Vitality business health insurance review

Vitality has been offering health insurance in the UK since 2014, when its parent company, Discovery UK, acquired PruHealth. Vitality's global partnerships enable it to provide health insurance in over 40 countries worldwide. For this guide, I'll focus on their health insurance offering for businesses in the UK.

Vitality focuses on supporting its customers in developing healthy living habits, which is at the heart of its health insurance policies and rewards scheme.

Vitality health insurance is available to self-employed people and businesses of all sizes, with each policy designed to reflect your business needs. Their health insurance for self-employed individuals focuses on promoting healthy living while also providing quick access to medical treatment. Corporate policies offer tools and resources to help you identify health trends and develop a well-being strategy for a larger workforce. Vitality guarantees to pay all your treatment costs for eligible treatment and within policy limits.

The Vitality Programme revolutionised health insurance by providing customers with access to rewards and discounts when they set and achieve healthy lifestyle goals. Your employees can benefit from various rewards and earn more by being active.

How private health insurance benefits your business

When you invest in business health insurance for your team, you enable them to access private healthcare quickly and avoid spending time on an NHS waiting list. Lengthy periods of sick leave can negatively impact an employee's mental well-being. Quick treatment can help to shorten their absence from work, which also has obvious benefits for your business. Vitality's approach to health insurance also helps your team stay healthy and minimise their risk of illness.

Health insurance is a highly valued employee benefit that demonstrates your commitment to staff well-being, enhancing employee engagement and making you an employer of choice.

Vitality health insurance offers various policies tailored to your business needs. It provides policies for the self-employed, small businesses and larger corporations. While there are similarities, each policy offers access to private healthcare and services tailored to companies of varying sizes.

Self-employed health insurance

If you're self-employed, time away from work could seriously impact your livelihood. Vitality health insurance focuses on helping you avoid illness while still giving you quick access to private health care when needed. Of course, health insurance won't replace your lost income if you need to take time off work, but it should help to minimise your time away.

Here's what's included.

Core cover

Vitality health insurance includes all the core coverage you'd expect as standard.

In-patient and day-patient treatment

Coverage includes the costs of your overnight stay or day visit to the hospital, including surgery and anaesthetist fees, diagnostic tests, and scans carried out while you're there.

Diagnostic tests and scans

You can get a quicker diagnosis with coverage for MRI scans, x-rays and blood tests.

Cancer cover

Every Vitality health insurance policy provides comprehensive cancer coverage, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, stem cell treatment and hormone and biological therapies. You can access support during treatment and recovery, with contributions towards wigs, mastectomy bras, prostheses, and end-of-life nursing care at home. Vitality also provides discounted cancer screenings, depending on your age, gender and risk level.

Mental health support

Vitality understands that self-employment can be stressful, so their core cover provides access to additional support, with up to eight talking therapy sessions. Join the reward programme and you'll also receive a 12-month subscription to the Headspace mindfulness app.

Video GP appointments

You can book an online appointment with a GP that fits your schedule. Vitality states that you'll be able to make an appointment within 48 hours.

Physiotherapy

If you have joint and muscle pain, you can access up to six physiotherapy sessions per year without a GP referral.

Vitality rewards

Vitality's rewards programme supports and encourages you to live a healthy lifestyle. The programme includes some perks as standard, but also allows you to earn points and increase your rewards and discounts. You can earn points for healthy habits, which are redeemable for discounts from retailers such as Amazon, Fitbit, Champneys spas, and Waitrose.

You can also earn up to 10% of your premiums back when you renew your policy, saving you some serious cash.

Optional extras

Optional extras allow you to extend your health insurance coverage and tailor your private health insurance policy to your needs.

Out-patient cover

Vitality's core policy coverage includes access to some diagnostic tests and scans, plus up to six physiotherapy treatment sessions. Adding their full out-patient cover gives you unlimited physiotherapy, access to additional complex scans such as CT and PET scans, and consultant appointments. Any optional extra will increase the cost of your premium, but it may be worthwhile, especially if your work carries a risk of musculoskeletal issues.

Add a hospital list

Vitality's core cover lets you choose your treating consultant from a list of ten that they'll offer when you claim. However, if you'd like more choice over the consultant that treats you and the hospital you attend, you can add a hospital list to your policy.

The Countrywide list includes private hospitals from other private providers and NHS private patient units across the UK, including some in Central London. You can also select the London Care hospital list, which provides access to all approved private hospitals in the UK, as well as all NHS private patient units. Both lists give you face-to-face GP appointments in Greater London, Birmingham, Manchester, Guildford, St Albans and Glasgow. The London Care list covers unlimited face-to-face GP appointments, while the Countrywide list gives you two.

