Private health insurance, often referred to as private medical insurance, is an insurance policy that safeguards your health. You pay a monthly, or yearly subscription and this covers the cost of treatment that you need, as long as it is covered by your policy.
At the heart of private health insurance is a commitment to your wellbeing and the wellbeing of your loved ones. Simply put, it provides fast access to private healthcare when you need it. Our Personal Health plan, like most health insurance, only covers new conditions that develop after you join and not pre-existing conditions.
What are the core benefits of our Personal Health plan?
When life throws you an unexpected challenge, fast access to diagnosis and treatment are what matter most, along with genuine help, support and understanding from people who care. Here’s a summary of everything that comes with our Personal Health plan.
Fast access to medical treatment when you need it most. We have over 250 hospitals within our hospital directory
, and we work with over 40,000 specialists and practitioners.
If you choose our cancer cover, you have quick access to diagnosis and treatment. We’ll be the friendly expert you can trust throughout your treatment. And you and your family will get reassurance from an experienced cancer nurse within our cancer care team over the phone (cover is dependent on your medical history and cover options chosen).
On specialist referral, even if they aren’t available on the NHS (depending on your medical history and cover options chosen. Outpatient drugs are not covered by this plan).
With our 24/7 online GP service, you can select from a choice of appointments by video or phone with a GP or Advanced Clinical Practitioners. GPs are available 24 hours a day and Advanced Clinical Practitioners are available from 8am-10pm (not available on child only plans and subject to appointment availability).
Get the help you need online or by phone; we’ve made sure members aged 18 and over can speak to an expert fast and without a GP referral.
Get clear, up-to-date information and support, day and night. Speak to one of our team of experienced health professionals. Our team will support you and your family members. No worry is too small – if it matters to you, it matters to us.
Cover for in patient and day patient treatment fees (on specialist referral), including operating theatre costs, nursing care, dressings, specialist fees, consultations, diagnostic tests, CT, MRI and PET scans and physiotherapy at a hospital within our directory.
For menopause symptoms that can’t be routinely managed by your GP, we offer specialist menopause support through our network of British Menopause Society (BMS) accredited consultant gynecologists. You’ll need a GP referral and an Outpatient option included on your plan.
Private health insurance, also referred to as private medical insurance, is an insurance policy which complements the NHS.
Anyone with health insurance can still use all the services offered by the NHS but you will also have access to private healthcare, which can often provide you with quick diagnosis and treatment.
Private medical insurance may also provide access to specialist treatments, or new cancer drugs that may not be available on the NHS.
You will usually pay a monthly subscription and you can claim for the costs of private healthcare you receive which is covered by your policy.
Most health insurance plans are designed to cover you for new and unforeseen medical issues and don’t cover treatment for conditions you’re already suffering from when you join. These medical conditions are known as pre-existing conditions.
A health insurance policy may not cover incurable or long-term conditions, such as arthritis or diabetes. These conditions are called chronic conditions.
A chronic condition is a disease, illness or injury that has one or more of the following characteristics:
It needs ongoing or long-term monitoring through consultations, examinations, check-ups and/or tests.
It needs ongoing or long-term control or relief of symptoms.
It requires rehabilitation, or for you to be specially trained to cope with it.
It continues indefinitely.
It has no known cure.
It comes back or is likely to come back.
The cost of health insurance can vary depending on factors such as your age, your location, your excess and the level of cover you choose. You can find out more on our cost of private health insurance page.
Your excess is the amount you pay towards treatment if you make a claim. You can choose which level of excess you prefer, and it impacts the overall cost of your cover. If you choose a higher excess, your premiums would be less, but you’d have to pay more if you made a claim. If you have a lower excess, your monthly premiums would be higher, but you would pay less if you made a claim.
Your premium, sometimes called a subscription, is what you pay for your health insurance cover. This is usually paid monthly or annually.
No, a medical is not usually required to purchase health insurance. You simply provide your personal details and typically answer some health questions. If you have any pre-existing or chronic conditions, you should talk to your insurer before purchasing to be clear on what is and isn’t covered. You can find an explanation of pre-existing and chronic conditions in this FAQ.
