Bupa Arvostelua 

My medical treatment was approved. I got in touch with a question about it, and Bupa turned it into an unrequested of their own approval. Instead of helping me, they changed the approval and rescinded it. I am now going through a complaints process. I have received no treatment. They had approved it.

I had a simple claim which was delayed for 5 months and not yet paid because of their organizational mess. They made big cuts on customer support and this is the results. It takes now 3 weeks to get a reply and every time they get back to me they do not check previous emails and ask for information i have already provided. After 5 months I do not see a way out. I asked multiple times for a phone call but nobody had the decency to call me. I am posting the last email I sent them:

Hi,

I am not trying to be rude, but I would ask you to please put yourself in my shoes for a moment.

I have already provided the information you are now requesting, just as I have already answered these same questions multiple times. Each time a different agent takes over the case, it restarts from zero because previous emails and case history are not reviewed.

I have wasted hours and sent countless emails due to what appears to be a disorganized internal process. This has been ongoing for 5 months without resolution, and despite repeatedly requesting a phone call, no one has had the courtesy to call me.

I am attaching the requested information once again. If someone is actually reading this email, please ensure this information is properly logged so that I am not asked for the same documents again.

Thanks,

Apparently there is no link between Bupa health insurance and Bupa health centres. It is impossible to get the information from one that the other needs without multiple calls, all of which have long wait times. Frustrating.

Just useless. Only interested in your money.

Absolutely PATHETIC!!!! The moment you have to submit a claim allow 2+ MONTHS. I submitted a claim in JULY and still ,NO reimbursement ,NO feedback,NO communication after numerious emails, phonecalls. Its pathetic I will defenitely cancel my membership and move to another private health insurer.

Do not choose BUPA - I wish I had read these reviews first.

I have wasted days trying to get pre-authorisations for my eye issue and for my son’s sporting injury. They claim to have an underwriting clause on my policy that requires 3 out of 8 pages of a document be filled out my NHS GP. The NHS GP charges £55 for this and it takes 3-5 weeks to fill out on top of 5 days for Bupa to look at the paperwork. And that’s just to see a specialist. I have never ever had to jump through such drastic hoops to get pre-authorisation from any of my other insurance policies. Then I had a Bupa GP phone consultation for this eye condition - they prescribed drops and my local chemist who is exceptional, can’t get these drops anywhere so I am going to find a specialist out of pocket. What a waste.

On top of this, we were told that our local dentist is covered under our plan and had the receptionist fill out all of the forms after my kids saw the dentist. I scanned and emailed the 10 pages in to the claims team only to be told that BUPA does not recognise this dental practice. This practice deals with all of the big insurance companies. I smell a scam there.

Extraordinary waste of time and resources. I have been messed around, made endless phone calls and sent hundreds of unnecessary emails and endless paperwork all to get no pre-authorisation whatsoever. They try to make it so difficult for you to get pre-authorisation that you end up spending out of pocket. Would be cheaper not to pay the monthly premium and pay out of pocket for private care.

I will be taking my complaint to a governing body who can fine them, I just don’t understand how what they are doing is legal.

Go to any other insurance company but BUPA.

I've had BUPA insurance for many years but hardly ever used it. Today I needed to book a GP consultation. Phoned BUPA, after a long wait for a reply I was advised that this can only be done on the BUPA app. Downloaded the app, tried to register but there is a "technical problem" with it. Called the number quoted and I've already been waiting over 20 minutes for an answer.

I have been with BUPA over 30 years and only used the service once.
I have recently developed a lump in my groin and severe "burning" pain.
BUPA leave the customers to arrange consultations. Telephone support appalling ... consultants offering earliest appointment in 4 weeks. Even NHS do better than that !

If it wasn't for the kind staff Bupa Durham, Bupa would fail miserably on their admin and so called apps which do not eork.Mature health assessment ok. Results and referrals could only be emailed to me as for some reason the Bupa app could not load them. Given up complaining about the appalling app - appalling service regarding this. Loads of miscommunication waiting for results as was told they would all be on the app. No chance! Waited another 2 weeks with 2 prompts for a mammogram - and 2 weeks after it, still no results. I defected from Bupa years ago because of a very upsetting monumental admin error - alas some things never change. In this case they're even worse! There are other providers of mature health assessments so please do your homework first.