Extended therapies

Adding extended therapies covers private holistic treatments, such as acupuncture, osteopathy, and chiropractic care, as well as up to two consultations with a dietician.

Additional mental health cover

Vitality's core coverage provides up to eight talking therapy sessions. If you'd like more, this option provides unlimited coverage. You can also access up to 28 days of in-patient treatment and a further 28 days of day-patient treatment. What's more, if you've used your full allowance but then go 56 days without needing any in-patient or day-patient care, Vitality will restore your allowance so you can access further care in the same year, if you need it.

Dental, optical and hearing cover

If you currently pay for private eye tests or dental treatment, adding a dental, optical and hearing plan could save you money in the long run. A broker can help you compare the costs of a plan with your existing arrangements. Vitality's optical cover pays for eye tests, glasses and contact lenses if your prescription changes, although the level of coverage varies depending on which optician you choose.

You can also claim back the total cost of routine dental check-ups and treatment for accidental damage, along with 80% of the cost of hearing tests, hearing aids and other dental treatment costs.

Worldwide travel cover

Worldwide travel cover protects you whether you're travelling on business or going on holiday, covering the costs of cancelled flights, lost luggage or other disruption. It will also pay for emergency medical treatment abroad.

Small business health insurance

Vitality's small business health insurance covers companies with 1-249 employees, meaning you can choose this option if you're a sole trader with a registered company. It's ideal if you're planning to scale your business and take on employees, as you can add new starters without needing to change your health insurance.

Vitality's small business healthcare policy provides the same core cover for in-patient and day-patient treatment, mental health support, cancer care and physiotherapy as its self-employed policy. However, there are a few key differences.

Core cover

Out-patient surgical procedures

In contrast to their policy for self-employed people, Vitality health insurance doesn't cover private diagnostic tests and scans on their small business cover. However, their core coverage does include out-patient surgical procedures that don't require a hospital stay, so your employees can access quick treatment once they've received a diagnosis via the NHS.

Private GP appointments

Coverage includes two face-to-face GP appointments per year, for £20 per appointment, on top of the virtual GP services.

Additional benefits

Additional benefits include:

• Cashback if your employee receives NHS in-patient or day-patient treatment that their health insurance would have covered.
• Cover for pregnancy complications and a cash benefit when your employee gives birth or adopts a child.
• Menopause support via the Peppy app.
• Oral surgery - even if you don't have a dental plan.
• Rehabilitation after a stroke or brain injury.
• Private ambulance cover.
• Home nursing if your employee's consultant recommends it.
• Access to care advice and discounted care.

Suppose you extend coverage to your employees' families, or allow them to add family members and self-fund the premiums. In that case, they can claim their accommodation costs for staying with a child under 14 years old.

Most health insurance plans exclude coverage for cosmetic or weight loss surgery, but Vitality covers both, subject to specific eligibility criteria. They cover corrective surgeries for facial birthmarks, ear reshaping and breast reduction. Weight loss surgery is available subject to eligibility based on an employee's age and BMI. Employees must also contribute 25% of the cost of their treatment package.

Optional extras

Adding optional extras to your health insurance lets you tailor your coverage to your needs and those of your employees. Vitality's health insurance options build on its core coverage and offer a broader range of treatments.

Out-patient treatment

Vitality's core coverage includes out-patient surgical procedures and six physiotherapy sessions via Vitality's network. However, if you want to ensure your team can receive a quick diagnosis or access unlimited physiotherapy treatment, it's worth extending your out-patient coverage.

You can choose full coverage for in-network physiotherapy, consultant appointments, treatment and diagnostic tests. Alternatively, you can choose to apply a financial limit, which covers out-patient treatment, out-of-network physiotherapy, consultant appointments and diagnostic tests up to that limit. There's also a diagnostics upgrade, which provides a separate allowance for tests and scans.

Enhanced mental health cover

Anyone can face mental well-being challenges in their daily life, whether due to work-related stress or personal issues. Enhanced mental health cover provides unlimited talking therapies and up to £1,500 for in-patient, day-patient and out-patient treatment.

Additional therapies

Choosing therapies cover lets your employees access a wider range of treatments that go beyond the physiotherapy sessions included in Vitality's core and out-patient coverage. Therapies coverage includes osteopathy, chiropody, acupuncture, homoeopathy and chiropractic treatment, as well as two consultations with a dietician.

