The proportion of Britons with medical insurance has surged to a near-record level, as NHS delays prompt more individuals to seek private care.
LaingBuisson's latest data reveals that by the end of 2023, the number of people holding private medical insurance peaked at 4.68 million, as reported by .
However, when considering policy coverage for partners and children, around 8 million º£½ÇÊÓƵ residents have access to private healthcare through insurance.
This equates to 11.8% of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ population now being insured medically, the highest rate since it reached 12.3% in 2008.
The figure had previously declined following the financial crisis when many businesses cut back on offering medical insurance as an employee benefit.
Employer-provided policies account for 3.8 million, or four-fifths, of those insured, while the remainder hold private policies.
Tim Read, head of research at LaingBuisson, commented: "The rise in people covered by health insurance is being driven by both a rise in the number of companies taking out insurance on behalf of their employees, but there has also been a rise in the number of individuals taking out their own policies."
He added, "Given we’ve seen people’s satisfaction with the NHS plummeting in recent years, and also continued challenges in accessing both diagnostic and treatment services on the NHS, this rise is not a surprise."
"In the past people may have taken out health insurance because it offered a better quality of service than the NHS. But now they value timely access more highly and increasingly are willing to pay for it."
The four largest private medical insurance companies, Aviva, AXA Health, Bupa, and Vitality Health, dominate the market, collectively controlling 95 per cent of the sector.
