Small business health insurance to suit your needs
We think that the best way for you to get the healthcare cover that’s right for your business is to give you the chance to build it yourself. That’s why, at AXA Health, we offer a choice of private medical insurance options and benefits that you can select from, so that you only pay for the cover you need^.
^If you are buying cover for 1-2 people only, you will need to include either the Treatment Option or the Diagnostics Only Option in your plan. More information can be found in our brochure.
No matter which cover options you choose, these things come as standard:
- Unlimited access to our AXA Doctor at Hand online GP service. Subject to their fair usage policy.
- Cancer and heart care and support from our telephone nursing team.
- Physiotherapy consultations by phone with no need for a GP referral. Service available to members over the age of 18.
- Wellbeing incentives such as discounted gym membership to keep your employees fit and healthy.
- Answers online, and on the end of the line, provided by our online health centres and telephone health-information service Health at Hand.
- Access to Proactive Health Gateway – a health and wellbeing platform tailored to you and what you want to achieve.
Tailor your small business health insurance plan
Every small business is different. That’s why we think it makes sense to let you choose the cover that’s right for yours. To create your plan, pick the cover options that you'd like. Our 24/7 online GP service AXA Doctor at Hand (powered by Doctor Care Anywhere) comes with any option you choose. As does Working Body, our physio support line. And our employee wellbeing platform, Proactive Health Gateway.
Treatment
Cover for hospital procedures and operations, including surgery, plus radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancer when you include Comprehensive Cancer Cover.
Diagnostics
Waiting for a health condition to be diagnosed can be an extremely worrying time. This option fast-tracks the process of finding out what’s wrong if you or one of your employees becomes unwell.
Outpatient
Cover if you or your team need to see a specialist about a health concern. When you use our Fast Track Appointments service appointments are arranged quickly and located near to work or home. Choose from Standard, Enhanced or Full outpatient cover, depending on the level of benefits you want to offer.
Therapies
Problems with muscles, bones and joints can often be tackled with some simple self-management advice and may not even need treatment. If you are referred for treatment, the Therapies option pays for treatment by an osteopath, physiotherapist, acupuncturist, homeopath or chiropractor to help put a stop to niggling aches and pains.
Mental Health
Look after more than just your employees’ physical health with cover for mental ill-health. This option includes psychiatric treatment by psychologists and cognitive behavioural therapists when referred by a specialist. They won’t even need a GP referral in order to access help and support. They can simply call our Stronger Minds team to arrange an assessment with a counsellor or psychologist.
Extended Cover
Choose this option for even greater flexibility and choice over where your people are treated. Plus, extra cover for planned, pre-approved treatment abroad and cover for the routine management of chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes and epilepsy.
Private GP
With our Private GP option, it’s easy for you and your employees to see a private GP in person, promptly, at a time that’s convenient for you – and your business.
Travel
If your employees travel for business or pleasure, this option will cover them for emergency medical treatment should the worst happen. It also includes a range of travel-related benefits.
Employee Assistance Programme
When members of your team are going through difficult times, such as divorce or money problems, they may find it hard to concentrate on work. This option gives them a professionally trained expert to talk to, whenever they need a listening ear.
Dentist and Optician Cashback
Help your employees look after their teeth and eyesight with cashback towards dentists’ fees, glasses, contact lenses and eye tests.
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Not sure which options are right for your business?
You may want to reward your most senior employees differently. Perhaps your biggest priority is giving your staff access to mental health support for the pressures which come with your area of work. Or maybe it's physiotherapist support you know would be beneficial to your team.
For inspiration, we built three example plans to show you how your plan could look. Use these as a starting point to work out the type of cover you might need, and pick and choose the cover options that are right for you.
The benefits of business health insurance
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Small business health insurance can have a number of benefits for you, your team and your business. These can include:
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- Employee retention. Including small business health insurance in your employee benefits package can be a great way to retain your top team members. One survey found that 42.7% of UK employees said that private medical insurance was the benefit they would most like to see as part of their employee benefits package1
- Recruitment incentive. Small business health insurance can also be a great incentive to help attract new team members to your business. One study found that 85% of employees are more likely to work for employers who offer clearly labelled benefits2
- Flexible medical appointments. Small business health insurance also comes with the added benefit that medical appointments can often be at a time and place that works for you, so you can minimise the impact that they have on your day
- Workplace wellbeing. Small business health insurance can also be beneficial to overall workplace wellbeing as it provides your team with access to health information and support when they need it. So you can rest assured that should a member of your team have a concern or question about their health, we’ll be on hand to support them
- Productivity. Employee wellbeing can, in turn, have a number of benefits for a business including improved productivity. A study conducted by the University of Warwick found that happiness made employees 12% more productive3
Sources and references
1Cover Magazine, 2018
2Canada Life Group
3University of Warwick, 2014
A choice of how we cover existing conditions
We offer four different ways of treating medical conditions your employees already have. The cost of your plan will depend on which option you choose. The options are:
- Fully underwritten - We ask for details of your medical history and use these to tailor your cover.
