Business health insurance

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Business health insurance policies cover employees for a predefined set of treatments, consultations and fees, as outlined in the contract. As an employer, health insurance can be a fantastic outlet for encouraging health and wellbeing in your company. As an employee, if your business offers health insurance, it can be a great benefit to take advantage of. Here's what you need to understand about health insurance, and some information on specific providers offering.

Business health insurance benefits

Business health insurance does come as a cost to employers, and if you're purchasing a comprehensive policy for a large number of staff, the payment may become quite costly. However, the benefits intrinsic to health insurance may outweigh this cost, depending on the type of business you are and your companies values. Here are some of the most common benefits of business health insurance:

1. If you can offer health insurance to the workforce, this may be seen as an employee benefit which may help to attract and retain staff.
2. Some providers include access to 24/7 support lines and easy access to qualified health specialists. This extra level of support available may help with their emotional and physical wellbeing should an employee experience ill-health.
3. Happy and healthy employees may have fewer reasons or scenarios where they are unable to work in comparison to staff experiencing ill-health. Providing a means to access private care, and in some cases, faster access to treatment may reduce the amount of sickness absence in a company.
4. Business health insurance policies can be extremely flexible in terms of what cover is offered, meaning that there are budget options available if a company requires a lesser level of cover.
5. A healthy workforce is one factor contributing to the overall atmosphere amongst employees and at work. Periods of ill-health may cause stressors and frustrations within a business and may place pressures on staff at all levels.
6. Offering private cover may encourage your employees to take healthier actions and adjust their lifestyle, which may improve the overall wellbeing of the workforce.

Health insurance for small and large businesses

The size of your business will determine what business health services are available to you, as well as guiding which health insurance option is right for your situation. Varying business sizes will have different employee needs; a self-employed individual may tailor a policy around their lifestyle, whereas a company with over 100 employees may need to consider more generic cover options. Providers may offer specific cover options for different types of businesses, defined in the following way:

Self-employed health insurance

For a single employee that is looking for health insurance through their business rather than a personal policy.

Small business health insurance (SME)

For companies of at least 2 employees looking to cover the workforce for private health treatments. You can learn more about small business health insurance here.

Corporate health insurance

Often classified as businesses with 250+ employees that need to cover a large number of people under a single policy. You can learn more about corporate health insurance here.

Business health insurance providers

Many of the providers that we work with offer business health insurance within the UK, which means we’re able to advise you on the different options and why one provider may benefit you over another in line with your specific needs. Comparing the health insurance available for your business can be time-consuming and challenging to understand, which is why we’ve gone into detail about some of our providers, and welcome anyone to contact us further for additional information. 

Bupa Health insurance

Bupa offers business health insurance for both small and corporate sized companies, with varying offers for most. Bupa states that their offering can help to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of employees, and they offer a wide range of services and products that can help businesses to achieve this. 

Please note: the information below is correct as of 13th March 2020 and has been sourced directly from https://www.bupa.co.uk/business 

Bupa small business cover

Bupa small business health insurance cover is designed for companies with between 2 - 249 employees. Three levels of cover are offered, with the most expensive option offering higher levels of cover, access to more hospitals and higher limits on treatment and consultation costs. Here are some of the key features that make up this offering:

1. Your employees can access up to 600 hospitals within the Bupa network.
2. Cancer cover is included as standard, and eligible treatments are paid in full regardless of the cover level you chose.
3. Access to qualified nurses through the 24/7 Anytime Healthline.
4. Eligible outpatient consultations and treatments are covered in full.
5. Mental health cover is included as standard with up to 45 days of treatment within eligible facilities.
6. Facility charges in Bupa recognised facilities are paid in full, subject to T&C.
7. Access to the Bupa Digital GP for easy-access to GP appointments for your staff.
   

You can learn more about Bupa small business cover here.

Bupa corporate business cover

Bupa corporate health insurance business cover is their health insurance solution for companies with 250 employees or more. This flexible option gives you a choice over which products and services are included within your policy, meaning you can tailor it to your workforces' needs. Bupa also offers corporate cover such as dental insurance, cash plans and travel insurance, but in this blog, we’ll only be covering their health insurance and assessments. If you’d like to learn more about their additional offerings, click here.

