Business health insurance
Looking to arrange health insurance for your business? Find out about plans and costs and compare policy quotes in minutes.
Employees skip NHS queues and get back to work quicker
A great perk that helps attract top talent
Often a deductible business expense—good for your books
We’re a broker, not a provider—checking your eligibility across our panel of trusted partners.
What is business health insurance?
Corporate or business health insurance is an employee benefit that offers a range of medical coverage beyond the NHS. It can be funded partly or entirely by an employer, and offers staff faster access to treatment, more specialised care, and flexible healthcare options.
Your health insurance policy may cover a range of services, including diagnostic tests, consultations with a specialist, hospital treatments, and sometimes wellness and mental health programs.
Investing in your employees' healthcare demonstrates a commitment to their welfare and can potentially save on sickness and productivity losses over the long term.
Business health insurance plans
From essential cover to bespoke extras, here's a quick look at the types of health coverage on the market:
Basic coverage
Offer essential protection for standard medical treatments, outpatient consultations, and diagnostic tests. Basic plans may be a good fit for small businesses looking for simple healthcare solutions without expensive extras and add-ons.
Get your quoteComprehensive plans
Give employees full-spectrum health insurance that includes inpatient and outpatient treatment, mental health support, dental care, and the option to add family members. Designed for medium to large companies looking to champion staff wellbeing.
Get your quoteFlexible and modular
Customise your employees' insurance packages with specific coverage elements. Whether your workforce has more specific needs and health requirements, or you're matching insurance to a particular budget, a modular plan may be for you.
Get your quoteInternational corporate
Offer your global workforce an insurance plan to match. International plans provide medical care and protection across multiple countries. This may be useful if some of your team spend time abroad or are frequent business travellers.
Get your quoteSME health insurance
Give your small-to-medium business a general, streamlined plan. These offer cost-effective solutions with a simplified application processes and coverage options that can be scaled for your business, now and as you grow.
Get your quoteAdvanced plans
Include bespoke extras such a preventative care, regular health screenings, mental health initiatives, and lifestyle management. These plans are proactive and wide-ranging and provide the highest level of care for your workforce.
Get your quote
Health insurance vs. traditional sick leave
There may be strategic benefits to offering health insurance, but you'll need to weigh the costs against the needs of your workforce:
Health insurance
Private health insurance can be a sound investment in your company, potentially reducing long periods of sick leave and speeding up recovery times. This way, you could minimise disruption to operations and boost productivity. You may also attract staff who seek a considerate employer that's invested in their health and wellbeing.
Traditional sick leave
Relying solely on NHS services for your workers' healthcare can mean longer waiting periods, especially for specialist care, which can then result in prolonged absences. Productivity may suffer as some health complaints go unresolved or get worse, costing your company in lost work days and reduced performance.
Business health insurance pros and cons
Advantages of health insurance
- Talent magnetism: Good health insurance is a powerful recruitment tool, showcasing your commitment and setting you apart on a global level.
- Strategic investment: Health coverage can reduce long-term absenteeism, boost productivity, and bring down medical costs.
- Mental health: Full health insurance - with extras like counselling and stress management - shows your commitment to wellness and a supportive culture.
Disadvantages of health insurance
- Extra admin: Employee health insurance involves complex admin, plan selection and communication, and ongoing policy management.
- Cost consideration: Premium costs can vary widely based on coverage type, workforce size, and your employee health profiles.
- Possible tension: Differences in coverage based on job roles, employment status, or individual health conditions could lead to tensions and legal and ethical challenges.
Should I offer health insurance to my staff?
Whether you invest in private healthcare for your staff depends on multiple factors: the size and demographics of your workforce, your company finances, the standards in your industry, and how the plan fits into your wider objectives. Health insurance may not be a legal requirement, but it does demonstrate a progressive approach to employee welfare, and can significantly improve staff satisfaction, wellness, and productivity.
Understanding the costs
1. Policy premiums
Insurance premiums are calculated based on your workforce demographics, health risks, the depth of your coverage, and your history of making claims.
Providers will assess how much you're likely to use insurance before working out the appropriate pricing structure.
2. Age-related pricing
The age of your workforce can influence insurance costs - older employees will often attract higher premiums because they may have medical needs sooner than younger employees.
Analysing your workforce demographics can help you anticipate changes to costs in the future.
3. Coverage costs
If you intend your health insurance to stretch to specialised treatments, mental health cover, and employee wellbeing, your premiums will likely rise.
You should aim to balance the need for wide-ranging coverage against the constraints of your budget.
4. Admin expenses
Starting and maintaining your health insurance involves extra admin, whether it's adding to the workload of a current staff member or outsourcing to a third-party service.
Your insurance contracts can be complex, changing providers can be disruptive, and handling the initial explanations and claims paperwork can all add to your administrative burden.
5. Tax benefits
Some health insurance expenses might offer tax advantages, especially when it comes to claiming small business health insurance as a business expense. A professional financial advisor can help explain and optimise any tax implications.
6. Long-term savings
Viewed as a strategic investment, private health insurance can generate real financial benefits through better staff retention, fewer absences, and a more productive workforce.
Finding and arranging the best corporate health insurance
Use our checklist to guide you through the process of arranging health insurance for your company.
Our expert says:
‘’A good health insurance policy can be a direct and indirect investment in your company's future. With well-thought-out coverage, you can balance medical protection for your staff with the company budget, and turn healthcare from a cost into a powerful tool for retention and productivity.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can staff make an insurance claim?
Some employees' plans begin straightaway, but there's often a waiting period of a few weeks or months. This is so that the insurer can process the initial set-up, comply with regulations, check staff eligibility, and reduce the risk of misuse.
What happens to health insurance if an employee leaves?
This depends on the specific policies around your health insurance and the worker's contract. Some companies offer short-term coverage extensions, while others terminate coverage as soon as a staff member leaves.
What about health insurance and compliance?
As a UK business, you're not legally required to offer health cover, but there is a complex regulatory framework that governs any coverage you put in place. In general, your healthcare cover must be inclusive and not discriminate against any member of staff based on protected characteristics. That said, insurers may still be permitted to structure pricing based on age.
How do we measure the ROI for health insurance?
When it comes to health coverage, the return on investment is more than just a figure on a balance sheet. It offers both tangible and intangible benefits to your company. Your KPIs may include reduced absences, improved employee engagement, and better healthcare cost management. You can track these quantitatively by monitoring changes in sick leave, comparing medical expenditure before and after insurance, and analysing employee data of various kinds.
How do employees join a health insurance policy?
As you roll out your policy, your employees are either automatically enrolled or may opt in or out. You or your HR department can send information about available plans and enrolment phases to help employees make informed decisions. When enrolling, staff will need to gather their personal information such as their ID and employment details, as well as information about their dependents if adding family members to their plan.
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