Dental, optical and hearing cover

This optional extra contributes to the cost of routine eye tests, hearing tests, dental checks, and follow-up dental treatment. It will also cover the cost of hearing aids, glasses, and contact lenses if an employee's prescription has changed. If you employ staff who work with display screens, choosing this option can be a cost-effective way to fund mandatory eye tests and glasses, while also helping your team save money on their other routine healthcare costs.

Worldwide travel insurance

If your employees regularly travel abroad on business, it's worth providing them with business travel insurance, particularly if they spend extended periods overseas. When you add the Worldwide travel cover option, your employees receive coverage for up to 120 days of travel, including travel disruption, emergency medical treatment abroad, and repatriation costs. It also covers private vaccinations and medication. Your employee can use their cover for both personal and business travel, which could save them money, even when you factor in the £50 excess on the policy.

Emergency cover for business trips overseas

Vitality offers its emergency overseas cover as a separate option. It covers emergency medical treatment but not travel disruptions or vaccinations. We're unsure why it's available separately, except that it allows you to tailor your policy to match your needs and budget. However, if you want your staff to travel abroad on business, it's probably worth funding their travel insurance to do so, even if you ultimately choose another provider.

Employee Assistance Programme

You can provide your team with mental health support and treatment with Vitality's core health insurance and extended mental health coverage. However, if you want to enhance the support your employees can access even further, it's worth considering adding an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The programme provides up to six counselling sessions per year and a telephone helpline that operates 24/7, 365 days a year. It offers practical, confidential support for emotional, legal and financial issues. Speaking to an independent, impartial advisor can give your staff the confidence to discuss sensitive matters. While the service doesn't offer legal or financial advice, it can signpost employees to other sources of support, whether via their health insurance or another provider.

Personal Health Fund

A personal health fund provides employees with money to cover routine healthcare costs not covered by their health insurance, subject to policy limits. For example, if your policy doesn't include optical and dental coverage, staff can use their fund to pay for check-ups and treatment. This option also covers contributions towards health screening and medical devices, plus the cost of NHS prescription pre-payment certificates, private GP appointments, and fitness tracking technology.

Corporate health insurance

Corporate cover offers the same levels of coverage as Vitality's small business medical insurance but provides additional resources to help you manage a larger workforce. It's available to businesses with more than 100 employees, so if you have between 100 and 249 staff, you can opt for either policy, choosing the features that you need most. You can manage your policy, add new starters and leavers via the Employer Zone digital platform, and you'll also have a dedicated client manager to help with any queries.

The core coverage and optional extras on the corporate policy are broadly consistent with those available on the small business policy, so I won't repeat them here. However, this policy covers a few additional items.

Mental health support

Vitality provides corporate members with access to mental health resources and talking therapies regardless of their medical history, meaning your employees can receive support even if they've had mental health treatment in the past.

Expert insights

Vitality provides anonymised data based on employee health information and assessments, and supports you in developing a well-being strategy that will improve your workforce's long-term health.

Advanced cancer coverage

Advanced cancer care on the corporate plan includes the same treatment options as Vitality's small business health insurance, plus additional services. Staff undergoing treatment receive support from a dedicated cancer care team. They'll also receive health and well-being advice, including nutritional guidance and financial advice, which could be invaluable if they're away from work for a while. Coverage also includes a relaxing trip to a Champneys spa.

Help with devising employee wellness challenges

If you want to encourage your staff to achieve their healthy lifestyle goals and build positive workplace relationships, consider organising a workplace well-being challenge. Vitality's Employee Challenges feature is only available to corporate customers, allowing you to set up challenges that employees can join via an app. Colleagues can form teams or participate individually, receiving badges as they achieve their milestones and data to track their performance compared to their peers. Done well, these challenges can be a great way to boost team morale and employee engagement.

All health insurance providers have standard exclusions on their policies, meaning the policy won't pay for your employees' treatment for excluded conditions. Health insurance also excludes pre-existing conditions, which vary depending on your medical history.

