BUPA > Reviews (15)

I have been a member of BUPA for around ten years and have generally found the level of service to be quite good. I have claimed for both inpatient and out patient treatment and find that they usually settle claims very promptly.

For inpatient treatment, there is an excellent selection of hospitals. There used to be a constraint that, unless you were on the highest level of cover, you could not use some of the London teaching hospitals, but this now seems to have changed and the restriction is now that you may to have to share a room.

For outpatient treatment, it can be difficult to locate a suitable practicioner (that is BUPA registered) and there is quite a lot of red tape. For example, I recently needed some treatment from a chirpodest but was told that I would have to see a consultant first and then get a referal if I wanted to claim the cost back. This seems excessive for minor treatment and in the end, I just paid for the treatment myself.

It is always worth remembering to speak to BUPA first before making an appointment with a consultant as they may refuse payment if the consultant is not 'approved'.

My main gripe with BUPA is the cost. The older you get, the more expensive it gets, but you would think that they would offer discounts for long standing members - this does not seem to be the case. For a family of four we are paying over £200/month (Grade A cover). We are seriously considering downgrading this to grade B, which is considerably cheaper. The main disadvantage of this is the outpatient level of cover is reduced.

We have been reasonably satisfied with the service we have had from BUPA. I would just question whether it is really the best value for money.