Health insurance

Bupa health insurance for corporate companies is offered as a bespoke solution built around staffs' needs. Bupa utilises modern clinical approaches and advanced cover options. Here's what's included:

1. Consultation, treatment and diagnostic costs.
2. Hospital charges and accommodation.
3. Cancer cover for every stage of treatment, providing that you use a Bupa recognised consultant within their network.
4. Musculoskeletal care for muscles, bones and joints.
5. Various underwriting options which dictate what you are and what you’re not covered for.

Health assessments

Bupa also offers health assessments as part of their Corporate health services. They’re designed to understand your employees' health and wellbeing. With this information, Bupa formulates a plan of action to improve their lifestyles to reduce the likelihood of someone becoming ill. Health assessments are a preventative measure that may help to change employee behaviour before they fall unwell. 

Bupa reports that 70% of customers believed it had helped to improve their health and wellbeing, and there are 4 levels to choose from with varying tests and checks. Participants will also receive two follow-up coaching calls to help keep them on track, and access to Bupa wellbeing apps to support their personal health development.

Aviva company health insurance

Aviva offers business health insurance for smaller companies of 2-249 employees as well as a corporate policy for businesses with 250+ workers. Both options are flexible in terms of the cover and limits placed on included cover, meaning policyholders have the opportunity to create a bespoke plan for their business. 

Please note: the information below is correct as of 13th March 2020 and has been sourced directly from https://www.aviva.co.uk/business/health-protection-wellbeing/health-insurance/

Solutions

Solutions is the business health insurance offering provided by Aviva for companies with 2-249 employees. It’s a flexible cover option that can be adapted to your needs, offering cover for the following:

• Acute conditions - short-term illnesses and injuries that can be treated.
• Cancer cover - for every stage of treatment.
• Hospital charges and specialist fees - consultations, diagnostic tests (x-rays, blood tests), specialists’ fees and hospital accommodation.
• Musculoskeletal - independent musculoskeletal case management services (BacktoBetter).
• Psychiatric - following a GP referral, up to £2000 per member every year as an outpatient with a psychiatric therapist or specialist.

Optimum

Optimum is the health insurance offered for businesses with 250+ employees. It’s a flexible option for employees to dictate what their workforce is covered for, and what limits may be in place. As you can build a policy around your needs, the cover included will vary business by business. As an example, here are some popular cover options selected as part of Optimum:

• Acute conditions - Short-term illnesses and injuries that can be treated.
• Hospital charges & fees - for eligible outpatient and specialist fees.
• Musculoskeletal conditions - Access to BacktoBetter who handle back, neck, muscle or joint pain problems for members.
• Full cancer cover - Following a specialist referral, including treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 
• Diagnostic tests - For example, x-rays, CT scans and physiological tests.

Cigna business health insurance

Cigna focuses on providing business health insurance within the UK, offering 4 variant policy options depending on your business size and needs.

Please note: the information below is correct as of 13th March 2020 and has been sourced directly from https://www.cigna.co.uk/ 

• CompanyHealth - Fully comprehensive, 100 employees or more.
• EssentialHealth - Musculoskeletal and mental health conditions, 100 employees or more.
• YourHealth - budget option, 100 employees or more.
• Cigna Health Flex - flexible cover option, 2- 99 employees.
  

We’ve written a spotlight on Cigna health insurance where we’ve discussed each of these options in more detail, as well as some additional information about Cigna as a health insurance provider. Read our spotlight and learn about Cigna health insurance.

AXA PPP Healthcare

AXA PPP offers two cover options for businesses depending on how many employees you have. Their offering revolves around flexible cover built around your business needs, and they offer many supporting services and digital tools to support the health and wellbeing of policyholders.

Please note: the information below is correct as of 13th March 2020 and has been sourced directly from https://www.axappphealthcare.co.uk/ 

• Flexible cover to suit your budget.
• Help and support services to support staff and answer medical questions.
• Fast access to relevant specialists - Fast Track Appointments.
• Unlimited use of Doctor@Hand - 24/7 online GP services.
• Up to 50% off annual gym memberships.
• Proactive Health Gateway - Health and wellbeing platform to help employees achieve their goals.

