AXA business health insurance

AXA Health provides small business health insurance to businesses with 1-249 employees. Its Advance plan is for corporate clients with 250+ employees.

AXA Health's small business health insurance lets you tailor your cover so you only pay for what you'll realistically use.

Flexible small business coverage

With AXA, if you only want one service, such as out-patient cover or a cash benefit plan, that's all you'll pay for. There are exceptions. If you only have one or two employees, you must include their diagnostics-only or treatment option. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are only available with other healthcare cover.

Here's what you'll find with AXA's small business health insurance.

Treatment option

The treatment option includes various treatments. You can choose between treatment with NHS cancer support and treatment with comprehensive cancer coverage. We'll explain the differences in more detail shortly.

In-patient and day-patient care

In-patient and day-patient treatment includes all your accommodation costs at a private hospital, surgery costs, medication and diagnostic tests while your employee is in hospital. Treatment costs are fully covered if you use a hospital in AXA's network. If you decide to extend coverage to employees' children, the policy also covers accommodation costs for parents if their child is admitted to a hospital. Your employee can also access a private ambulance transfer to another facility.

Out-patient surgery

Both treatment plan options cover minor surgical procedures that don't involve a hospital stay, as long as your employee attends a hospital from AXA's directory.

Complex scans

The policy covers complex scans, such as CT, MRI, or PET scans, requested by a specialist, as long as they're carried out at AXA scanning centres.

Cancer cover

With AXA, you can opt for either NHS or comprehensive cancer cover. As the names suggest, with NHS coverage, your employees must seek NHS treatment, but the policy will pay for licensed drugs that aren't currently available on the NHS.

The comprehensive option covers cancer treatment, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, plus 24/7 telephone support from specialist nurses. Your plan will only cover diagnostic tests and specialist consultations for cancer if you also choose the out-patient option.

Cash benefit

If your employee receives NHS in-patient treatment that their health insurance would have covered, the policy pays £100 a night (up to £2,000 per year) for every night they spend in an NHS hospital.

Diagnostics-Only

As the name suggests, the diagnostics-only option gives your employees access to a quick diagnosis but not private treatment. It covers two specialist consultations per policy year, unlimited diagnostic tests, complex scans and out-patient procedures. You can choose the treatment option or the diagnostics-only option, but not both.

Out-patient option

The out-patient option offers three cover levels for diagnosis and out-patient treatment, with options for in-person or online appointments and no annual limit on tests. Standard includes two specialist consultations per year, while enhanced includes up to four consultations plus access to nurses, speech therapists, dieticians and audiologists. Full offers all of the above with no limit on specialist consultations.

Therapies option

The therapies option lets you focus your health cover on musculoskeletal issues. Cover includes up to ten sessions of physiotherapy, osteopathy, acupuncture and chiropractic treatment with a GP referral. AXA's muscles, bones and joints service provides up to ten sessions of physiotherapy or osteopathy without a GP referral, plus a further ten if a specialist requests them.

Mental health option

AXA's mental health option supports good workplace mental health by providing employees with access to in-person or online counselling and CBT. It also includes in-patient and out-patient psychiatric treatment with no annual limit. It's ideal if you work in a high-pressure environment or want to support your team through life's ups and downs.

Extended cover

AXA's coverage options let your employees access treatment at private hospitals and treatment centres listed in AXA's directory. Extended cover gives you a broader range of options, meaning employees can receive treatment elsewhere if they choose, including pre-booked treatment abroad.

Health insurance exclusions typically mean that policies don't cover chronic conditions. Extended cover includes routine monitoring for conditions like asthma, diabetes, and epilepsy.

Private GP option

AXA's health cover includes a virtual GP service and telephone helplines. This option offers both and pays up to £500 per person per year for in-person appointments available in the evening and at weekends, so they fit around your employees' daily lives.

Dentist and optician cashback

This option offers cashback for routine dental check-ups and eye care, which could save your staff money on treatments they already pay for. Cover includes £25 per year for eye tests, 80% of the cost of glasses and contact lenses up to £200 per year and 80% of dental fees up to £400 per year. The plus option pays 100% of the cost of glasses and lenses up to £300 per year, and 100% of dental fees up to £500 per year.

Other services

Adding other services to your health insurance can help you support employee well-being in the long term. Add-ons include a vaccination programme and £350 a year towards employee health assessments. You can also add an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and travel insurance to your policy.

Employee assistance programmes

AXA offer two EAPs, Essential and Premier. Essential provides:

• 24/7 email and telephone access to a counsellor for mental health support
• The Life Management service for guidance on legal and financial worries
• Support for managers
• Access to AXA's online portal for self-help information

Premier extends this to include up to eight in-person or video counselling sessions per employee.

