The latest survey seems to suggest that UK consumers trust private medical insurance to deliver on the promise;
The latest Trust in Private Medical Insurance (PMI) Index from independent consumer group Fairer Finance has found consumer trust has reached its highest point in two years. Despite this positive backdrop, a persistent trust gap among customers in mid-life – the age when many start to rely on their cover for the first time – is getting wider.
Fairer Finance’s latest polling of more than 10,000 PMI customers shows trust has risen by 0.86 percentage points since Spring 2026, to 59.3%. That is the highest score since Fairer Finance began tracking trust in Autumn 2023, beating the previous high of 58.57% set in Autumn 2024 – and it follows a year in which trust had started to plateau.
The mid-life trust dip is widening
According to latest data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN)1, there were 171,000 insured private hospital admissions in Q1 2026 – a slight decline (2.6%) compared to Q1 2025.
Fairer Finance has found that every wave since polling began, customers aged 46–64 have had the lowest trust of any age group. The gap between the most trusting (18–30) and least trusting (46–64) age groups has grown from 3.6 percentage points in Autumn 2023 to 8.7 points today. This is typically the life stage where customers first encounter more complex health needs and higher-value claims and where any gap between expectation and experience is felt most acutely.
Vulnerable customers falling further behind
The trust gap between vulnerable and non-vulnerable customers had narrowed to 2.81 percentage points in Autumn 2025. It has now widened to 5.37 points (55.99% vs 61.36%) – the widest on record.
Claims satisfaction on the rise
Claims satisfaction has continued its steady climb, up a further 1.42 percentage points in six months to 67.5% – an increase of almost 12 percentage points in three and a half years.
A good claims experience remains one of the strongest drivers of trust. Customers who have made a claim in the last three years trust their provider far more than those who have not (66.58% vs 54.87%).
Satisfaction with digital customer service and with providers’ apps, websites and online portals has also risen this wave, which may point to smoother claims journeys feeding through into higher trust.
WPA back on top
WPA has returned to the top spot as the most trusted PMI provider, scoring 63.4% despite a small dip. It also leads on claims satisfaction, at 71.55%. Two of the market’s largest providers improved this wave: AXA Health’s trust score rose by 2.71 percentage points and Aviva’s by 1.4 points.
James Daley, Managing Director of independent consumer group Fairer Finance, said: “It’s encouraging to see trust in private medical insurance at its highest level since we started measuring it. The claim is the moment of truth for any insurer, and the steady rise in claims satisfaction shows providers are getting better at delivering when it counts.
“But the industry can’t ignore who is being left behind. People in their late forties to mid-sixties are exactly the customers who start leaning on their cover for more complex and expensive treatment – and their trust has barely moved in three years. Insurers need to understand why the experience isn’t living up to expectations at the point it matters most.
“The same is true for vulnerable customers, where the gap has opened up again to its widest point yet. Providers have made real progress on digital service and claims – now they need to make sure that progress reaches everyone.”
Fairer Finance launched its PMI product ratings in 2023, which are designed to help consumers choose a good quality product. Fairer Finance awards a 5-star rating to the products with a set of features that most customers will need and expect. It sets a high bar, so the ratings have real value – no more than 15% are awarded 5-star ratings at the start of each year, and often far fewer.
For more information about Fairer Finance and to read more about its Customer Experience and Product Ratings, visit https://www.fairerfinance.com/.
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