Taking out a group health insurance policy is a great way to maintain employee retention as well as keep your staff happy. Investing in your employee’s health and wellbeing should be one of your top priorities, as a healthy and motivated team will have a positive impact on business
In fact, employee health insurance is very much a sought-after employee benefit. According to research by Personal Group, the employee services firm, more than 40% of people surveyed said they wanted insurance as part of their benefits package.
Below we’ve put together ten of the best employee health insurance plans available on the market.
However, it is important to know the difference between health insurance and health cash plans before we get started. This is because they are not the same thing, but are mentioned frequently with employee health schemes.
- Health insurance: covers employees for conditions that develop after a plan has been taken out
- Health cash plan: used to pay for ongoing and routine treatment.
1. Perkbox
Perkbox Medical is an extension of Perkbox, Europe’s fastest growing employee experience platform. It aims to provide affordable, accessible and easy to manage private healthcare for everyone in every company.
2. Hooray Health & Protection
Hooray Health & Protection are a team of health and protection experts, who through technology and outstanding customer service, always do right by their clients.
Hooray Health & Protection are an SME employee benefits specialist insurance intermediary focusing on the health and protection insurance space, providing affordable, fee free financial advice, online or by telephone, to avoid any unnecessary delays; protecting what’s important to you.
They have designed their services to provide help for SMEs (specialising in start-up’s) and pride themselves in their unique ability to source quotes for clients with hazardous occupations, existing health conditions or high risk businesses.
3. AXA
AXA provides private healthcare cover specifically catered to small businesses. They understand that each and every small business is unique, and so provide a variety of health insurance options and benefit to choose from. That means that firms only need to pay for the cover they require. As plans are tailored to individual firms you will need to contact AXA to get a quote.
Key features
- If you have six or more people in your company, you can create different benefit packages within your plan
- Unlimited access to private online GP service
- Pick and choose the benefits that are right for your firm
- 24/7 health information and support helpline
- Wellbeing incentives such as gym membership
- Physiotherapy consultations by phone with no GP referral requirement
Companies can choose from a variety of cover options including treatment for hospital procedures, diagnostics, outpatient services, therapies, mental health, extended cover, and travel.
4. Bupa
Bupa provides small business cover (2-249 employees) as well as corporate business cover (250+ employees). They offer a wide range of products and services to cover every single aspect of your employee’s health and well being. This includes award-winning health insurance to flu vaccinations and health assessments.
Key features
- Cancer cover as standard
- Access to over 600 hospitals in Bupa networks
- Confidential counselling service
- Cash plan options
- Flu vaccinations
- Health assessments
- Dental plan options
Companies interested in finding out more about Bupa’s business health cover option should contact them to receive a guide price based on their firm’s needs.
5. Cigna
Cigna provides a range of health insurance as well as dental insurance plans that an all be tailored to your business’s budget and strategy. They provide small business healthcare plan options (from 2-99 employees) as well as plans for firms looking to cover over 100+ employees.
Key features
- Cancer cover options
- Award-winning health app that enables employees to access everything in one place. Includes four free virtual GP consultations.
- Provide preventative tests and screenings
- Mental health cover
- Dental insurance plans at a discount
As insurance plans are tailored to individual firms, businesses are asked to contact Cigna to receive a quote.
6. Vitality
Vitality caters its health insurance plans for small businesses. Every plan starts with core cover, which includes advanced cancer cover, in-patient, and day-patient treatment and mental health support options.
Key features
- Advanced cancer cover as core cover
- Fast access to care: video consultations with a Vitality GP within 48 hours
- Pays for eligible consultants’ an anesthetists’ fees for in-patient and day-patient treatment in full without additional premium
- Access to up to eight sessions of counselling or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Access to Vitality GP app
- Discounted packages offered included gym membership
Vitality also provides workshops and wellness days to get a better understand of your employee’s health numbers too. Contact Vitality to receive a tailored quote for your firm.
7. WPA
WPA has a comprehensive range of health insurance options for small and medium businesses with 2 or more employees as well as private medical schemes for large companies with 150 or more employees. Different plans are available based on the size of the company, including a plan for firms taking out health insurance for the first time.
