People who have private medical insurance are having to pay hundreds of pounds a month in premiums even though they are highly unlikely to get private treatment if they are injured or ill.
The entire independent healthcare sector has effectively been incorporated into the NHS to help in the fight against coronavirus.
It means those who pay thousands of pounds a year for on-demand private healthcare will receive only the most urgent forms of care such as life-saving operations or cancer treatments, as long as private hospitals still have capacity.
Other operations and treatments have been deferred and social distancing measures have made it almost impossible to see a GP, get a referral to a specialist or receive treatments such as physiotherapy.
Many policyholders cannot afford to cancel their cover because of the risk that taking out a new policy later on would be much more expensive, especially when there are pre-existing conditions.
Britain’s biggest private medical insurers have said they will ensure that they do not profit unjustly from the crisis, but none has so far started to refund or discount premiums.
James Daley of Fairer Finance, a consumer advocacy group, said customers should not be expected to pay for a service that a provider cannot offer.
Insurers have said they are waiting to assess the full impact of Covid-19 on the sector before they compensate customers. They say they need to be in a financially secure position once the crisis is over, with enough cash to pay out for a backlog of claims for delayed treatment.
Several of the major firms have said they will provide consultations, check-ups, therapy and mental health clinics via video calls or online.
Others are offering payments to those who are able to receive treatment but have to be treated at an NHS hospital, where no private option is available and therefore no claim is paid. Such payments are also made if policyholders are admitted to hospital for Covid-19.
Vitality, for example, will pay £250 every day for the first week in an NHS hospital for those being treated for the virus and £500 thereafter, up to a maximum of £5,000. When asked if customers would be refunded or premiums reduced because of the effective absence of private healthcare, the firm said it was reviewing the situation.
Aviva will pay £100 a night for up to 30 nights to policyholders admitted to an NHS hospital in case of accident or emergency. A spokesman said the firm was monitoring the impact of coronavirus on customers before making any announcements on refunds and urged policyholders to continue to pay their premiums.
Axa has said it will increase payments by £100 a night for 12 months for any policyholder treated via the NHS. A spokesman said customers could count on the insurer “to do right by them” but said it would not be in a position to commit to refunds until it had finished a review of its accounts at the end of 2021.
Saga is increasing its payment by the same amount. The company said it would compensate affected customers but only once “the actual impact” of coronavirus on services became clearer.
Bupa has promised to pay a rebate to affected customers but said it was still working on the details.