Vitality health insurance excludes the following:

• Straightforward pregnancy and childbirth
• Emergency treatment
• Cosmetic surgery (other than the corrective and weight loss surgeries previously mentioned)
• Organ transplants
• Chronic and recurring conditions (including those that are likely to return). Your insurance can cover the diagnosis of a new condition or acute flare-ups.
• Treatment for developmental issues and learning difficulties.
• Treatment for alcohol or drug abuse
• Self-inflicted injuries or injuries resulting from reckless or criminal behaviour

Pre-existing conditions and underwriting

Pre-existing conditions are illnesses for which an employee received treatment or medical advice within the five years before they joined the policy. They're typically excluded for the first two years, and your insurers can remove the exclusion if your employee stays symptom-free during that time. Vitality offers medical history disregarded (MHD) underwriting to uninsured corporate clients and small business customers with at least 20 employees, or to businesses that already have MHD underwriting with another insurance provider. MHD underwriting lets your employees receive private treatment without exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

Vitality was the first UK health insurer to introduce a member rewards programme that encourages you to take care of your health. All health insurance and life insurance customers are eligible to join the programme, which offers perks and discounts. It enables members to earn Vitality points by engaging in healthy behaviours. The points equate to increased rewards, depending on the number of points each member earns. To participate, employees register with Vitality's member zone and link an activity tracker to their account.

How do you earn Vitality points?

You and your employees earn reward points through various healthy habits that support good physical and mental health.

Have a health check

Members can earn Vitality points by completing an online health review. The review assesses each employee's current health status and suggests goals and areas for improvement. They'll also earn points by completing a fitness assessment at one of Vitality's partner gyms.

Your employees can also earn extra points based on their BMI, smoking status, blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol results during a Vitality or NHS check-up.

Get some exercise

Discounted gym memberships are a key part of Vitality's well-being offering, and your employees can earn points every time they visit a Virgin Active, PureGym or Nuffield gym.

If your employees prefer to support their local, independent gym, they can still earn reward points by using an activity tracker linked to their account. Depending on their chosen tracker, points can be awarded based on the number of steps employees take during the day and the calories they burn. Vitality has also partnered with Parkrun, a free 5k run, where members can earn points for running or volunteering at an event, or any other Vitality-sponsored run.

Take care of your mental health

Vitality recognises that mental health and well-being are just as important as physical health, so it offers a 12-month subscription to the Headspace app, which provides guided meditations to support overall well-being.

Members can earn points by using the app for ten minutes each day.

Lose weight

Vitality members can invest in a discounted 6-month premium WeightWatchers membership. If your employees lose weight with their programme, they can earn points as they hit each target. They'll also receive points just for attending a  WeightWatchers workshop.

Preventative healthcare

We've mentioned health assessments, but Vitality also lets you earn points for keeping your vaccinations up to date or attending routine screening tests, either with your NHS GP or via Vitality's health assessments.

What kind of rewards are available?

Most of the rewards available under the programme link to living a healthy lifestyle. These include discounted gym memberships, smoking cessation programmes, mindfulness apps and fitness-tracking tech. However, you can also treat yourself to a coffee or a discounted spa break. Earn more points, and you'll increase your Vitality status and earn discounts on travel and boutique hotel stays.

Vitality focuses on helping its members achieve a healthy lifestyle. It puts its money where its Vitality focuses on helping you and your team stay healthy by offering incentives and discounts that support you in achieving your well-being goals. It puts its money where its mouth is by offering discounts of up to 10% on health insurance premiums, depending on your claims history. Customers with over 100 employees can choose between a small business and corporate policy, depending on their needs. Corporate customers benefit from support tools that help them easily manage employee well-being and set up workplace wellness challenges to build team morale.

There are very few disadvantages to investing in Vitality health insurance. Vitality has expanded its face-to-face GP service, but appointments are only available in a handful of major cities. This could mean that employees must travel further or take time off to see their NHS GP if an online or telephone GP consultation isn't suitable.

Vitality's rewards scheme offers superb discounts and could help you reduce your premium, but points are heavily weighted towards physical activity. If your employees don't enjoy the gym or their budget won't stretch to a fitness tracker, they could be missing out on points even if they're active.

Vitality's reviews on Trustpilot give them an excellent 4.4* rating based on 57,873 reviews. 71% reviewers gave them a 5* rating.

Positive reviews highlight efficient and knowledgeable customer service, a straightforward claims process, and excellent coverage. Some reviewers described difficulties in setting up the Vitality app, but found Vitality's staff efficiently resolved their issues.

By contrast, negative reviews describe impersonal customer service, leaving customers with the impression that staff were reading from a script. Several customers also expressed frustration at the length of time it took to process their claims or that their claim was rejected. The reasons behind this are unclear. If a policy has moratorium underwriting employees don't provide medical information when they join the scheme, meaning insurers must seek medical history information before responding. If you decide to invest in employee health insurance, always ensure you understand what the policy covers and communicate the benefits clearly to your team.

Vitality offers impressive business health insurance, but it's only one of many health insurance providers. It's always wise to compare insurers to discover whether Vitality's health coverage is the best choice for your needs. Contact Globacare for a comparison quote and impartial advice tailored to your business.