AXA PPP small business health insurance: Health Select

AXA PPP makes it flexible to build a plan around your business needs. Depending on your industry and employee needs, you can opt for varying levels. For example, here are three plans with varying levels of cover:

1. Diagnosis and support services.
2. Diagnosis, treatment services and support.
3. Diagnosis, treatment and access to the AXA PPP UK hospital list.
   

Employers can also opt to include additional members services, such as online GP support, phone-based advice from health professionals, mental health cover, outpatient cover etc. The key offering here is flexibility, and there are also cost-reducing options which we’ve covered below. For more information, please refer to the AXA PPP Health Select brochure.

AXA PPP Corporate health insurance: Advance

AXA PPP health insurance for corporate businesses is aimed at 250 or more employees. It also offers flexible cover options, with the opportunity to reduce or include additional cover to match your needs. Here’s the process and options when building a plan:

1. Select from the following core cover options:
   a. Health cover - comprehensive cover including inpatient, outpatient, mental health and your choice of cancer cover.
   b. Enhanced cancer cover - all that's included in health cover, plus additional cover for cancer-related treatments and illnesses, such as prosthetics, consultations and access to a variety of drugs.
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2. Tailor your referral option:
   a. Open referral - employees will state when they need specialists, and AXA PPP will find the right one.
   b. Standard referral - Either name a specialist or allow AXA PPP to select a relevant professional.
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3. Select your hospital access:
   a. Network - access to all hospitals and medical units within AXA PPP UK directors of hospitals.
   b. Selected - national hospital network and medical facilities that have been approved by AXA PPP.
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4. Then decide on the following:
   a. Excess amount in the event of a claim.
   b. Whether you’d be happy for employees to receive treatment available within 6-weeks through the NHS.
   c. The type of underwriting offered.
   d. Limits on outpatient treatment.
   e. The level of cancer cover included.
   
   

Please refer to the Advance brochure for more information.

Vitality business health insurance

Vitality business health insurance is offered as a solution to get quick and easy access to private treatment for your employees. Vitality offers various benefits to policyholders and a range of cost-saving options when your employees take healthy actions. Their core cover, aimed at SME, covers the following as standard:

Please note: the information below is correct as of 13th March 2020 and has been sourced directly from https://www.vitality.co.uk/business/health-insurance/ 

Inpatient & day-patient 

• Hospital fees for overnight stays and drugs required for eligible treatments.
• Consultant fees when receiving treatment from a Vitality accredited consultant.
• Diagnostic tests such as blood texts, x-rays, MRI, CT and PET scans.

Outpatient 

• Fees for surgical procedures when employees are treated as outpatients.

Advanced cancer cover

• Full cover for a range of therapies and procedures, except the following limits
• £1000 per day for a maximum of 14-days for end-of-life care.
• Up to £300 towards wigs.
• Up to £200 for mastectomy bras.
• Up to £5,000 for external prosthesis.

Additional Vitality services

Alongside their core cover, Vitality also offers various support services that can be utilised to improve the health and wellbeing of staff. Here are some of the additional features policyholders may have access to:

1. Vitality GP - Mobile app with access to private GP services such as appointments and follow-ups.
2. Additional benefits - Such as NHS staff benefit, home nursing cover, private ambulance use.
3. Rewards - Health rewards for members when they track healthy activities.
4. Vitality Coach - Designated coach that works with the business to understand employee lifestyle and habits and formulate a healthy strategy.
5. Wellness Days - Sessions to understand the current health of your employees, such as their BMI, heart rate and blood pressure.
6. Workshops - Interactive workshops to help change unhealthy lifestyle or habits of employees.

Independent business health insurance broker

When considering purchasing health insurance for your business, we advise that you go through a comparison process to understand your options. As independent health insurance brokers, we can offer this comparative service free of charge and help you to gain a deeper understanding of what’s on offer. Providers may not be able to answer some of your questions or offer advice, whereas we make this our goal. We have experience working with companies and contacting providers on their behalf, and you’re under no obligation to make a purchase with us. At the very least, going through this process may give you peace of mind that you’re opting for the best provider with the most competitive policy for your needs.