What is private health insurance?
Private health insurance gives you fast access to eligible health treatment when you need it. From seeing a specialist for prompt diagnosis to having a comfortable private hospital stay, we’re there to look after your health and wellbeing.
How does private health insurance work?
Private health insurance gives you all the benefits of private healthcare without the worry of how to pay for it. You pay regular subscriptions, then your insurer pays for your treatment, as long as it’s covered under your plan. That means you can put all your energy into getting better, knowing that side of things is taken care of.
We cover more than just the basics
Consult with a GP through your smartphone or laptop
With Doctor@Hand, you can speak to a GP by video or phone, from anywhere in the world, day or night. You’ll have 20-minute appointments you can fit in around work, and with our Fast Track Appointments service you can see a specialist quickly and when it suits you (if you’ve selected an Out-patient option).
Talk to a Working Body physiotherapist over the phone without a GP referral
They’ll assess your symptoms and talk to you about what they could mean. If they think exercises could ease your pain, they’ll recommend some you can try at home. And if you need further treatment, they’ll help you plan what to do next.
Use Fast Track Appointments to see a consultant quickly
You just need an open referral from a GP, and we’ll then give you a choice of three doctors with the right specialism to treat you (if you’ve selected an Out-patient option). And with our private medical insurance they’ll only ever be a consultant.
Get a second opinion if there’s something you’re not sure about
If your consultant has recommended an operation or treatment and you’re not sure about it, we’ll arrange for you to see another specialist who can confirm what your doctor told you, or suggest a different course of action. You can then decide what to do next. This service is available if you choose our Out-patient option.
Ask us anything you like about your health, anytime
Check your medication with a pharmacist. Discuss your treatment options with a nurse. Talk to a counsellor about how you’re feeling. Speak to a midwife about your pregnancy. Your private medical insurance is here to put your mind at ease, so you don’t worry for a minute longer than you have to.
Lean on us if you’re seriously ill
We’ve got a team of nurses who specialise in caring for those living with cancer and heart disease. Every one of them knows what a diagnosis like this means, so you’ll never have to find your way on your own.
Our Core Cover
Personal Health, our private health insurance plan, covers treatment for a wide range of conditions as well as the cost of surgery, specialists’ fees and drugs, if you need to spend time in hospital as an in-patient (Out-patient drugs are not covered by this plan).
With our heart and cancer cover and care, you'll be covered for radiotherapy and chemotherapy and have a dedicated team of cancer nurses to support you. You can talk to us any time, day or night, so you’ll never have to find your way on your own.
Create your plan your way
Think about what’s important to you and what you want to cover. Making a list of priorities can help you choose the right plan for your needs. If there’s something you want to cover, it’s always worth asking us.
With options that truly reflect the way you live your life, we’ve made it easy for you to create private medical insurance that’s right for you and your loved ones.
Your core health insurance starts with peace of mind
When life throws you an unexpected challenge, fast diagnosis and treatment are what matter most, along with genuine help, support and understanding from people who care. So here’s a summary of everything that comes with Personal Health, your private medical insurance plan, for new medical conditions after you join.
- Speedy access to diagnosis and eligible treatment**
- We’ll pay full in-patient and day-patient hospital fees (on specialist referral), including operating-theatre costs, nursing care, drugs and dressings, specialist fees, consultations, diagnostic tests, CT, MRI and PET scans and physiotherapy. Just use a hospital from our Directory of Hospitals
- No yearly limit on out-patient surgery
- Get 24/7 health information with our Health at Hand and online health centres
- A cash payment of £50 a night up to £2,000 a year when you have in-patient treatment free on the NHS
- Hospital accommodation for one parent, and up to £100 a night towards a hotel (up to £500 a year), while a child under 16 is receiving eligible treatment
- Surgery to correct prominent ears for a child under 14
- Six sessions of speech therapy for a child under 14 resulting from a delay in their development
- Free cover on your plan for new-borns until your renewal date (restrictions may apply)
- Cover for diagnostic surgery, CT, MRI and PET scans
- Specialist consultations with the same specialist who’s treating your cancer when you’re an out-patient (with an Out-patient option)
- Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment
- External prostheses (limbs), up to £5,000 a year, and wigs up to £150 a year - when you’re having treatment to remove cancer cells
**The cover available is subject to the options you have chosen and your medical history. Our Personal Health plan provides cover for treatment of medical conditions that arise after you take out the plan. Out-patient drugs are not covered by the plan. To find out more on what is and isn’t covered call us on 0800 111 4004.
Extra cover Options
We understand that everyone’s different. So we have a range of cover options letting you tailor your private health insurance so it’s right for you.
Here are the main options you can add to your private medical insurance.
