AXA health insurance spotlight

AXA health insurance spotlight

AXA health insurance, was founded in 1940 by a group of hospitals and doctors to help average earners access expert medical care. They have over 250 hospitals in their directory and more than 33,500 practitioners and consultants within their network. 

AXA offers a variety of financial services from car insurance to corporate business cover and has been awarded a 5-star Defaqto rating, as well as ‘Best direct healthcare provider 2019’ by Your Money. We’ll be exploring AXA health insurance, such as what and who they will cover, the benefit to policyholders, and the additional services they offer to their customers.

Please note: the information presented in this blog is correct as of 21st May 2021 and has been sourced directly from https://www.axa.co.uk and https://www.axahealth.co.uk/.

AXA health insurance benefits

AXA private health insurance has been created around the ethos that if you fall ill and require medical attention, AXA will help you get fast access to treatment. Each policy provider has unique offerings and benefits to their members, meaning it’s important you understand what each provider can offer you and if you’d benefit more from one offering over another. These are some of the key benefits AXA lists for their policyholders:

1. Get seen by a professional quickly and benefit from fast diagnosis and treatment options.
2. Optional Fast Track appointments on any plans that include out-patient cover.
3. Subject to your medical history and policy cover, you may be able to access licensed approved cancer drugs before they would otherwise be available through the NHS (excluding outpatient medicine).
4. An extensive hospital directory, including over 250 hospitals and 33,000 industry specialists.
5. You’ll have unlimited access to 24/7 support if you have any questions about your health through their ‘Health@Hand’ service.
6. Enhanced cover options for families and children’s health insurance.
7. Health and wellbeing advice and benefits to help policyholders live a healthier life.
8. Flexibility to add or restrict coverage based on the options AXA give their policyholders.
9. Members benefits and discounts, such as the Nuffield Health and Hussle offer.
   

AXA private medical insurance - Personal Health

AXA’s core policy, named Personal Health, covers treatment for a range of conditions. It aims to help policyholders access high-quality treatment when facing major health issues or other medical conditions, subject to the cover chosen by the policyholder. We’ve covered some of the main features that anyone considering purchasing a policy with AXA should be aware of. As an independent health insurance broker working with AXA and other leading health insurance providers, we can offer you impartial advice and answer any questions should you wish to learn more.

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Continuation of work

AXA may offer someone who was previously covered through their employer the option to continue on a personal policy after leaving their job. AXA may even offer to cover any ongoing claims or treatments without a break in cover, subject to T&C. 

Enhanced family care

Enhanced family care is an extra option for private health insurance. It offers policyholders additional cover for family members under a single policy in the following way:

1. In the event that you have a child and you’ve purchased enhanced family care, they’ll be covered for free until your renewal date. There may be some restrictions that apply, but you’ll be advised about this when you update AXA with the good news.
2. If you have any concerns or questions regarding your children’s health, a midwife, councillor or pharmacist will be on-hand to advise you.
3. Your children will be offered unique cover for conditions such as prominent ears or birthmarks, subject to T&C.
4. Should your child need to stay in hospital, AXA will pay £100 towards accommodation for one parent nearby, up to a maximum of £500 per year.

Doctor@hand

Doctor@hand is a service that aims to make GP services easy, efficient and accessible for AXA policyholders via an online app. It encapsulates everything you need to manage GP appointments in one place, and makes it easy to take the following actions:

1. Speak to a GP by video or phone by booking an appointment through the app. You’ll be given a 20-minute appointment at a time that suits you.
2. Through the app, you can share any medical information with your regular GP to ensure they’re up to date with any private consultations you’ve had.
3. All Doctor@hand GPs are registered with the General Medical Council, and they can recommend treatment, refer you to a specialist, or issue you with a prescription that can be delivered to your home or office.
   

If you’re considering purchasing an AXA health insurance policy, you’ll have access to 5 free Doctor@hand consultations every year if you opt for extended cover.

Working Body

Working Body is a telephone service that offers policyholders access to physiotherapy services relating to muscle, bone and joint pain. It’s included as part of a Personal Health policy, and it gives you access to the expertise of a physiotherapist without having to physically visit them.

They’ll understand the cause of your issue and advise you on what treatment should be taken next. If treatment can be completed at home by yourself, you’ll have access to an online physiotherapy portal that houses video tutorials and guidance on how to complete exercises. If you need to see a specialist, you’ll be booked in for an appointment with an approved physiotherapist.

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Extra cover options

If you purchase the core policy offered by AXA, you’ll have the option to increase what you’re covered for. You have complete control over this, and it may be a great way to tailor your cover to suit your needs.

Extended cover

By including extended cover on top of your core health insurance policy, you’ll be covered for the following:

1. Up to £500 a year towards private GP consultations.
2. Cover for treatments outside of the Directory of Hospitals.
3. Access to AXA Health healthcare recognises specialists.
4. Overseas cover for planned treatment up to the equivalent UK treatment cost.
5. Access to 5 free Doctor@Hand consultations per year.

