Vitality health insurance spotlight

Vitality health insurance spotlight

Vitality Health was officially founded in 1994, and as a company, they offer a range of private health insurance and investment options for their customers. Their ethos revolves around encouraging healthy activity, and they supplement this claim through their rewards system, software offerings and paid services. Vitality has also pledged to increase the activeness of 100million people by 20% by 2025, highlighting their focus on improving the health of their customers. Vitality has won numerous awards such as the best individual provider in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2016 by the Cover Excellence Awards. As one of the leading health insurance providers in the UK, they may offer the right policy for you.

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

Vitality private medical insurance

At the heart of Vitality’s health insurance offering is their comprehensive core cover. This details what’s included as standard when you purchase medical insurance with them, and it outlines what features make Vitality unique in comparison to their competitors.

What’s included in Vitality’s Core Cover?

Vitality’s core cover aims to provide fast, high-quality private healthcare when policyholders need access to it. You can opt to increase your coverage with various options, and they boast full cover for a multitude of health-related fees, tests and treatments, subject to T&C. Here’s more information on the inclusions:

Cancer cover

Advanced Cancer Cover is included as standard when purchasing core cover. Following a diagnosis, you'll be covered for associated costs of eligible treatments. Vitality offers full cover for eligible inpatient and outpatient treatments, except for the following treatments:

1. End of life nursing care at home - up to £1,000 per day for 14 days.
2. Wigs - up to £300 per condition
3. Mastectomy bras - up to £200
4. External prostheses - up to £5,000 per condition
5. Cancer screening - discounted screens and risk assessments for breast, bowel and cervical cancer

Vitality GP

Via the Vitality GP app, core cover policyholders can book video consultations within 48 hours of requesting to see a GP, as well as having access to a 24/7 medical helpline. The app also features access to a variety of helpful resources, such as support for physical and mental health, with the option to self-refer. Policyholders with access to Vitality GP can book up to four video consultations per year, with the option of two face-to-face GP consultations in London following a £20 upfront payment. For acute symptoms, there’s an option to order prescriptions directly to your home address or local eligible pharmacy.

Full cover promise 

As long as you're receiving treatment that is covered within your policy, and you receive treatment via a Vitality recognised consultant, all consultant and anaesthetists fees are covered in full for inpatient and outpatient treatments. In a situation where you would not be covered as part of your policy, Vitality will make you aware of this before you proceed with any consultation of treatment. Read more about their full cover promise.

Vitality Care 

Access a team of clinically-trained professionals and care consultants who are on-hand to advise you through challenging medical periods. This service aims to explain the details of your medical treatment to you and family members to help you understand your options and possible treatments. Vitality Care also offers the following benefits:

1. Cash benefit - If you’re able and would prefer to receive eligible treatment on the NHS rather than privately, you’ll be paid with a cash benefit.
2. Home treatment - You can opt for home treatment for eligible treatments if that's your preference. You can make this decision throughout your care, meaning if you change your mind about where you're treated, you may still have the option of receiving future treatments from home.

Consultant Panel 

Vitality’s Consultant Panel is a service that helps find the right medical experts for a patient's unique medical needs, symptoms and health history. Vitality will choose the best medical professional from their network of consultants. If a consultant advises that further treatment is needed, your claim will be automatically handled, without the need to contact Vitality and open up a claim. You can access this feature over the phone or via the Vitality GP app.

Mental health support 

Mental health support focuses on preventative measures and intervening treatment to combat the onset of mental illness. Mental health support is included as standard with core cover policies, however, you have the option to purchase increased cover for an additional premium. Here's what's included as standard: 

• Be rewarded for partaking and tracking healthy activities that contribute to mental health.
• Choose from a selection of apps designed to increase mindfulness and combat many of the symptoms relating to mental health issues.
• Access support 24/7 via Big White Wall and know you’ll always have someone to talk to.
• Sign up for up to 8 sessions of talking therapies per year which include cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling.

Consultant Select

Consultant Select means when you require a consultant or treatment, Vitality’s partner Alliance Health Group will decide who the best consultant is for your situation. This group is made up of independent doctors, and every consultant has been quality-assured meaning you’ll only ever deal with a professional.

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Vitality’s Additional Cover Options

In addition to your core cover, Vitality also offers additional cover options and policy inclusions to help you tailor your medical insurance around what you feel is most important. Opting for additional cover may increase your premium, here are the options available to you:

Hospital Selection

Including Hospital Select within your policy gives you the option to select which consultant and hospital you’re treated at, subject to T&C. In addition to freedom of choice, Vitality offers four different options when it comes to selecting which hospitals you would have access to. The first is Consultant Select which we have just touched on above.

