Corporate
Healthcare Trust
What are the benefits of a healthcare trust?
A corporate healthcare trust can give you more control over the benefits you choose to offer your employees.
- Control the employee benefits you provide
- Set your maximum financial liability
- Maximise your healthcare spend
- Receive expert support when setting up or transferring your trust
- Leave the day-to-day administration to us
We'll work with you to understand what you want to achieve and help you implement a trust that’s right for your business. It’s a more flexible, creative way to meet the health and wellbeing needs of your people.
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, you’d pay for employee healthcare benefits from a dedicated health trust fund. This can offer tax-efficiencies and also allows you to have increased flexibility in your benefit structure and rules.
Here are some of the key differences between PMI and a healthcare trust:
Private Medical Insurance (PMI)
- You pay 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 your employee benefits is limited.
- Complaints may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Healthcare trusts
- You pay money into a trust fund and employee benefits are paid for from that fund, in accordance with your trust rules.
- Not classified as an insurance policy so not subject to IPT.*
- More flexible – you can choose the benefits to be included as part of your 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 you can choose between a Health Trust or an AXA Health Master Trust to help you find the right balance between control, flexibility and cost for your business and people.
Health Trust
A Health Trust administered by AXA Health offers you control over:
- the benefits you provide
- who you appoint as legal and tax advisers when setting up your trust
- who you appoint as trustees.
The Health Trust is tied to your company.
AXA Health Master Trust
With our innovative AXA Health Master Trust you choose:
- the benefits you provide
- who you appoint as legal and tax advisers to sign off on the trust
- AXA Health to act as your 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 your trust fund
Set up your healthcare trust and establish a trust fund to be used to pay for the medical treatment costs of your beneficiaries.
Appoint your trustees
Appoint trustees to run your Health Trust smoothly from an operational and legal perspective, in accordance with the trust’s rules. With our AXA Health Master Trust, you appoint AXA Health Services Limited as your corporate trustee.
Establish trust rules
Choose 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 your trust administrator
Your trustees appoint AXA Health Services Limited as the administrator for your 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, you can offer your people a range of benefits and services, including:
Easy access to mental health support
If your 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 business needs and by our experience.
Fast GP access for your teams
Our 24/7 online GP service makes it easy for your 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 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 you choose to include in addition to other benefits our Neurodiversity Assessment and Support service, you 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
Keeping your people fit, well and fired up about staying healthy
Inspire your people to adopt healthy habits and stay in control of their health
Whether your people want to set new goals, manage their day-to-day wellbeing or gain access to expert support, the AXA Health app is here to help you put their health first. Plus, we’re making it easier to connect your wellbeing strategy. As you invest in AXA Health services the AXA Health app grows with you, dynamically showing those services to employees with access.
Make the most of your healthcare benefits
We’ve made accessing all the features of your healthcare trust super simple. Your employees will have an online account giving them access to everything from how to make a claim to supporting lifestyle changes, all in one place.
Other ways we can help
Wellbeing seminars, health assessments and coaching
Build your wellbeing programme to suit your workforce. Whether that's health assessments to help your people see where to focus their efforts, health coaching to guide them on their journeys, or line manager training to ensure employees get the best possible support.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Life doesn't always go to plan, so it's good to have someone to turn to for help. That's why we're here to guide your employees through life's twists and turns and there's also specialist support for line managers. We're here with life management support, whether an employee is concerned about their finances, housing situation, care duties, consumer issues or something else.
Critical incident management
Be ready to respond when the worst happens. Whether it's a national incident or a colleague bereavement, shared trauma can have a deep and long-lasting effect. We can help you be ready to respond by including a group support session and, where needed, a 1-2-1 session into your critical management planning for the emotional support of your employees.
Fertility, early parenthood and menopause support
You give your employees and their partners the power to find their way more confidently through life's challenges. We're working together with the health company Peppy to give support and guidance to your employees via their App.
Men's and women's health support
Sensitive health issues can have an enormous effect on an employee's mental and physical wellbeing. Together with Peppy, we give people a much-needed place to go for reliable and practical guidance on men's and women's health. Connecting whole workforces to expert support and education via the Peppy App for the issues that matter to them.
Ready to know more?
For more information, contact your intermediary or speak to us direct about healthcare trusts.