professional people what they should charge. Coming back to my hairdresser analogy - you wouldn't expect all hairdressers' fees to be uniform wherever you go...and in a free market economy you wouldn't expect them being told what to charge either. So why would people who have worked so hard and dedicated years and years of their life to achieving consultant status be expected to accept this?
I trust that I have clarified those issues for you.
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Blue.m00N's reply to Lkellett's Comment
Written on: 15/05/2013
It's not only unethical for BUPA to limit fees without keeping policy-holders informed, it's illegal for them to abuse their dominant market share by price-fixing. Take a look at the Competition Commission website to see their current inquiry into private health-care.
For the record, my fees are set at the AXA PPP levels quoted by Lkhellett.
It's certainly hard to find anybody in my specialty who will accept BUPA's levels - one patient of mine was given a choice of two in one of the largest cities in the country, three hours journey from their home.
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See next 10 reviews
Showing 1 - 10 of 59 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“BUPA - You are not covered”
Written on: 05/03/2013 by TESTED
My Wife needed an MRI Scan after having a stroke and being admitted to an NHS hospital, there was a waiting list for the scan but I had corperate BUPA cover. Unfortunately BUPA do not recognise any of the consultants in the NHS hopital as they are not on a BUPA list, so she could not have the scan done with BUPA. It seems that you can have minor ops through BUPA after your GP arranges a BUPA consultant to makes the appointment. READ your BUPA policy, it does not cover what you may think it... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Absolute Disgrace and ignorant service staff”
Written on: 03/03/2013 by Thaibupa
Have unfortunately signed my daughter up with Bupa International with all possible extras and without any deductibles and thought I would be home safe, however, the service or rather lack of same is shocking and their so called help call center is a disgrace. Whenever I have to get a per-auth the required info always set new standards as to which stupid and non important info they need, though did experience once a very helpful lady but reckon she found out this was not the company for her... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Absolute disgrace”
Written on: 22/02/2013
They will charge for everything and cover very little;that's not precisely the point of health insurer! I will not touch them ever again. (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Avoid Bupa if you can”
Written on: 15/02/2013 by Frustrated_customer
I've got corporate Health Insurance with BUPA which basically only covers "accute" conditions. Be prepared to discuss all symptoms on the phone and for Bupa's own judgement of what an "accute" condition is. So, be very careful how you word your symptoms and the situation, as what you say very easly falls down on their own "ongoing" or "chronic" disease category and thefore not covered. Any exam necessary for you to get a diagnosis, it will likely be rejected. They require a "pre diagnosis"... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comButterflysun's Response to Frustrated_customer's Review
Written on: 21/02/2013
I agree with this review. Bupa used to be good but now they cost the earth and hardly cover anything. For a major operation I was only given 10 physiotherapy sessions when the doctor said I needed 30. They are lovely on the phone but you are paying for the call centre and not for treatment.
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★☆☆☆☆
“Absolutely shocking”
Written on: 13/02/2013
We changed to Bupa from NIB after my husband changed jobs as he could get a corporate rate. Bad move!!! In 2 weeks I have spent over 4 hours on the phone. They have not sent our membership cards, they got our surname incorrect, they got the name on our bank details incorrect, we sent the cancellation certificate from NIB 6 times to them via 4 different email addresses including gmail and they still did not receive it. Happy to talk to spouse on phone when dealing with these problems but... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“BUPA fails donors”
Written on: 24/01/2013 by Weshallsee06 (1 review written)
Had to give an organ donation to the wife to save her. Bupa reject any support, any help if complications.Its bad enough this happens, but when that expensive insurance gives no aid its very annoying. Not only do they not cover this Transplant but if I need any medical treatment or aid to speed my recovery back to work, they will not help with this either. There is a not insignificant chance of some long term pain or other effect from the surgery which could keep me off work. From a... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Wisdom Tooth Removal Corporate BUPA Memebership”
Written on: 12/01/2013 by NotReallyHappyCustomer
No support in this case, recommended to contact them when severly infected, pain apparently doesnt count as need for extraction. I will be speaking to my HR department to tell them that is useless to have them cover me for any issues as they are likley to reject, they did not even considere paying for consultation. Waste of money and time. (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Bupa didn't help us when we needed it”
Written on: 08/01/2013
Our New Years Eve celebration away from Australia in Scotland brought us to the Hogmanay celebration. That night my mother was hospitalised as a man had attacked her, causing her to fall and brake both bones in her lower leg. After she was hospitalised, my brother later that morning was also hospitalised for a terrible stomach bug. After my mother's operation, we had trouble booking our flights without the doctors consent of travelling. We had to extend our flight from the planned 4 days... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Premiums always increasing exponentially.”