Standard Out-Patient option
- Up to three specialist consultations a year
- No yearly limit on diagnostic tests when a specialist refers you
- No yearly limit on practitioner charges when a specialist refers you (includes dieticians, nurses, orthoptists and speech therapists)
Full Out-Patient option
- No yearly limit on specialist consultations
- No yearly limit on diagnostic tests when a specialist refers you
- No yearly limit on practitioner charges when a specialist refers you (includes dieticians, nurses, orthoptists and speech therapists)
Dentist and Optician Cashback
- Cover for 80% of your dentist’s fees, up to £400 each year
- Cover for 80% of your optician’s fees for prescribed glasses and contact lenses, up to £200 each year
- £25 a year towards the cost of eye tests
Therapies option
- Adds cover for out-patient treatment by physiotherapists, acupuncturists, homeopaths, osteopaths and chiropractors
- No yearly limit on fees
- Get up to 10 sessions a year when your GP refers you, or when you have therapist treatment through our Working Body team
Mental Health option
As an in-patient or day-patient:
- Cover for psychiatric treatment, including accommodation, diagnostic tests and drugs, at a hospital or day-patient unit in our Directory of Hospitals
- No yearly limit on specialist fees for psychiatric treatment
As an out-patient:
- No yearly limit on specialist consultations for psychiatric treatment
- No yearly limit on psychiatric treatment by psychologists and cognitive-behavioural therapists, as long as your specialist oversees treatment
Extended Cover
- Cover for visits to a private GP for consultations, up to £500 a year
- Cover when you use hospitals outside our Directory of Hospitals, giving you more choice of where you’re treated
- Cover for using AXA Health recognised specialists
- We’ll provide overseas cover for planned treatment up to the value of the equivalent UK treatment
- Save time spent on doctors’ appointments with up to five consultations a year with a Doctor@Hand GP
Travel option
- European or Worldwide Travel Cover for emergency medical expenses abroad
- Also includes cover for lost baggage, delays and lost passports, as well as personal accident cover and cover for on-piste skiing
- Worldwide Travel Cover includes emergency dental treatment and business travel
- With the Adventure Sports upgrade, you can add cover for activities like bungee-jumping and paragliding
What’s not covered
Here are the main things that aren’t covered as standard in our private health insurance:
- Treatment of medical conditions that you had – or had symptoms of – before you joined, unless you’ve switched from another plan and have underwriting called ‘continued medical exclusions’
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Treatment of ongoing, recurring and long-term conditions, such as diabetes or asthma (we call these ‘chronic conditions’)
- Cosmetic treatment (except for birthmarks and prominent ears, which are covered under our enhanced family cover)
- There are some specialists whose costs we can’t cover in full, so please call us if you need to claim
Lowering the cost
Private medical insurance is all about peace of mind. That’s why we let you adjust the cost of your subscriptions to make sure you’re comfortable with what you’re paying.
- Protect your no claims discount
Our best-ever no claims discount rewards you with savings for every year you don’t make a claim on your private health insurance, up to a maximum of 80%. All claims under the Therapies option, along with some other benefits, will not affect your no claims discount. - Choose your excess
You can bring down your monthly health insurance subscription by adding an excess to your plan. Your excess could be as low as £100, and you’ll only be asked to pay once a year for each person who claims. - Choose cancer support on the NHS
If you select this health insurance option, or we’re unable to fully cover you for cancer treatment because of a previous medical condition, your private medical insurance will cost you less. - Pay yearly and save 5%
If you pay for your private medical insurance in one go, you'll save 5% on your subscription. - Let us choose your specialists for you
If you take out our Guided Option, you’ll agree to use our Fast Track Appointment service every time you need to see a specialist. You’ll still have full access to our hospital list, but we’ll do the work for you - sourcing up to three specialists, who focus on your condition. We’ll book the one you choose at a time and place that’s right for you. And, as you’ll be using specialists we’ve negotiated with, we can pass on the savings to you with a reduced subscription. This Option can’t be taken out if you have our Extended Cover Option.
Manage your private health insurance online
Member Online makes managing your membership easy. Just register using your AXA Health membership number and you’ll be able to see how much of your private medical insurance cover you’ve used, check the conditions, treatments and payments you’ve claimed for.
Why choose us?
We know health, how precious it is and how much it means to you. We were founded by doctors and hospitals working together, and our service is still shaped by clinicians today.
Every day we use what we learned on the ward round, at the clinic or in the operating theatre to make AXA Health the best it can be for you. It’s our calling to care for you – and to be there for you when you need us most.
The Defaqto and Moneyfacts 5 Star Rating is based on an assessment of the overall product, including the optional components. Where not all of the options are taken, this might affect the rating of the product.
Award-winning provider
- Defaqto 5 Star Rating
- Feefo Platinum Trusted Merchant
- Your Money - Best Direct Healthcare Provider 2019
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