1. Local -  This gives members access to every single hospital throughout the UK within the following chains: BMI Healthcare, Nuffield Health, Spire Healthcare, Ramsay Healthcare and Circle Health.
2. Countrywide - You will have access to every facility that is included under the Local list, with the addition of some central London hospitals, private hospitals outside of London, private NHS units outside of London, and several private NHS London units.
3. London Care - London Care provides members access to all private hospitals throughout the UK as well as private NHS patients units within the Vitality network. Additionally, by selecting this option, you would benefit from unlimited face to face private GP consultations in London as well as no yearly limit of video consultations.

Outpatient cover

Outpatient Cover means that if you receive treatment following a consultant referral such as MRI & PET scans, blood tests, x-rays, radiology and pathology, you’ll be covered for outpatient fees. There are two levels of cover available:

1. Full Outpatient Cover - Cover for all outpatient consultations, diagnostic tests, consultants fees and physiotherapy that has been arranged through Vitality’s Priority Physiotherapy Network.
2. Outpatient Cover with limit - Cover for outpatient consultations, diagnostic tests, consultants fees and physiotherapy that is not arranged through the Priority Physiotherapy Network up to the limit of £500, £750, £1,000, £1,250 or £1,500. Physiotherapy arranged through the physiotherapy network, MRI, CT and PET scans are covered in full.
   

If you opt for the limited cover option, you have the option to upgrade to ‘Full Cover Diagnostics’. This means that you’ll only be limited on coverage when undertaking consultation or physiotherapy sessions outside of the Vitality network.

Therapies cover

The Vitality additional therapies add-on provides full cover for any chiropractic treatment as well as osteopathy, chiropody/podiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. You will also benefit from 2 consultations with a dietitian per person/per policy year if referred by a GP or specialist.

Mental health cover

Mental health support is included as standard with core cover. However, for an additional premium, you can extend the level of support available to you:

• Unlimited talking therapies - unlimited use of talking therapy sessions.
• £1,500 outpatient cover - access outpatient treatments up to a cost of £1,500.
• 28 days inpatient treatment - received up to 28 days of treatment in hospital as an inpatient or outpatient.

Dental cover

Including Dental Cover within your health insurance policy may be a cost-effective way to access private treatment in comparison to if you were to buy two separate policies. You have the choice of your dentist and the option between two cover levels:

1. Major Dental Treatment - cover for crowns, bridges, root canal treatments, extractions, apicoectomy, dentures and emergency work following an accident.
2. Major and Routine Dental Treatment - all of the above, with the addition of routine examinations, scaling and polishing, x-rays and filling.

Vitality health rewards

Another important factor to consider about every provider is the rewards they offer to their policyholders. If a particular provider offers benefits that you deem to be personally valuable, it can help to shape your understanding of who you should purchase your health insurance policy with. Here’s a breakdown of Vitality’s member health rewards:

• Take part and track your healthy activity, and Vitality will give you ‘points’ in return.
• You can opt to complete an online health review which analyses your lifestyle and suggests fitness goals and how to achieve them. Completing this review also awards Vitality points.
• Earn up to 12 points per week (which equates to around 25,000 tracked steps) and exchange your points for rewards such as drinks, cinema tickets and food discounts.
• As you earn points, you’ll be assigned different status levels from bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The higher your status, the more rewards Vitality offers you.
  

Vitality policyholders will also receive monthly magazines and newsletters around the theme of sharing health success stories, lifestyle tips, recipes and competitions. 

How to get Vitality health insurance

If you’re considering Vitality as your health insurance provider, there are several options available to you regardless of whether you’re a new customer or if you hold a policy with another provider. 

Switching to Vitality

If you have an existing health insurance policy with another provider, Vitality may be able to offer you a new policy without a break in cover, subject to T&C. On average, individuals can save up to £138 by switching to Vitality.

Leaving a company

If you were covered with VitalityHealth during your employment and you’ll be leaving, you may have the option to continue under the same policy as an individual without a change in the treatments you’re covered for, subject to T&C.

New policyholder

To purchase a policy with Vitality, you can either contact them directly or ask an independent health insurance broker to conduct a fair and personal analysis of the market for you. Opting to use an independent broker allows you to ask questions about other providers in comparison to Vitality, meaning you’ll be aware of the options available to you. An independent broker can also negotiate the terms of the policy for you, advise you on who may be the best option based on your health needs, and they’re on-hand to answer general questions and advice about private medical insurance. Going through this comparison process ensures you’re comparing your cover options and purchasing a policy that is most suited to your requirements.