Written on: 24/12/2012 by nicksg (1 review written)
I think most health insurance companies do this,but maybe not to the extent that BUPA does. I am aged 60 so it is difficult,if not impossible,to change to another new insurer now. So BUPA know they have got me by the balls and can increase with impunity,despite the fact that I do not have a record of ill-health and making claims.My latest premium statement just received shows an increase of 19%.That makes an increase of 54% over 3 years. The strategy appears to be to keep increasing premiums... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comLkellett's Response to nicksg's Review
Written on: 28/04/2013
The number of times I have heard people say this: "I had private health insurance when I was working, and never/hardly ever claimed. Then I retired and my income dropped..whilst my health insurance premiums went through the roof, such that I couldn't afford to pay them anymore. So I had to stop paying into my private health insurance scheme, at the time I began to need to make use of it!" I guess that's one argument for considering paying "premiums" into a long term savings pot, so they can be made available when you need them. Yes, some high claimers would have lost out by doing this, but a significant number of others would have been better off. That's the gamble that is insurance!
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★☆☆☆☆
“Check carefully for what you are NOT covered for!”
Written on: 06/12/2012
I have an ongoing illness that has been treated by my local GP and a specialist. I was required to get blood and discovered Bupa class this as an on going ailment and so a simple blood test is not covered. I was also warned by my specialist that I may no longer be able to be treated by him as Bupa now specify the specialist you see and may specify I see someone else! If you can't see the specialist who has been treating you and cannot get a blood test when required I have to ask why choose Bupa? (read more)
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Showing 11 - 20 of 59 Reviews
★★☆☆☆
“Beware - hidden costs "outpatient treatment"”
Written on: 19/11/2012 by Brian0 (1 review written)
I have cover with BUPA through the company for myself and my wife. Recently the level of cover was changed to provide only £700 of outpatient treatment. My wife suffered a back injury and had to go into hospital (for a spinal fusion). We could not use the surgeon recommended by our GP so agreed to use a BUPA recommended surgeon and were provided with an authorisation. What we had not taken into account was that BUPA regard any activity which is not the actual procedure (in the hospital)... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comLeafygreed's Response to Brian0's Review
Written on: 03/01/2013
We have experienced exactly the same as yourself and have paid £600 in shock "outpatient" fees which we were not told about.
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★★★☆☆
“A Bupa Administration Expereience”
Written on: 09/11/2012 by JennyJustice
When a friend of mine had a minor surgical procedure 4 years ago she was very surprised when she checked the claims details of the Bupa payment For a procedure which took around 35 minutes, she noted that Bupa had paid £692.00 under the title "Accommodation Hospital incl. Nursing daycase", my friend from start to finish was there for just over an hour. There was another payment of £273.00 for "theatre drugs and dressings", the drug was a local anaesthetic and the dressing was a plaster.... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Does no one at Bupa use common sense?”
Written on: 08/11/2012
My eight-year-old son accidentally rode his bicycle into a parked car, getting hurt in the process. He presented at the hospital emergency room at 4 p.m. and finally saw a GP at the after hours clinic. That GP ordered x-rays to make sure there were no broken bones in his swollen and red face. I dutifully filed the claim with Bupa to get reimbursed for the cost of the x-rays. After a month, I received a form requiring me to go find the doctor at the hospital and have that doctor fill out a... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY HORRENDOUS!”