Travel cover

Travel cover includes access to emergency treatment abroad on personal or business trips, even if treatment relates to a pre-existing condition that health insurance would otherwise exclude. Employees must be medically fit to travel and follow relevant Government guidance. You can choose between European and Worldwide coverage and benefit from coverage for winter and adventure sports.

Services available to all policyholders

All employees can access the following:

• A virtual GP service and telephone helplines
• Access to the muscles, bones and joints service for support without a GP referral
• Specialist telephone support during cancer treatment or for heart problems.
• Discounted gym memberships

We should also note that while GPs and nurses can issue private prescriptions, your employees must pay for them separately. They're typically more expensive than NHS prescriptions. They can also only provide referrals for private treatment covered by the policy, not NHS care.

AXA's Advance policy supports businesses with 250+ employees and offers services to help you support the well-being needs of a larger workforce. There's core coverage plus add-ons to extend and tailor your cover to your workforce.

Core services

Core coverage includes everything you'll find in the small business plan, plus data to help you monitor policy usage. Employees can claim for treatment and check progress using the AXA app and find information on their benefits and services in an online portal.

Support for specific conditions

The Advance policy includes many of the options available on the small business plan as standard. These include access to a quick cancer diagnosis, support during treatment and mental health care, including counselling and psychiatric treatment.

Well-being services

You can support employee well-being with access to a library of health education resources and tools, and discounted gym memberships. Employees not covered by health insurance can also access third-party health assessments and discounts on self-funded private treatment.

Optional extras

You can build on your core coverage with optional extras to extend your cover, paying an additional premium.

Employee Assistance Programmes

AXA's Essential and Premier EAPs are available as optional extras here and on the small business plan, so you can choose the level of support that meets your requirements.

Flexible health assessments

Adding employee health assessments to your policy gives your employees the information they need to look after their health and well-being. You can choose a 'know your numbers' assessment, a well-being consultation or a combination of both. The 'know your numbers' assessment assesses employees' current health against key health markers. The well-being consultation examines the same metrics and also provides time for a discussion about mental health and lifestyle improvement goals.

Neurodiversity assessment

AXA works with online provider ProblemShared to provide assessments and guidance for ADHD, autism and other learning difficulties. Support includes referrals to third-party services for employees and any children included on the policy.

Menopause support

Research suggests that a lack of adequate menopause advice and treatment has led to women leaving the workplace or taking sickness absence, costing the UK economy around £10 billion in the process. AXA's menopause support provides diagnostic tests and referrals to specialist gynaecologists if needed. 

Other services

You can add other well-being options, including:

• Investigations and support for employees experiencing infertility
• Tailored gender dysphoria guidance and support
• Well-being seminars, health coaching and management training
• Crisis and critical incident support and counselling
• Access to the Peppy app for support with men's and women's health issues

Every health insurance policy has standard exclusions that apply to every customer. AXA's standard exclusions include routine pregnancy and childbirth, cosmetic surgery and chronic conditions unless you have extended cover. The policy also excludes medication and dressings if you receive out-patient treatment, meaning employees will likely need to see their GP for these.

The policy also excludes pre-existing conditions that an employee had within the five years before joining the policy.

As a small business owner, you can manage your budget by tailoring your health insurance coverage to your needs. If you still need to reduce costs, you can consider:

• Opting for a guided consultant choice, which offers a choice of fee-limited specialists.
• Paying your premium annually instead of monthly
• Adding a policy excess so employees fund part of their treatment

Choose your underwriting

Your policy underwriting can affect your premium, the claims experience and the amount of paperwork involved. Moratorium and full medical underwriting both exclude pre-existing conditions for the first two years of coverage. Still, your insurers can remove the exclusion if an employee stays symptom-free during that time.

Here's how each type of underwriting works.

Moratorium underwriting

Moratorium underwriting involves less paperwork than full medical underwriting, as your employees don't have to provide medical history details when they join. However, claims can take longer as insurers will check for exclusions on each claim.

Full medical underwriting

With full medical underwriting, your employees must provide medical history information when they join, which means more paperwork for employees and your admin team. However, claims are typically processed more quickly as your insurers can confirm exclusions in advance. The premiums are often cheaper too.

Medical history disregarded

Medical history disregarded underwriting means your insurer won't apply any exclusions for pre-existing conditions. It's an expensive option as it can increase the number and value of claims, but it means employees can receive quick treatment regardless of their medical history. AXA only offers MHD underwriting to businesses with 15+ employees.

Additional options for corporate customers

AXA's corporate clients can reduce their premiums using the same techniques as small business customers. You can also benefit from other options if you have comprehensive insurance.

• An agreed premium per employee
• A profit share option that pays cash back if claims are lower than expected
• A pay-as-you-go option with a financial limit on total claims
• A health trust or master trust scheme to improve tax efficiency

Getting advice from a specialist broker can help you consider your options and choose the best coverage for your needs.

At Globacare, we help our clients find the best healthcare coverage for their businesses. Contact us today for advice tailored to your needs.