What is business health insurance?
Business health insurance covers the cost of private medical treatment for you and your employees for acute conditions that develop after your policy has started (depending on the details of your plan). Treatment of chronic conditions usually isn’t covered on private health insurance.
Business health insurance can help you and your team get seen quickly if you become unwell. It also comes with the benefit that appointments can often be made at a time and location that’s convenient for you.
How much does business health insurance cost?
If you’ve considered adding health insurance to your employee benefits package, you probably have a lot of questions around how it works and how much it will cost. The cost of your business health insurance will depend on a number of different factors. These include:
Group size
The number of employees you choose to cover will have an impact on the cost of your business health insurance
Employees ages
The ages of the employees that you are covering will also affect the cost of your business health insurance
Location
Your location can determine which private hospitals are available within your area which can therefore affect the cost of your plan
Cover options
At AXA Health, we let you build your business health insurance plan yourself by giving you a choice of cover options. The particular options you choose, as well as the number of options, will affect the cost of your plan
Underwriting option
Underwriting allows you to decide how you’ll cover team members for any conditions they might have before joining us. The underwriting option you choose can affect the cost of your healthcare cover
Business health insurance cost examples
The below examples are based on six employees (aged 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 & 50), living in Guildford, with a £100 excess and a two year moratorium on pre-existing conditions. Costs are representative as of April 2024, and prices will vary depending on location, cover options and ages.
- Diagnostics Only option - This option offers fast access to outpatient specialist consultations and diagnostic tests, to find out what's wrong if you or one of your employees becomes unwell
- Therapies option - Cover for outpatient treatment when you're referred to an osteopath, physiotherapist, acupuncturist or chiropractor
- Employee Assistance Programme - If one of your employees is going through difficult times, such as divorce or money problems, this option gives your people a professionally trained expert to talk to; on the phone or in person, depending on the chosen programme
- Therapies option - Cover for outpatient treatment when you're referred to an osteopath, physiotherapist, acupuncturist or chiropractor
- Standard Outpatient option - Ensures, after GP referral, employees are seen quickly by a specialist at a time and place suitable for them
- Treatment option - Cover for hospital procedures and operations, including surgery
- Employee Assistance Programme - If one of your employees is going through difficult times, such as divorce or money problems, this option gives your people a professionally trained expert to talk to; on the phone or in person, depending on the chosen programme
- Mental health option - Look after more than just your employees physical health with cover for mental health treatment
- Treatment option - Cover for hospital procedures and operations, including surgery
- Extended Cover option - Provides even greater flexibility and choice over where and when you're treated. Plus, extra cover for planned, pre-approved treatment abroad and cover for the routine management of specified chronic conditions
- Full Outpatient option - Ensures employees with a GP referral are seen quickly by a specialist at a time and place that suits them. The Full Outpatient option has no yearly limit on specialist consultations, diagnostic tests and fees for practitioners
How can I lower the cost of my business health insurance?
There are a number of ways that you can lower the cost of your business health insurance, these include:
- Pay up-front - Save 5% by paying your subscription yearly instead of monthly
- Fix your subscription for two years - Know exactly how much you'll be investing in each employee over the next two years (tax changes still apply)
- Choose an excess - Reduce your annual subscription with an excess of, for example, £100, £250 or £500 per employee
- Pay less for using specialists we've sourced - our Guided option means that our Specialist Appointment Booking Team will source a specialist for you, helping you to be seen as soon as possible (this option is not available with Extended Cover). Any unauthorised treatment will not be covered
- Business Protect - Our Business Protect healthcare plans are great if you're looking to pay less - the main difference being that you and your employees will have access to less hospitals and fewer specialists than you would with our Business Health healthcare plans
- Switch and save - If you already have business health insurance with another provider, we can save you up to 10% off your renewal premiums when you switch to AXA Health
Reward your employees differently
We know that one size doesn’t fit all. So, with our business healthcare cover you can reward your most senior and loyal employees differently. We’ve pulled together an example plan that provides different levels of cover depending on employees' seniority, with a total plan cost of £537.41 per month. The example is based on 20 employees, living in Guildford, with a £100 excess and two-year moratorium underwriting on pre-existing conditions. Costs are representative as of April 2024, and prices will vary depending on location, cover options and ages. Here's the breakdown:
Category 3: 12 junior employees aged 25, 26, 30, 32, 36, 37, 42, 43, 38, 40, 40 and 50
Rewarded with Mental Health cover and Employee Assistance Programme (Premier). Average price per month, per employee: £3.84
Category 2: 5 mid-level employees aged 28, 30, 37, 41 and 52
Rewarded with the same options as junior employees plus, Treatment with Comprehensive Cancer cover, Therapies and Standard Outpatient cover options included. Average price per month, per employee: £35.62
Category 1: 3 senior employees aged 42, 55 and 57
Rewarded with the same options as junior and mid-level employees but with Full Outpatient cover instead of Standard Outpatient cover. Plus, Private GP, Dentist and Optician Cashback and Worldwide Travel cover are included. Average price per month, per employee: £104.41
Why choose AXA Health for your business health insurance
At AXA Health, we think that the best way for you to get the health insurance that’s the best fit for your business and your budget is to let you build your plan yourself. We give you a range of cover options to choose from, so you can build a plan that works for you.
Regardless of the cover options you choose, you’ll get access to the following benefits and services included as standard:
24/7 online GP service
Access to video or phone appointments with a GP or Advanced Nurse Practitioner. AXA Doctor at Hand, powered by Doctor Care Anywhere. Advanced Nurse Practitioners available 8am - 10pm. Appointments subject to availability.
Muscles, bones and joints support
Get to the bottom of aches and pains with no need for a GP referral. Speak to the right expert on the phone or online. Our muscles, bones and joints service is available for members aged 18 and over
Care for cancer and heart conditions
Our experienced healthcare practitioners are available at the end of the phone day or night. Speak to our specialist heart and cancer nurses 9am-5pm Monday - Friday. Outside these hours, our experienced nurses and counsellors provide round the clock support by phone
Health information and support
We'll give your employees access to our 24/7 health support line. It comes as standard, no matter what cover options you choose. It can provide support about any health questions your team may have, helping them feel their best and give their best
Specialist appointment booking service
Your employees can see the right person quickly. The sooner they see a consultant, the sooner they can get a diagnosis and treatment, and the sooner they can start getting better. You'll need to include either an Outpatient option or our Diagnostics Only option with your business healthcare plan for the consultation to be covered
Build a plan that's right for you
Find out more about our business health insurance, including what is and isn't covered, and get a quote
Small business guide to managing costs
Rising costs are currently at the forefront of everyone’s minds, including small business owners. To help ease this stress, we’ve put together a small business guide to managing costs which covers tips to help you and and your employees save money, the cost of absenteeism and the link between financial wellbeing and mental health.
* Phone lines are open 8:30am-5:30pm Monday to Friday. We may record and/or monitor calls for quality assurance, training and as a record of our conversation.