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 22.1 million working days were lost to stress, depression, or anxiety in 2024-25, according to the HSE.

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 for the best insurance policies that support mental wellbeing? Contact our friendly team of experts at hello@hoorayinsurance.co.uk or use the chatbot for no-obligation quotes and free advice.

1. Bupa

Probably the best known insurer in the UK, Bupa goes further than most insurers when it comes to offering mental health support.

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, and self-harm
• Offers cover for mental health conditions even if they’re connected with a typically excluded condition, such as 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 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:

• Mental health supports and assessments: offers direct access to mental health professionals without requiring a GP referral.
• 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: Via Doctor at Hand a digital app, providing access to a network of healthcare professionals consisting of GPs and Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs)
• Gym discounts: 40% off monthly Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing centre memberships and Hussle Monthly+ pass fees
• Health information phone line: 24/7 health information phone line staffed by nurses and counsellors, with pharmacists and midwives available during specified hours.
• Access to AXA’s approved UK network of counsellors, clinical psychologists and other mental health professionals

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 also extend to mental wellbeing.

Aviva’s health insurance typically covers treatment and support for the following mental health conditions:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Eating disorders
• Stress-related conditions
• Substance abuse (depending on the policy level)

Support includes:

• Outpatient treatment: up to £2,000 for therapy or counselling sessions.
• Inpatient and day-patient psychiatric treatment: up to 28 days.

Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace:

Aviva’s provides an app offering tools to help detect, manage, and prevent physical and mental problems. Tools and services include:

• Health checks
• Digital GP
• Nutritional Consultations
• Second Medical Opinion
• Mental Health consultations
• Wellbeing library
• Active lifestyle discounts

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

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 free price comparisons on the best health insurance policies providing mental health support. Click the Get Quotes button above.

4. Vitality

As a London-based UK health insurance company, Vitality has long been known for being one of the more tech savvy insurers. It offers an impressive range of options when it comes to mental health support.

Core Cover

• Standard health insurance with a strong focus on prevention and early intervention.
• Up to 8 Talking Therapy sessions (CBT or counselling) each plan year, delivered face-to-face or online.
• Vitality Rewards for healthy behaviours and physical activity.
• Headspace for guided meditation and mindfulness.
• Wysa for 24/7 AI-guided mental wellbeing support.

Enhanced Mental Health Cover (optional)

• Full cover for Talking Therapies (face-to-face or online).
• Up to £1,500 towards outpatient mental health treatment (e.g. psychiatrist appointments).
• Up to 28 days of inpatient and 28 days of day-patient treatment per episode.

Small Business Health Insurance

• Online GP appointments.
• Up to 8 Talking Therapy sessions (CBT or counselling) included in Core Cover.

Care Hub

• Self-refer for physiotherapy and Talking Therapies.
• Request treatment for a new eligible condition.
• Manage appointments, approvals and treatment information in one place.

5. WPA

WPA are a UK-based non-profit health insurance provider that that takes a flexible approach to building private health plans for businesses. Along with offering the typical services you come to expect on private health plans, it also offers mental health support.

Business Health Insurance:

Mental health support and treatment options vary depending on the scheme and level of cover selected.

• Enterprise Flexible Benefits – 2 or more employees
• Precision Corporate Healthcare – 10 or more employees
• NHS Top-Up – 3-49 employees

Health and Wellbeing Helpline:

This is essentially WPA’s Employee Assistance Programme, and is included on some, but not all of WPA’s plans. It provides:

• Confidential  health and wellbeing service
• Available 24/7, 365 days a year
• Support for emotional issues/concerns
• Wellbeing and health guidance
• Advice on legal matters
• Debt and money management support
• Online CBT

Other wellbieng 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
• Discounts on gym memberships, optical and health screening benefits

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 health conditions.

It can be difficult to figure out what’s included in a plan and exactly how cover works. 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 each provides.

Call us on 01273 222805 or click on the bottom right chatbox for straightforward advice and the best competitive quotes for FREE.