The Exeter Health+ Comprehensive Review: Pros, Cons & What's Included

At a glance: From £40/month · Comprehensive tier · Best for: complex medical history, self-employed buyers, mental health as standard · Excess options: £0–£500

What is The Exeter Health+ Comprehensive?

The Exeter is a friendly society that has built a strong reputation across affordability, underwriting transparency and core treatment cover — independent reviews have placed it in the top tier of UK PMI providers alongside Bupa and AXA Health. Health+ Comprehensive includes unlimited inpatient and day-patient treatment with no time or financial cap, full cancer cover with no limits on chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and — unusually for this price point — CT, MRI and PET scans included as standard rather than as a capped or optional benefit.

Who this plan is actually for

• Anyone with a more complex medical history who wants severity-based disclosure rather than blanket exclusions
• Self-employed buyers and others without access to a group scheme who want strong cover without paying flagship-brand prices
• People who specifically want diagnostic scans included as standard rather than capped under a general outpatient limit
• Buyers prioritising a protective no-claims discount structure that doesn't punish small claims heavily

Pros

• CT, MRI and PET scans included as standard within core cover, rather than being capped under a general outpatient limit — unusual at this price point and genuinely useful if diagnostics are a priority
• No time or financial cap on inpatient and day-patient treatment, with full cancer cover including chemotherapy and radiotherapy without limits
• A 2-year moratorium qualifying period (rather than some insurers' longer windows) for conditions to become eligible after a symptom-free period, plus severity-based disclosure that can suit complex medical histories better than a blanket exclusion approach
• Consistently ranked in the top three for affordability, underwriting transparency and core treatment cover in independent 2026 reviews — a breadth of strength that's unusual among UK insurers, most of which excel in only one or two categories
• Mental health included as standard, not a bolt-on, which is a genuine differentiator versus insurers that only offer it as an optional extra at this price point
• Smaller claims (under roughly £300) don't affect your no-claims discount on some structures, giving more breathing room than insurers that penalise every claim size equally

Cons

• Smaller hospital network than Bupa or AXA, reflecting The Exeter's position as a specialist rather than the largest composite insurer
• Less brand recognition than the household names, which can matter if you want something your employer or family will immediately recognise
• The moratorium clock can be easy to misjudge — the symptom-free period starts from your policy start date, not from when symptoms last occurred, so it's worth reading the exact terms carefully if you have a borderline condition
• Choosing between the Guided and standard access options requires a genuine decision — Guided is cheaper but narrows your choice of specialist, and it's easy to overpay for unlimited outpatient cover if your actual need is mainly for diagnostic scans, which are already included in core cover

What's included as standard

Benefit	Coverage
Cancer cover	Full — no limits on chemotherapy or radiotherapy, includes drugs not on the NHS
Mental health	Included as standard
Outpatient cover	£1,000/year, with CT/MRI/PET scans included separately as standard
Therapies (physio etc.)	Optional add-on
Dental & optical	Not included
No-claims discount	Available — protective structure, small claims may not affect it
Excess options	£0, £100, £250, £500

What it costs

Indicative pricing starts from around £40/month — positioned competitively against the larger composite insurers while offering a comparable or stronger benefit set in several areas, particularly diagnostics. The main decision specific to The Exeter is Guided versus standard specialist access, which meaningfully affects both price and flexibility.

How it compares

The Exeter's closest comparison among mid-market specialists is WPA, given both prioritise underwriting flexibility and claims-time service over the scale of the larger composite insurers. See our WPA vs Bupa guide for context on how a specialist insurer's strengths compare against a flagship brand.

Should you choose this plan?

This plan suits you if you have a more complex medical history and want severity-based disclosure rather than a blanket exclusion, or if included diagnostic scans matter more to you than having the single largest hospital network. If brand recognition or maximum hospital choice is your priority, Bupa is the more conventional comparison point.

A whole-of-market broker can see this plan alongside every other option on the table, including ones that might suit you better once your full circumstances are taken into account — which is why speaking to one before you buy is usually worth the five minutes it takes.

Speak to an adviser

Prefer to go direct? Get a quote from The Exeter's own site →

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Prices and features in this review are indicative and based on publicly available product information and independent market research. Your actual premium will depend on your age, postcode, medical history and chosen cover options. This article is for general information only and is not financial or insurance advice — always confirm current terms with The Exeter or a regulated broker before purchasing.