BUPA disingenuously asserts that the Open Referral Network "gives patients the confidence to choose their own consultant". This is pure doubletalk as in fact the system does nothing but limit member's choice to a select pool of specialists who have agreed to reduce their fees in line with BUPA's stipulations. So, when I was referred for a specialist opinion it was not surprising that the only consultants available to me on my policy were those who are newly qualified and inexperienced because these are the only specialists who can be bullied to sell themselves short.

I was a bit annoyed with BUPA, all of a sudden, inserting an excess onto my policy at renewal. I asssumed a renewal would be for the same thing as the old policy but it is not and they do not make it obvious at all.

I tried to use their service to get a skin issue looked at but since I last used them a couple of years back, they have made access more difficult. For many things you could self refer but not now. You have to go through an on line GP service which slows things down. You then have to arrange an appointment with the specialist yourself. From things taking a few days it is now a couple of months to see someone. The NHS is quicker.

I wish I could give them zero stars or negative stars. Since I have taken their full coverage in October 2025 (8 months), I have submitted only 3 claims. And not even once they refunded without harssing me. Third one is still pending and it is for a very simple infection, yet I am being asked to provide all reports from last 2 years, medical history for last 2 years. And mind you, I have taken a super expensive package with them. Never ever going to repeat the mistake of taking their package. stay away from them.

If I could give 0 I would. I have tried multiple times on their messaging service with simple straightforward questions and not one had a passable experience. They (live agent) answer pretty quickly but then expect 17-20min or more gaps in between - I have been chatting to someone for over an hour now and still not gotten an answer to my simple question. I always have to end up calling call centre which as you can imagine means a very long wait seeing as everyone had to call due to them having a completely unhelpful and unusable online messaging service. The worst company I’ve ever had to deal with online. I see I’m not alone in this experience - will be moving back to my old provider.

The worst experience I've ever had with any insurance company. They don't respond to messages, they look for reasons not to pay, they look for reasons for exclusions, they increase price every year by 20% or more...Choose another company!!

Cuidado con Bupa, los vendedores me ofrecieron "el oro y el moro" para que mi esposa se cambie a esta aseguradora, lamentablemente a los dos meses tuvo un accidente y no quisieron pagar porque era alto. Tuve que cambiarme a un broker de confianza para me ayude y logre conseguir el 45% del valor que tenian que haberme pagado, pero despues de 5 o 6 meses y una lucha continua. Al inicio yo me deslumbre con esta empresa porque es internacional, pero al final, literalmente me dijeron que no iban a perder dinero cuando fui a sus oficinas y desde el inicio me dijeron que pensaban que no me iban a pagar nada.

It's simply appalling.
A frustrating app that uses several ways to just say 'go away and use your NHS GP'.

I won't be renewing. Its easier and cheaper to just pay as you go at a private hospital.

[Edit - 120 days later, they respond. Case rested..!]

I paid £850 for a health assessment, as did my husband. We visited on the same day and left disappointed at the lack of clinical tests conducted. At least 30 minutes of the 2 hours were spent discussing mental health and sleep, which we were not there for. But more annoying was the fact that he was tested for vitamin deficiencies and I was not, even though I specifically asked about this. They did test my thyroid, did an ECG, and full cholesterol check. But that was pretty much it. Nothing I couldn't get for free at the GP. Very much not worth it!

I am extremely disappointed with Bupa’s chat bot. It is completely unhelpful and fails to address even basic queries. Instead of providing clear guidance or directing you to the right support, it loops through generic responses that add no value whatsoever.

What makes it worse is the level of frustration it creates. When you are already dealing with a stressful situation, the last thing you need is a system that wastes your time and increases your stress. It feels like a barrier rather than a support tool.

For a company like Bupa, this is simply not acceptable. Customers expect efficient, human-focused support, not a poorly designed bot that cannot resolve issues. This needs serious improvement.

Every time we’ve booked an online GP appointment, it’s been an awful experience. The doctor doesn’t show up, and we then have to go through the hassle of rebooking. It’s frustrating, inconvenient, and not worth the money you pay.

Visited GP for Frozen shoulder asked for a referal for Bupa. Bupa gave ma an authorisation number and recommended several clinics. Could not get an appointment with any of them using BUPA. Ended up paying cash upfront. A very difficult system to use. I personally have had x 3 failures. NHS much better.
Problem persists going back to NHS