Physiotherapy & Private Health Insurance

Physiotherapy is offered by most private medical insurance companies as part of their complimentary health treatments and therapies. It involves hands on physical treatment with patients. It also involves the teaching and recommendation of movements and exercises for patients to follow when they are on their own. Physiotherapy is used to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and functional ability.

In the UK physiotherapists train for three or four years within which they are required to complete 1000 hours of hands-on experience with patients. In order to work as a physiotherapist people must register with the Health Professionals Council.

Currently only 12% of private physiotherapists' work comes from private health care referrals and the current estimate is that there are 5,000 physiotherapists working in the private sector.

Physiotherapists who are used by private health insurance companies will usually be very experienced. Bupa, for example requires their therapists to have five years clinical experience.

Bupa are currently reviewing the physiotherapy services they offer. There is a great discrepancy between the service and charges of physiotherapists. Similar treatments, for example, can vary in cost from one practitioner to another. If your health insurance policy has a set monetary limit for physiotherapy treatments this price difference will affect how many sessions you can have. The same 30 minute treatment can cost between £25 and £85.

Dr Rebecca Small, assistant medical director for Bupa UK Health Insurance, said: 'Recent changes in the NHS mean that physiotherapists are increasingly being required to demonstrate the effectiveness of what they do in terms of clinical outcomes and cost. No such requirements exist in the independent sector. We want to work with physiotherapists and their representative bodies to address both the variation in the provision of physiotherapy and the cost for private patients so that together we can continue to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care and drive better value for our customers. '

Physiotherapy cover varies from policy to policy. Below are examples from three medical insurance companies:

Please note that most policies combine cover limits between several therapies.

Bupa*
Healthcare Select 1: Up to £1000 a year
Healthcare Select 2: Up to £500 a year
Healthcare Select 3: Up to £500 a year when following within six months and related to eligible day-patient or in-patient treatment
Healthcare Select 4: Up to £250 a year when following within six months and related to eligible day-patient or in-patient treatment
Healthcare Select Heart and Cancer: Up to £500 a year

*limits include are inclusive for a range of therapies

Norwich Union
Inpatient Physiotherapy is covered in full on specialist referral.
Outpatient physiotherapy is covered for up to ten treatments a year (in combination with chiropractor, osteopath, acupuncturist treatments) on GP referral

PruHealth*
Core: £600 cover a year*. This policy only covers treatment following and directly related to an eligible hospital admission
Essential: £600 cover a year*
Select: £750 cover a year*
Comprehensive: Unlimited cover

*specialist consultations, chiropractors and osteopaths included within total cover