Broker Support
Healthcare Trust
What are the client and intermediary benefits of a healthcare trust?
A corporate healthcare trust can give your clients more control over the benefits they choose to offer their employees.
- Control over the employee benefits they provide
- Set their maximum financial liability
- Maximise their healthcare spend
- Receive expert support when setting up or transferring their trust
- Leave the day-to-day administration to us
We'll work with you to understand what your client wants to achieve and help you advise your client on the implementation of a trust that’s right for their business.
For intermediaries, promoting healthcare trusts can give you a practical way to add value for clients, demonstrate your expertise, and create new commercial opportunities. Trusts also open conversations about related insurance solutions and other employee benefits, which can help you build more holistic, long term relationships.
What is a healthcare trust?
Healthcare trusts are a more flexible alternative to private medical insurance (PMI). Instead of paying a premium to cover the cost of certain treatments and benefits, your client pays for employee healthcare benefits from a dedicated health trust fund. This allows them to have increased flexibility in their benefit structure and rules.
Here are some of the key differences between PMI and a healthcare trust:
Private Medical Insurance (PMI)
- Your client pays an insurance premium and we cover the cost of certain benefits in accordance with our policy terms.
- Insurance policies are subject to Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), currently 12%.
- Fixed benefit structure – the scope to amend or vary their employee benefits is limited.
- Complaints may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Healthcare trusts
- Your client pays money into a trust fund and employee benefits are paid for from that fund, in accordance with their trust rules.
- Not classified as an insurance policy so not subject to IPT.*
- More flexible – your client can choose the benefits to be included as part of their healthcare scheme.
- Complaints would be referred to the Trustees of the healthcare trust.
*IPT is payable on any stop loss insurance.
As the UK’s largest healthcare trust provider, many organisations choose AXA Health to administer their healthcare trust.
What are the different types of healthcare trusts?
With AXA Health your client can choose between a Health Trust or an AXA Health Master Trust to help them find the right balance between control, flexibility and cost for their business and people.
Health Trust
A Health Trust administered by AXA Health offers your client control over:
- the benefits they provide
- who they appoint as legal and tax advisers when setting up their trust
- who they appoint as trustees.
The Health Trust is tied to their company.
AXA Health Master Trust
With our innovative AXA Health Master Trust your client can choose:
- the benefits they provide
- who they appoint as legal and tax advisers to sign off on the trust
- AXA Health to act as their trustees as well as providing the administration service.
The AXA Health Master Trust is tied to AXA Health Services Limited and is non transferrable.
How does a healthcare trust work?
Understanding how a healthcare trust operates can seem complex. To help you visualise, here are four key steps that illustrate how a healthcare trust works:
Establish the trust fund
Your client sets up a healthcare trust and establishes a trust fund to be used to pay for the medical treatment costs of their beneficiaries.
Appoint the trustees
Your client appoints trustees to run their Health Trust smoothly from an operational and legal perspective, in accordance with the trust’s rules. With our AXA Health Master Trust, your client appoints AXA Health Services Limited as their corporate trustee.
Establish trust rules
Your client chooses which services and treatments will be paid for and who the benficiaries of the trust will be. These are outlined in the trust rules, which will be set out in a membership handbook and trust deed.
Appoint AXA Health as the trust administrator
Your client's trustees appoint AXA Health Services Limited as the administrator for their corporate healthcare trust. Our administration agreement will set out how we handle the day-to-day running of the trust, including healthcare expenditure, assessing and paying claims and managing member communications.
Treatment costs are paid out of the trust fund.
What benefits are available with a healthcare trust?
With a healthcare trust administered by AXA Health, your client can offer their people a range of benefits and services, including:
Easy access to mental health support
If your client's employees need support with their mental health, they'll be able to easily access the help they need so they can feel better and get back to work as soon as possible.
Speedy access to diagnosis for aches and pains
Muscle, bone and joint issues are among the most common reasons for needing time off work. Employees aged 18 and over can speak to a musculoskeletal expert as soon as pain strikes, without needing a GP referral first.
Cancer care
No two cancer journeys are the same. Our cancer benefit is guided by medical experts, by your client's business needs and by our experience.
Fast GP access for your client's teams
Our 24/7 online GP service makes it easy for your client's employees to fit an appointment around home and work commitments, subject to availability.
Expert support and information
If an employee needs reassurance or wants to discuss a particular health worry, they can call our 24/7 health support line and speak to one of our healthcare professionals.
Gym discounts
We’re here to support your client's people and help them manage their health by offering gym passes and discounts, including up to 40% off a monthly memberships at Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centres. Terms and conditions apply and offers are subject to change.
Neurodiversity Assessment and Support service
If your client chooses to include in addition to other benefits our Neurodiversity Assessment and Support service, they can connect eligible family members (aged seven and over) to ProblemShared’s innovative digital platform and a network of expert practitioners.
Put your trust in us
30 years
At AXA Health we've been administering healthcare trusts for almost 30 years
200+ Healthcare Trusts
... and currently administer over 200 corporate healthcare trusts...
0.5 Million
... providing private medical benefits for over half a million company employees...
850,000 lives
... and a total of almost 850,000 lives (including dependants).
AXA Health internal data, December 2025
Ready to discuss your client's healthcare trust?
For more information, contact your account manager or follow the link below,