Written on: 05/11/2012
We have a company of over 50 employees and have just cancelled our BUPA policy. Every claim made was obstructed. Do not waste your money on them. What should be so simple is fraught with disaster. (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Sloppy Service & Incapable of Looking Outside the Box”
Written on: 23/10/2012 by Glenn.McNamara (1 review written)
I have a procedure booked in that I have just been informed that will not be covered by BUPA as I have a meagure 4 weeks to go until the 12 months waiting period is up. After speaking with a couple of abrupt "service" staff I was transferred to Warren from Customer Relations who unfortunately was just an unhelpful, but as he explained he was the highest level of escalation & "unable" to budge. Apparently BUPA customer service is rigid & there are no grey areas & even after explaining the... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“OPEN REFERRAL”
Written on: 14/10/2012
BUPA introduced a scheme recently called Open Referral, it now means that BUPA chooses your Consultant for you, it is based on cost which means you don’t get the best Consultant for your condition you get the cheapest. They have also changed what you are entitled to, if you or your business signs up with them they can add and more importantly withdraw procedures and treatment whenever it suits them and they will not tell their customers when they do this, you’ve been warned ! BUPA will... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Smiling caring face..and no help when needed”
Written on: 02/10/2012 by Dragonman1964
They try to make themselves appear benevolent - all nonsense just another money grabbing insurance company. Dont beleive their hype they are too big to care, too slow moving and their premiums are rising at a very high rate. Avoid them , shop around dont beleive that they are anything other than another huge corporation. (read more)
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★★☆☆☆
“You're not really covered for the 1st 12 months”
Written on: 28/09/2012
They are quite vague of what is covered in the first 12 months and claim to be protecting themselves, however this does not quite make sense as if you pay the full year in advance well they've already gotyour money so what are they protecting themselves really from? Their pre-existing conditions really mean absolutely anything that can be seen as associated with what's your current reason for going to the doctor. You had a tummy ache earlier this year and now you've got a stomach ulcer -... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Unreasonable”
Written on: 03/09/2012
Bupa kept the rates they would pay surgeons static for years, now they've cut them. So it is case of using a dr bupa pay for. Otherwise u can get stuck paying the price difference. (read more)
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★★☆☆☆
“The Fight for your claims is exhausting”
Written on: 21/08/2012
Fine print very misleading - promises a lot until you come to claim then as others have said will try and get out of what is written in black and white in policy - you have to fight for everything Talking to customer service is like talking to a robot reading a script and emails are not acknowledged (or if answered it will be answered a week after you needed help) (read more)
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Showing 21 - 30 of 59 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“DO NOT PAY!!!!”
Written on: 20/08/2012 by t.sharp
Bupa claim to offer top cover, come to claim they will do anything to get out! avoid at all costs...EXPENSIVE AND USLESS! (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Movie Ticket Promotion is a scam”
Written on: 13/07/2012
I joined months ago and was promised free movie tickets...still have not received them and no-one in customer service will respond to the queries I have sent and keep trying to pass it to another department. It makes me concerned about the level of customer service I would receive if I had an insurance related query. In my old provider I used to get friendly and detailed responses from the customer service team, sometimes within a couple of hours! I am regetting switching to Bupa just to... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“BUPA not authoirzing procedure and stopping physiotherapy”
Written on: 03/07/2012
My BUPA insurance is through my company , and 4 1/2 years ago i was involved in accident which was not my fault. As a result i sustained injury to both knees. On my right knee i have had 5 operations to date all through BUPA (BUPA are claiming these fees back from the car insurance). My consultant could not do any more for me so referred me onto Professor Briggs. BUPA authorize this consultant, but when i phone BUPA to get authorization for a MACI operation, they took 3 weeks to get back... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comMrmatt's Comment
Written on: 13/09/2012
this review is hilarious!! health insurance is designed to cover acute medical conditions! you said it yourself, 4 and a half years you've had the problem! how is that not long term? its people like you with your high claims that up the premiums for everyone else including mine! no such thing as unlimited cover! read your terms and conditions!
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★☆☆☆☆
“Look for something else - NOT BUPA”
Written on: 18/06/2012
I was a member of MBF but since BUPA took over, everything has changed. Prices started to increase very steeply, service turned bad with unhelpfull staff members. With a Top Hospital Cover after paying all hospital bills, there is a very small reinbursement. I will not recommend BUPA to anyone. (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Price rises”
Written on: 28/05/2012 by stevenjulia7249
My wife was a MBF member through work and since BUPA has taken over we have had 3 rises in 4 months. (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“BUPA - paying more for less!”
Written on: 02/05/2012
We have held a family BUPA health insurance for the last 10 years, but in light of recent developments, I am about to make a move away from this insurer for the following reasons: 1. Our health insurance premiums rise each year by an amount that massively outstrips inflation. Okay, I realise that as we age, we become a greater health risk to insure, but I feel that the increases go beyond this. 2. BUPA have recently claimed that the cost of providing cover is increasing. They claim that... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comRherb's Comment
Written on: 25/09/2012
Very true, we have a similar issue and I think their approach and supporting processes are disgusting, especially when dealing with pre-existing conditions with a consultant that has been treating you for years, they then inform you you can no longer see the consultant and they will no longer pay for ongoing treatment unless it is acute. They are simply trying to make themselves more profitable at the expense of a loyal client base that used to pay a premium for an excellent brand and good service - Sadly both are now lacking.