- Two-year moratorium - We can cover pre-existing conditions after two years of cover, subject to your membership terms. Employees need to have been completely trouble-free from advice, treatment or a special diet for a year after joining.
- Continuing medical exclusions - We can use any underwriting terms you’ve had with previous health insurers. The terms and conditions for your new plan will apply.
- Medical history disregarded - We can cover pre-existing conditions, subject to your membership terms. Available if you’re looking to cover 15 employees or more.
Ways to lower your small business health insurance costs
Here are some other ways you can look after your employees while still keeping an eye on your bottom line.
- Pay up-front
Save 5% by paying your subscription yearly instead of monthly. - Guided option
Pay less for using specialists that we’ve sourced. Our Fast Track Appointments team will give you the option of up to three specialists and book an appointment to suit your employee. - 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 £0, £50, £100, £150, £200, £250, £325, £400, £500, £625 or £750 per employee.
What's not covered?
As with most private healthcare plans, there are some general exclusions and limitations.
Here are some of the most significant things that your plan won't cover:
- Routine pregnancy and childbirth.
- Out-patient drugs and dressing.
- Treatment of ongoing, recurrent and long-term conditions (chronic conditions).
- Cosmetic treatment.
- Treatment needed as a result of training for or taking part in any sport for which you are paid, receive a grant or sponsorship (not counting travel costs) or are competing for prize money.
- Treatment of medical conditions you had, or had symptoms of, before you joined.
- Fees if you choose to use a hospital that is not in our Directory of Hospitals.
This information is just a summary of some of the cover we offer and the key exclusions. For more information about our cover, any cover limitations and what we don't cover please see our product brochure.
Why choose us?
- Join over 250,000 small-medium-sized business customers of AXA Health
- Cover to suit your budget – a range of options to choose from so you only pay for what you need^
- Unlimited access to our 24/7 online GP service, AXA Doctor at Hand - powered by Doctor Care Anywhere. Subject to their fair usage policy. Appointments are subject to availability
- UK-based call centre to support you when you need it
Frequently asked business health insurance questions
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Here, we cover some frequently asked questions around small business health insurance
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Our small business guide to health insurance covers lots more FAQs, you can read it here.
How does health insurance impact tax?
When providing private health insurance as an employee benefit to your team, it is considered to be a benefit in kind. Your employees will therefore need to pay tax on the benefit amount.
At the end of each tax year, employers have to complete a P11D form for every employee who has received expenses or benefits in addition to their salary (this doesn’t include routine business expenses and benefits like travel and company car fuel).Read our blog post to find out more about how private medical insurance impacts tax
How much does business health insurance cost?
At AXA Health, we think that the best way for you to get the healthcare cover that’s right for your business and your budget is to let you build your plan yourself. That’s why we offer a range of healthcare cover options, so you only pay for the cover you need^.
As well as tailoring your cover and choosing only the options you need, we also have a number of cost saving options available so you can look after your people whilst still keeping an eye on your bottom line.
Find out more about our cost saving options.
^If you’re buying healthcare cover for 1-2 people only, you will need to include either Treatment or Diagnostics Only in your plan.What are chronic conditions?
Small business health insurance, in most cases, covers the cost of private treatment for new acute conditions that develop after your policy has started (depending on the details of your plan). Chronic conditions generally aren’t covered on most small business health insurance plans.
A chronic condition is a disease, illness or injury that has one or more of the following characteristics:- It needs ongoing or long-term monitoring through consultations, examinations, check-ups and/or tests
- It needs ongoing or long-term control or relief of symptoms
- It requires your rehabilitation or for you to be specially trained to cope with it
- It continues indefinitely
- It has no known cure
- It comes back or is likely to come back
What is a pre-existing condition in health insurance?
A pre-existing medical condition is any disease, illness or injury that:
- You have received medication, advice or treatment for in the five years before the start of your cover, or
- You have experienced symptoms of in the five years before the start of your cover whether or not the condition was diagnosed.
The process of underwriting determines whether pre-existing medical conditions are covered on your policy. The underwriting option that you choose can affect the cost of your healthcare cover.
More information on the process of underwriting can be found in our Small Business Guide to Health Insurance.Small Business Guide to Health Insurance
At AXA Health, we understand that if you’ve considered adding private health insurance to your employee benefits package then you probably have a lot of questions around how it works. That’s why we’ve created our Small Business Guide to Health Insurance. The guide covers off a number of frequently asked questions, including:
- What underwriting options are available and what can’t I claim for?
- How does private health insurance impact tax?
- How does the claims process work?
Our Business Health plan has been rated 5 Stars by independent financial information business, Defaqto. The Defaqto 5 Star Rating is based on an assessment of the overall product including all options. If some of the options are not selected, this will affect the product’s Star Rating.
Award-winning provider
- Defaqto - 5 Star Rating
- Feefo - Platinum Trusted Service Award
* 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.