Private health insurance in Tenerife what you're really buying, and why this December

First: where do you stand today?

English-speaking residents in Tenerife arrive at the office from very different starting points, and the answer changes with each one:

You work in Spain, employed or self-employed

You pay Spanish social security, so you're covered by the public system. Private insurance is an add-on for speed and choice.

You're a UK pensioner with an S1

Your S1, registered in Spain, gives you access to the public system. Same as above: private cover is about time, not entitlement.

You're on a non-lucrative or digital nomad visa

Here private insurance isn't optional, it's a requirement for your residency, and it usually has to be the no co-payment kind. We cover that in health insurance for NIE and residency.

One misconception worth clearing up: once you live in Spain, your UK GHIC or EHIC is for temporary stays, not for your everyday healthcare here.

What you're really buying

• Time. Seeing the specialist and getting the diagnostic test in days, not months.
• Choice. You pick your doctor and clinic within the medical network, and you can change if you're not happy.
• Direct access. With most plans you can book a specialist without going through your GP first.
• Peace of mind for the non-urgent things that still worry you. A lump, a pain that won't go away, a check-up you'd rather not wait for.

And you can keep using the public system whenever you want. Having private cover doesn't take anything away.

Canary Islands waiting lists: the actual figures

No drama, because the numbers have improved. According to the Canary Islands Health Service's report as at 30 June 2026:

• 34,382 people were waiting for surgery, with an average wait of 107 days (the Spanish average is 121).
• 158,358 people were waiting for a specialist appointment.
• Ophthalmology, ear-nose-and-throat, dermatology, rehabilitation and orthopaedics account for 66% of that list.

Look at those five: eyes, ears, skin, back, knees. Not emergencies, just the things that wear you down while you wait. That's exactly where private health insurance makes a difference.

The four plans, from the essentials to free choice

We work with four plans. They differ mainly in two things: whether hospital care is included, and how you pay when you use the insurance.

Tú Eliges: the essentials, with co-payment

The lowest monthly premium plus a co-payment each time you use a service. Covers GP, paediatrics, specialists, diagnostic tests and treatments such as physiotherapy, podiatry, osteopathy or psychotherapy, plus emergency care abroad and a second medical opinion for serious conditions. Hospital care is not included: for that you rely on the public system. It can be taken out up to age 75, with optional travel assistance.

Plus: comprehensive, with a small co-payment

Adds full hospital cover, surgical and non-surgical, with a private room, ICU and ambulance, and emergency care abroad, including access to a US hospital network. The co-payment per visit is small, isn't paid at the clinic but collected from your account, has a yearly cap per person and doesn't apply at the insurer's own medical centres. Suits you if you see a doctor now and then but want to be covered for the big things.

Supra: comprehensive, no co-payment

The same broad cover, hospital care and childbirth included, for a fixed premium and nothing more to pay when you use it. Adds travel assistance, accidental death cover and reimbursement of adoption costs. The choice for families with children, older people or those with chronic conditions, and the one that usually fits visa and residency applications, which normally require no co-payment; see health insurance for NIE and residency.

Reembolso: free choice of doctor and hospital

See any doctor or hospital you like, in Spain or abroad, and the insurer reimburses 80% to 90% of the cost, up to €250,000. You can also use the medical network with just your card, paying nothing upfront, and a few benefits (basic dental, short-term psychotherapy, podiatry, osteopathy, assisted reproduction) are only available through the network. For people who already have a specialist they trust, or spend part of the year away from Spain.

All four can add full dental cover, with dental treatment for children under 15 at no cost (except orthodontics), and all include video consultations and medical chat in the app. Plus, Supra and Reembolso can be taken out up to age 65, and with all of them, after five years on the policy there's no age limit for staying.

Which one suits you? Two useful questions: how many times did your household see a doctor last year, and do you want hospital care covered too? With those two answers we work out which comes out best.

Waiting periods and the health questionnaire

To take out a policy you fill in a health questionnaire. Conditions already diagnosed may be excluded or accepted with conditions, and you must answer truthfully: leaving something out can leave you without cover when you need it. While you're well, it takes five minutes.

Some benefits also have waiting periods (carencias): time from the start of the policy before you can use them. In Plus, Supra and Reembolso it's 8 months for surgery, non-emergency hospital stays and childbirth, and 6 months for physiotherapy, among others. In Tú Eliges, 6 months for tests such as MRI or PET scans, physiotherapy, psychotherapy or osteopathy. Emergencies and routine consultations have no wait, and if you're coming from another private health policy some waiting periods can be waived. The practical point: the clock starts the day you sign. Sign in December and surgery and childbirth are covered by August.

Self-employed or running a business? The tax office pays part of it

Self-employed (autónomo) under estimación directa

You can deduct as a business expense the premiums for yourself, your spouse and your children under 25 living with you: up to €500 per person per year, or €1,500 for a person with a disability. It doesn't apply under the módulos (estimación objetiva) scheme.

A business with employees

Health insurance paid by the company for its staff is a benefit in kind exempt from income tax up to €500 per person per year (also for their spouse and children), and a staff expense for the company.

Only premiums actually paid within the year count. If you're doing your year-end numbers as an autónomo, see also our article on pension plans for the self-employed, which has the same deadline.

The offer until 31 December

Until 31 December 2026, new health policies get an extra 12% discount. It adds to the usual discounts for having other policies with us and for the number of people on the policy, and together the discount can reach up to 48%, depending on your case.

How we do it at the office

1. Who and what forWho goes on the policy, how often you use doctors, and what's on your mind: children, a knee, a pending check-up.
2. The plan that fitsTú Eliges, Plus, Supra or Reembolso: what each covers, its waiting periods, and which fits how you use doctors. All explained in English.
3. The real figure, in writingWith every discount you're entitled to applied, and how it changes at renewal. If you're self-employed or a business, we'll tell you how much you can deduct.

Leave us your details, message us on WhatsApp or drop in at Av. Juan Carlos I, 20, Los Cristianos, no appointment needed. If you'd like to see the cover first, it's on our health insurance page.