Standard Out-Patient option

With standard out-patient cover, you’ll be entitled to up to 3 specialist consultations in a policy year. There’s no yearly limit on diagnostic tests or practitioner charges when referred by a specialist.

Full Out-patient option

The full out-patient option offers further cover in comparison to the standard variant. There’s no limit to the number of specialist consultations you attend, and no yearly limit on diagnostic or practitioner charges following a specialist referral.

Dentist and Optician Cashback

Dentist and Optician cashback is for policyholders that would like additional support towards related costs, and it offers the following:

1. Covered for up to 70% of dentist’s fees up to £400 a year.
2. Covered for 80% of optician’s fees towards prescribed glasses and contact lenses, up to £200 a year.
3. £25 cashback towards the cost of eye tests in a policy year.

Therapies option

This additional option covers policyholders for out-patient treatment by physiotherapists,  acupuncturists, homoeopaths, osteopaths and chiropractors. There is no yearly limit on fees, and you’ll have up to 10 sessions a year following a referral from a GP or a member of the Working Body team.

Mental health option

Adding extra cover for mental health will cover you for related treatments and aims to give you access to treatment and therapies to help you during negative periods. The cover available will vary depending on whether you’re an in-patient or out-patient, as per the following:

In-patient or day-patient cover

1. No annual limit on specialist psychiatric treatment fees.
2. Cover for psychiatric treatment at a hospital or day-patient unit in AXA’s directory of hospitals for the following:
   a. Psychiatric treatment
   b. Accommodation
   c. Diagnostic tests
   d. Treatment drugs

Out-patient cover

1. No annual limit on specialist psychiatric treatment fees.
2. No annual limit on treatment administered by psychologists or cognitive-behavioural treatments, granted that your AXA specialist oversees them.

Travel option 

Additional personal travel insurance cover may be a great option for you if you regularly travel, or you’d like emergency health coverage while overseas. You’ll be covered for lost luggage, flight delays, lost passports and personal accident cover, including cover for on-piste skiing. Both European and Worldwide travel options are available, and you’ll also be covered for emergency dental treatment and business travel. 

Are you into extreme sports? AXA offers an Adventure Sports upgrade, which will cover you for activities such as bungee-jumping or parachuting.

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Lowering the cost 

AXA also offers policy options that can help reduce the premium of private health insurance. Below are the cost-lowering options AXA offers:

6 week option 

If treatment is available to you on the NHS within 6 weeks of diagnosis, then your AXA health insurance policy won’t cover you for private treatment. If the wait is longer than 6 weeks, you’ll be eligible for private treatment covered within your policy. This option can help you to avoid waiting lists for busy treatments, and save you up to 20% on your policy premium.

Protected no claims discount 

For every year you don’t make a claim on your policy, you’ll be rewarded up to a maximum of 80% savings. If you've opted for the extra ‘Therapies option’, any claims made in line with the terms and conditions of this option won’t affect your no claims discount.

Excess options 

Opting to pay for excess in the event of a claim may help reduce your premium payments. Even including an excess as low as £100 within your policy can help towards lowering the price, and you only pay once per year for each policyholder who makes a claim.

NHS cancer support

If AXA is unable to cover you for cancer treatments due to an existing medical condition, or if you opt for NHS cancer support, your premium will reduce in price to reflect this.

Pay annually 

You have the option to pay either monthly or annually for your AXA private medical insurance. If you choose to pay annually, you will save 5% of the total cost.

Guided option

If you select the guided option, you’ll automatically use AXA’s fast track appointment service when you need to see a specialist. AXA will source up to 3 specialists relating to your condition, and book your preference at a time and place that suits you. By giving AXA the option to select a specialist for you, savings may be made which can then be passed on to you. Guided option isn’t available to policyholders who have opted for extended cover.

What’s not covered

The following treatments are not covered as standard within your AXA health insurance policy:

1. Treatment for pre-existing medical conditions that you have either previously suffered from or had symptoms of before you join. This may not be the case if you’re purchasing a continuation policy as they will often honour the inclusions and exclusions of your previous policy.
2. Pregnancy and childbirth-related treatments.
3. Treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma.
4. Cosmetic treatments, excluding birthmarks and prominent ears which may be covered on an enhanced family cover policy.
5. Some specialists' costs cannot be covered in full, but you’ll be made aware of this at the time of claim.

How to get AXA private medical insurance

If you’re considering purchasing a health insurance policy with AXA, you have several options to purchase a policy. You can either contact them directly or utilise the services of an independent health insurance broker. If you contact them directly regarding your policy, you may find that AXA is unable to answer questions on their competitors or help you compare your options across providers.

An independent health insurance broker may be the most beneficial option for you as you should be offered independent advice on a variety of providers, rather than just AXA. We advise anyone considering health insurance to go through a comparison process to ensure the policy they purchase is best suited to them, and at the most competitive rate available.