Do not take a policy with BUPA and support smaller more agile companies tht cre and provide a service as ntended.
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★☆☆☆☆
“You pay for nothing”
Written on: 15/03/2012
Have Bupa through work. Was traveling in Australia for work. Got diagnosed with diabetes. No help from bupa, luckily I had a good reciprocal program from my country so in the end I managed to sort it out without insurance with just minor costs. The doctors were shocked by the fact that Bupa wouldn't pay! Try a different insurance! (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“BEWARE!! BUPA WILL NOT PAY FOR YOUR HOSPITAL ADMISSION...”
Written on: 11/03/2012
I was with BUPA for nearly 4 years, I was from a top visitor cover for 3 years and move to the best corporate cover in the last 9 months (as advised by my employer). I have been advised from sales rep from BUPA that all my waiting period and all the covers will be transferred from my old cover to my new one, so I dont have to wait for anything to go to hospital. Couple of months laterI will have a surgery and need to get into the hospital soon. I went to the BUPA center and the person said... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“Bupa Sucks”
Written on: 14/02/2012
I was for full medical insurance cover with bupa and tried to put my first claim in but i have to go through 3 people asking same questions and in the end saying they to inquire with my gp to see if current situation is pre existing.... not a good time to do all this research when i am not well and need immediate attention .... i have cancelled the policy looking for next policy may be with WPA (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comGuest's Comment
Written on: 12/04/2012
Same here! Claim was made more than 5 months ago and still waiting for them to sort this out! Gee! You are not allowed to have anything wrong without knowing it before? Sorry but somethings you don't check everyday so how are you supposed to know if you never had a problem before? Pre-existing means what? The ones you had a problem and you knew you had it or else if it was pre-existing but you never you knew you had it, how would you declare that? Sort out your policies Bupa so arrange screenings before you take our money and then calim pre-existing what we didn't know off! That would be fair!
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★★★★★
“I have found BUPA simly amazing”
Written on: 01/02/2012 by H0rsey (1 review written)
We have had BUPA health insurance for about 30 years, have had several claims and have never had any problem whatsoever. I have never spoken to anybody who was not really helpful,very kind and caring. Because the premiums were paying were getting rather high because of our ages, and we were finding it difficult to pay them, I spoke with an advisor who suggested a different policy that was about 40% cheaper, but which covered everything other than private consultations, unless they followed... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comThiagoyepez's Response to H0rsey's Review
Written on: 11/03/2012
I believe this comment made by another person from BUPA trying to make the review looks more positive.
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Guest's Response to H0rsey's Review
Written on: 28/06/2012
I simply don’t believe you. BUPA have set low low 1992 limits (my last consultant told me that he would not be allowed to operate on me because his costs are over BUPA limits). You say you chose a wonderful expensive surgeon????
I have the best policy money can buy from BUPA and still have to go to the generalist practitioners which are on BUPA lists.
BUPA disgusts me. It was reputable until a couple of years ago but as with everything now they are trying to cut costs (while still raising premiums). I have paid 10s of 1000s into them over the last 20 years and have never asked for anything until now.
The physiotherapy team they sent me to were cheap but a real set of cowboys. Now that I need surgery I don’t like being refused the surgeon which was recommended by my GP
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Showing 31 - 40 of 59 Reviews
★★☆☆☆
“criminal price hikes due to job title change”
Written on: 07/01/2012
I have been with Bupa for a number of years and whilst I always struggle to accept their annual price hikes have accepted those as the service has always been very good and paid out on a couple of occassions without any fuss. HOWEVER - have had a promotion at work, no difference in role just in title and without a word received a renewal letter in the post that increased the already proposed increased renewal by further £25/month. When queried I was told that certain jobs bring with them... (read more)
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★★★★★
“Bupa covering Cancer”
Written on: 19/10/2011
Had treatment for lymphoma twice and both times they agreed to pay without causing any fuss. I have had other occassions when they didn't pay for a consultant i went to see privately but that doesn't matter as the major illnesses they cover and they cover very well. I would recommend anyone to them and look through the various plans as some of them dont cover outpatient treatments. (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comThiagoyepez's Comment
Written on: 11/03/2012
I believe this comment made by another person from BUPA trying to make the review looks more positive.
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★★★★☆
“Some of the call centre staff are below the standard...”