Key features
- Unlimited choice of hospital, specialist or healthcare professional
- Optional additional benefits that provide cashback for healthcare costs, including optical and dental
- Discounted gym membership, opticians, health screenings and golfing
- Comprehensive insurance package including in-patient, day-patient and out-patient treatments
- Protection while travelling abroad option
- Counselling options
To become a member of one of the plans, contact WPA to get a tailored quote for your business today.
8. Aviva
Aviva provides private medical insurance policies for businesses covering up to 249 employees and additional plans for large firms. Their policies are designed to fit around the client’s needs, affordable and provide flexilibity too.
Key features
- BacktoBetter service as core cover: gives employee’s quick access to a clinical case manager for musculoskeletal conditions
- Clients can increase or decrease the level of cover in accordance with needs and budget
- Diagnostics tests covered in full
- Extensive cancer cover
- Psychiatric treatment as an out-patient up to £2,000 each member on every policy year
- Specialist claims management teams for certain conditions
- NHS cash benefits of up to £100 each night
As insurance is tailored to individual firms, prices for the policies are on a quote basis.
9. Westfield Health
Westfield Heath can help businesses of all types, budgets, and sizes whether these employees are all in one place, or are distributed. The firm provides private health insurance that can cost as little as £5.83 per employee per month.
Key features
- Affordable and accessible plans
- Anesthetists fees covered
- Inpatient tests covered as part of surgical procedure
- Non-urgent surgery covered
- Health cash plans also offered
It is also possible to have both private health insurance and a health cash plan for your employees through Westfield Health.
10. CS Healthcare
With the group health insurance schemes from CS healthcare, employees have the chance to choose different cover options which may include their family too.
Key features
- 24/7 health advice line
- Fast access to diagnosis and treatment
- Open eligibility criteria
- Specialised scans cover
- Discounted health assessments
- Discounted gym membership
Pricing for CS healthcare insurance plans are based on the individual company and requires contacting them directly.
What is employee health insurance?
In the UK, employee health insurance is a type of cover businesses can purchase for their employees. It is owned by the company, and can cover multiple different members of staff for private medical insurance.
Those under employee health insurance will be able to have medical procedures done in private facilities, skipping NHS waiting lists. Employee health insurance offers staff members more flexibility and control over their healthcare, meaning they can be both seen and taken care of quicker than those not under this cover.
This type of insurance is a highly sought-after employee benefit, which can help a business to retain staff whilst also attracting new talent. It can also help to reduce absenteeism at work, as employees taken ill are seen to, and can often recover, quicker.
How much does employee health insurance cost?
The cost of health insurance will very much depend upon the details of the cover, insurance from some providers starts from as little as £7 per person per month. Some of the main details that can affect the cost of employee health insurance include:
- Age of members – as we age, we become more at risk of suffering from an illness or disease. Therefore, generally the older you are the higher the cost of health insurance.
- Location – private medical insurance will vary on price depending on the region, therefore the location of the members and the healthcare facilities they will use have an influence on the cost of cover.
- Number of members – the larger the number of members the higher the cost of overall cover, however, if a business wants to cover a certain number of members they may be entitled to a discount.
- Level of cover – there are different levels of private medical services a business can opt for, from basic to a fully comprehensive plan. The higher the level of cover, the larger the cost.
When looking for the right employee health insurance for your business, it’s important to consider the factors above, as these will help you when calculating the overall cost.
What comes with employee health insurance?
There are a variety of different features that can come with employee health insurance, all depending on the provider as well as the level of cover you go for. For example, some health insurance providers offer the same cost on plans for members aged between 16 – 69, with 24/7 GP access as well as stress support, and dental & optical services.
Providers can also offer other services, such as out-patient psychiatric treatment, extensive cancer cover, and full coverage for diagnostics tests (all of which can be offered by Aviva).
When looking for the right provider for your employees, it’s important to explore a range of different available options, helping you to find the cover that’s right for your business and it’s employees.