Welcome to the Regency Health blog, where we’ll be posting news and insight on the UK health insurance market alongside updates about the business and assorted miscellany.

Regency Health is an independent health insurance brokerage located in the regency town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (UK). Our raison d’être is to assist individuals and businesses with their private medical insurance (PMI) policies, to ensure that they remain viable and competitive.

PMI occupies a curious position in the insurance market, sandwiched between low-risk general insurance products like home and motor, and higher-risk products like income protection and critical illness cover. Consumers don’t usually take advice on home and motor insurance, but they often take advice on financial protection. Again, PMI falls between the two stalls, with some people reluctant to arrange cover without specialist advice and others preferring to go it alone, either through the internet or direct with an insurer.

PMI is a complex product that operates in a complex marketplace. No two policies are the same, and insurers’ terms differ widely in key areas such as cancer cover, the impact of claims on premium, and the underwriting of pre-existing conditions. It’s convenient to think of PMI plans falling into three discrete categories—usually described as budget, mid-range and comprehensive (or some variation thereof)—but, in actuality, there’s an awful lot of crossover between these categories. I’ll make the case for using a broker in a later post.