Written on: 19/04/2011 by Gladd (1 review written)
Some of the call centre staff are below the standard of everyone and things else I have experienced. It was better before it was moved. I have had to use it 3 times in 2 years. It is an employee benefit and not the highest level, that is not BUPA HEALTHCARE'S fault. That is tight employers paying the cheapest to say they offer it, of course you do not realise that until you need it. Having said that, out of a total bill each time of approx £600 I had to pay about £200 altogether. Small... (read more)
Compare healthcare providers - Visit ActiveQuote.comGuest's Response to Gladd's Review
Written on: 26/04/2012
You may deduct quieafild medical expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents, including a person you claim as a dependent under a Multiple Support Agreement. You can also deduct medical expenses you paid for someone who would have quieafild as your dependent for the purpose of taking personal exemptions except that the person did not meet the gross income or joint return test. You deduct medical expenses on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), Itemized Deductions. The total of all allowable medical expenses must be reduced by 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income. For more information, refer to Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.
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★☆☆☆☆
“absolutely disgusting service. I called bupa since I...”
Written on: 31/03/2011
absolutely disgusting service. I called bupa since I am covered through my work. they said I could see one of their consultants and have given me an authorisation number. I booked an appointment at the cromwell hospital and saw a consultant who then send me for further tests. before the follow up appointment I called and asked if I needed another authorisation and then they said I would need a GP referral letter and medical report!!! they caused major inconvenience and distress as I was... (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“It seems BUPA cover is absolutely cost inefficient. It...”
Written on: 25/03/2011
It seems BUPA cover is absolutely cost inefficient. It is better to save the money and spend it when you need to. Hassle free and you are covered for everything up to what you saved. Let's face it UK doctor salaries make insurance premiums completely unreasonable so you are covered only for "cheap" treatments. (read more)
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★☆☆☆☆
“I have bupa cover for my family etc. The salesman that...”
Written on: 28/01/2011
I have bupa cover for my family etc. The salesman that came home told us we would be covered when we go see a GP and we get refered. It happened 4 times. The 4 times, BUPA found a solution to not refund my claims !
My son had ear ache, and a year ago, he had ear ache - you are not refunded, yes its a pre-existing condition !
My wife had eczema a year ago, and she went to see a specialist for itchy skin, related to allergy, again - Your are not refunded, because its a pre-existing...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I have had BUPA health insurance for twelve years but...”
Written on: 04/09/2010 by roxyfloss (17 reviews written)
I have had BUPA health insurance for twelve years but two years ago was shocked to discover just how much isn't covered. After seeing a consultant for a torn shoulder I found that I had to pay for most of the treatment myself as it wasn't covered.la
When I later had torn ligaments in both knees the consultant told me that he couldn't treat me because I hadn't paid my previous bills and it took a threat to prosecute BUPA before the hotel manager admitted that I had indeed paid the bills. It...
(read more)
★★☆☆☆
“I can't complain about BUPA's service or the way they...”
Written on: 25/08/2010
I can't complain about BUPA's service or the way they handled my two claims in 30 years but the ridiculous premium increases as one ages just price them out of the market. The fundamental flaw is that they base premiums on age alone. So you could pay increasing premiums for ever and ever, you don't smoke, you eat well, exercise enough and yet you pay exactly the same as the bloke down the road who smokes 60 a day and lives on a diet of lard.
What's ironic is that your age increases your...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Everything Bupa can render cosmetic, they will....”
Written on: 31/07/2010
Everything Bupa can render cosmetic, they will. However close you've come to death or total exsanguination - it's still cosmetic. Either this, or they seem to have funny meanings of "disease" which only fits the things they want to cover. This applies even in the middle of treatment for one condition as it'll suddenly not be a disease and they'll label it something else; yes, something that they refuse to cover!!
Bupa's customer services aren't even that. They're terrible, and don't listen...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I have BUPA travel insurance through my company. I...”
Written on: 07/07/2010
I have BUPA travel insurance through my company. I called BUPA after collapsing and losing a lot of blood. I was told by the duty nurse that I needed to go to hospital (although I did not want to). I was told I would be picked up (as I couldn't get out of bed) taken to the hospital, treated and the taken home. The transport arrived after 2 hours. The hospital did some tests, told me that I had a tumor and sent me home. The hospital was dirty (there was blood on the floor of my room)... (read more)
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Showing 41 - 50 of 59 Reviews
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Mrmatt's Comment
Written on: 14/04/2013
And the answer is..........buy a policy which has full out patients! policies with limited cover such as out patients are the cheaper policies!