Where health insurance changes are published

Several official bodies publish changes that affect UK health insurance. Each one keeps its own public record.

The tax on the premium

HM Revenue & Customs describes Insurance Premium Tax as a tax on general insurance premiums. On GOV.UK, HMRC gives two rates, a standard rate of 12% and a higher rate of 20% for travel insurance and some other cover.

HMRC lists exemptions from the tax as well, and most long-term insurance is one of them. Its Notice IPT1 gives the full list.

HMRC lists its updates to the page by date. It last updated the page on 6 March 2019.

Complaints the ombudsman has decided

The Financial Ombudsman Service publishes the final decisions its ombudsmen make on individual cases. The database holds every final decision published since 1 April 2013, and anyone can search it by product or by business name.

The ombudsman points out that each decision turns on the circumstances of that case. The decisions are written so that the person complaining cannot be identified.

The standard insurers work to

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets the Consumer Duty. In the FCA's words, the Duty sets high standards of protection for retail consumers across financial services and requires firms to put their customers' needs first. The FCA publishes its guidance on the Duty on the same page, with what it has found on good practice and areas for improvement.

Anyone can look up an insurer by name on the FCA's Firm Checker, to see whether the FCA has authorised it.

Useful links