Personal Health, our private health insurance plan, provides cover for a wide range of diagnoses and treatment, including CT and MRI scans (at hospitals within our directory), as well as cancer treatment (subject to medical history and cover options chosen). It also covers you for eligible treatment in a hospital under a recognised specialist. You can choose to add level of cover to suit your needs such as diagnostics and specialist consultations (with an outpatient option).
With our heart and cancer care, you’ll have access to a dedicated nurse helpline to help with healthcare concerns about your condition, treatment, and care options.
Our 24/7 Online GP service will help you get an appointment anytime you need one (subject to appointment availability).
Access to online support for problems affecting the muscles, bones or joints, without the need for a GP referral (for 18s and over only).
We’ll explain what we do and don’t cover, along with any restrictions, before you buy. If you do buy, there will be more details in your handbook.
Direct access
Here’s how you can get direct access to help:
Muscle, bones and joints: If it’s a problem with your muscles, bones or joints, you can speak to a physiotherapist by phone or video.
Cancer checks: If you’re worried about a skin, breast or prostate symptom, you could get a fast assessment to rule out cancer.
Private GP service: If you need to see a GP, you can use our online GP service.
To access our muscles bones and joints service, you need to be over 18. If you need any onward tests, hands on treatment or consultations you can access these if you have the appropriate cover on your plan.
For cancer checks you’ll need to have cover for outpatient specialist consultations and diagnostic tests. You can use the private GP service for members under 18, as long as the lead member on the plan is 18 or over, but a parent or guardian will need to set this up.
With a GP referral
Here’s how you can get access to specialist or hospital care through a GP:
You can see an NHS GP, or a private one, including from our own online GP service.
If you need to see a specialist, it’s easiest if you ask your GP for an ‘open referral’ – this means we can book your specialist for you. If they’d rather recommend a specific specialist, please check this with us before the GP sends the referral.
Let us know about your referral, and we’ll walk you through the next steps.
If your plan covers seeing a specialist or having hospital treatment, this will usually be in a private hospital – we cover hundreds across the UK. We can help you find a specialist near you whose fees we cover in full.
With an AXA Health plan, your treatment must be with a medical practitioner that we recognise and take place at a hospital in our Directory of Hospitals. We recommend you talk to us before receiving any treatment so we can confirm you have the appropriate cover in place.
Your cover will depend on the plan you chose when you join. However, there are some things that our plans generally don’t cover. Most health insurers will have similar rules.
We don’t cover:
Chronic conditions – conditions that go on for a long time, or come back.
Pregnancy and childbirth.
Services that your GP would usually carry out.
The cost of drugs or dressings you’re given as an outpatient.
Preventative treatment or tests when you don’t have symptoms.
Treatment that hasn’t yet been proven to be effective.
Treatment of medical conditions that you had – or had symptoms of – before you joined, unless you’ve switched from another plan and have underwriting called ‘continuing medical exclusions’.
We’ll explain what we do and don’t cover before you buy. If you do buy, there will be more details in your handbook.
Private health insurance covers private treatment for new medical conditions. It’s not designed to cover conditions you already have when you join. That includes conditions that start before you join, but which haven’t yet been diagnosed.
This means your cover for any conditions you already have when you join is limited, and we may not cover the condition at all. If you have symptoms now that you’re worried about, we probably won’t cover that condition if you join, even if you haven’t seen a doctor about it.
We’ll explain this cover before you buy, and you’ll see it on your membership certificate and handbook if you do buy.
No, you can choose to when you take out your plan and it will affect your premiums.
If you call us to make a claim, we’ll tell you what the excess is on your plan. When we receive an invoice for your treatment we’ll reduce the amount we’ll pay by your excess.
With our Personal Health plan, you’ll only have to pay your excess once in each membership year and not if you have more treatment throughout the year. The excess is per member, per membership year.
We’ll let you know how to pay your excess when we send you a statement following a consultation or treatment.
Yes. You can add a partner or dependents to your policy so you are able to provide peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones.
If you’re thinking of joining us, simply start an online health insurance quote now – it doesn’t take long, and we won’t ask tricky medical questions. You can also give us a call on 0800 111 4004*. If you’re already with AXA Health, it’s easiest to contact us through your online account.
*Lines are open 09:00 - 19:00 Mon - Fri. Closed Sat - Sun. We may record and/or monitor calls for quality assurance, training and as a record of our conversation.
