5 UK insurance providers going above and beyond to support mental health
Providing the right support to help combat stress and poor mental health in the workplace can bring tangible benefits to any business and its people. This is borne out by the fact that a whopping 17.9 million working days are lost to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety every year!
No wonder then that more businesses are looking for some form of mental health insurance. While standalone mental health insurance policies do not exist as such, all the main health insurance providers will offer some level of support.
This begs the question: what are the top UK providers doing to help support mental wellbeing?
This article looks at 5 of the best UK business health insurance providers, uncovering what policies and products they have been working on to provide support for employee mental health.
Looking to invest in the best employee benefits and policies to protect your staff’s mental wellbeing? Contact our friendly team of experts at [email protected] or click on the bottom right chatbox for advice and support.
1. Bupa
Bupa is a leading international healthcare group and insurance provider in the UK, offering a fantastic range of choices from private health insurance cover to direct consultations with specialists. Bupa offers a range of mental health support options, whether you are looking for health insurance cover or not.
Business Mental Health Advantage:
- Offer support for monitoring/maintenance of diagnosed mental health conditions
- Cover for all mental health conditions except treatment of dementia, learning difficulties, behavioural and development problems
- Offers a standard cover for alcohol and drug abuse, self-harm
- Offers cover for mental health conditions even if they’re connected with a typically excluded condition e.g., anxiety caused by sleep disorders
Employee Assistance Programmes:
- Confidential mental health/wellbeing support that satisfies duty of care as an employer
- Offers expert support and services to help individuals take control of their mental health
Resilience and Stress Management solutions:
- Provide on-site training for line managers/any other employees to help build resilience and manage stress
- Offer a pro-active digital solution – ‘Emotional Wellbeing Online’ – for the whole workforce to boost the sense of control over mental health
Family Mental HealthLine:
- Provides support for employees who are parents or carers
- Talk to a trained adviser/mental health nurse who will listen, give advice, guidance, and support
Bupa also has partnerships with BITC, CMHA, Mind, and What Works Centre for Wellbeing, so their knowledge and connections (over 4,300 mental health therapists nationwide!) are some of the best in the industry!
There’s no doubt that Bupa are one of the market leaders for any business seeking some form of mental health insurance.
2. AXA
A multinational insurance company, AXA is based in France offering a wide range of services including private hospital and specialist offerings and core health insurance packages.
AXA’s mental health insurance policies/products include:
- Stronger Minds team helpline: to arrange mental health assessments to then proceed to face-to-face/remote counselling sessions
- Out-patient treatment: specialist consultations for psychiatric treatment/psychologists and CBT therapists
- In-patient treatments: private psychiatric treatment fees including accommodation, and diagnostic tests at any of the hospitals in their Directory.
- 24/7 access to private GP
- Gym discounts
- Health information phone line
- An approved and comprehensive network of counsellors, psychologists, mental health clinicians
3. Aviva
Aviva is an international insurance provider headquartered in the UK. Much of their focus is on offering cancer specialist support and private medical insurance cover. This being said, Aviva’s services go so much further, especially when it comes to protecting mental wellbeing!
Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace:
- App providing staff with tools/guidance to help detect, manage, and prevent physical and mental problems
- Annual health checks
- Digital GP
- Nutritional Consultations
- Second Medical Opinion
- Mental Health consultations
Aviva Line Manager Toolkit:
- Helps line managers to spot warning signs of poor mental health and identify reasonable adjustments
- Empowers staff and line managers to feel more confident in having supportive conversations amongst teams, addressing the issues before they progress further
Solutions:
- Stemming from business health insurance
- Adapted to unique business needs
- Includes Expert Select (specialists/hospitals), enhanced cancer cover, mental health pathways
- Direct mental health pathway for employee access to quality talking therapy/counselling without needing to see a GP
Extra apps/information to help:
- Mental Health Support articles: provides information/advice to help employers, line managers, and employees combat mental ill health, stress, and anxiety
- Stress Counselling: helpline service offering confidential advice/discussion with trained counsellors
- Aviva Wellbeing: easy-to-use app offering wellbeing advice/support
Looking for mental health insurance? The friendly team of brokers at Hooray we’ll bring you a range of FREE quotes on the best health insurance policies providing mental health support.
4. Vitality
As a London-based UK health insurance company, Vitality is really pulling out all the stops with its products. These include private health cover, cancer care, expert advice on treatments/surgeries, online appointments with GPs, rewards systems, and many options to help look after mental health.
Core Cover:
- Standard health insurance cover, including access to preventative and early intervention measures
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy/counselling sessions within VitalityHealth’s Talking Therapies Network
- Vitality Rewards for physical activity (getting active is a simple way to boost mental wellbeing!)
- Healthy Mind – mindfulness app to track mental wellbeing
- Togetherall – online support community giving staff access to 24/7 online mental health community
Mental Health Cover:
- Optional cover for out-, in-, and day-patient treatments
- Full cover for sessions face-to-face/remote
- £1,500 worth of out-patient treatment e.g., with a psychiatrist
- 28 days of in-patient treatments
Small Business Health Insurance:
- Primary care – online appointments through virtual GP app & up to £100 per year for private prescriptions/minor tests
- Up to 8 sessions of face-to-face therapy/counselling
Care Hub:
- Self-refer for physiotherapy/CBT services
- Request care for a new condition
- View treatment information e.g., upcoming appointments or details
5. WPA
WPA are a UK-based non-profit health insurance provider offering cover for services including nursing at home, private ambulance transport, Employee Assistance Programmes, private cover, cancer care, and (you guessed it!) mental health insurance and support.
Health and Wellbeing Helpline:
- Confidential service
- Available 24/7, 365 days a year
- Support for emotional issues/concerns, guidance for a healthy lifestyle, advice on legal matters, debt, and money management
Business Health Insurance: (below are WPA standard levels each including some form of mental health cover)
- Enterprise Flexible Benefits – 2 or more employees
- Enterprise Health – 10 or more employees
- Precision Corporate Healthcare – 30 or more employees
- NHS Top-Up – 3 or more employees
Extra services:
- Comprehensive literature, articles, and videos to provide information and support on mental health
- WPA Health app for access to benefits/services and contact information if staff are reaching out for extra support
Ask the experts about mental health insurance
Employers can invest in a range of products and services which not only act as preventative measures but also offer comprehensive treatment to for a range of physical and mental conditions.
Finding the right combination of these policies and employee benefits is a daunting idea – as policy terms and features will vary greatly. Speak to the team at Hooray Health & Protection and we will provide one-to-one advice about all the different policies and the level of mental health support they provide.
Call us on 01273 222805 or click on the bottom right chatbox for straightforward advice and the best competitive quotes for FREE.