AXA health insurance review

Who is AXA?

AXA is an international insurance company serving customers in more than 60 countries. It provides car, home, travel and business insurance, as well as private health insurance.

What’s included with AXA health insurance?

AXA private medical insurance covers the cost of private healthcare with more than 33,000 consultants and practitioners, at over 250 private medical facilities across the UK.

Cover benefits include:

• In-patient and day-patient treatment for insured conditions
• Medication costs, hospital fees and specialist fees
• Specialist treatment for cancer and heart problems (including 24/7 telephone support)
• Diagnostic surgery, CT, MRI and PET scans
• Cash payments up to £2,000 per year, when you have free in-patient treatment on the NHS
• Video GP appointments
• Telephone appointments with a physiotherapist, without a GP referral

You can also choose to add extra coverage for an additional fee. These add-ons include:

• Full out-patient cover, with no limits on specialist consultations, diagnostic tests or practitioner charges
• Cover for 80% of dentist fees (up to £400 per year) and optician fees (up to £200 per year)
• Therapies cover, including up to 10 sessions per year with physiotherapists, acupuncturists, homeopaths, osteopaths and chiropractors
• Mental health treatment from psychiatrists, psychologists and cognitive-behavioural therapists
• Worldwide travel cover, including cover for lost items and flight delays

If you have children, you may be interested in upgrading to AXA’s family health insurance. This includes:

• • Free cover for newborns until your renewal date
  • Unlimited telephone access to experienced nurses and fully-trained midwives
  • Various cosmetic surgeries for your child, including birthmark removal and prominent ear correction
  • The cost for a parent to stay with a child in hospital, or up to £500 a year towards the cost of a parent’s accommodation near the hospital

Exclusions

Aviva Health Insurance will not cover you in the following scenarios:

• • • Pre-existing medical conditions
    • Chronic health conditions, including arthritis, asthma, diabetes and epilepsy
    • Pregnancy and childbirth

This is just a selection of exclusions. There may be other scenarios where your policy won’t cover you. AXA encourages customers to ask if there’s something specific they would like to be covered for, before signing up.

Claims process

In most cases, you’ll need to be given an open referral by a GP before making a claim.

Once you have this, you can get straight to using AXA’s Fast Track Appointments service, which makes it easy for you to quickly find the right treatment at the right time and place for you.

You’ll be given a choice of up to three consultant-level specialists to make an appointment with.

AXA will let you know if you need to pay an excess or any part of the bill.

Managing your policy

You can manage your policy online via the AXA Health website. Log in using your email address and password, and you’ll be able to amend your personal details, check previous claims and see how much of your private medical insurance cover you’ve used.

Pros and cons

Our verdict

There’s a lot to like about this policy.

We were particularly impressed with the levels of telephone support offered, especially for sufferers of cancer and heart problems. Parents are likely to appreciate the depth of the Family Medical Insurance.

Frequently asked questions about AXA health insurance

• Is there a way to lower the cost of my premiums?

  Yes, AXA allows you to add a voluntary excess in order to lower your premiums.

  On top of that, you can opt out of private cancer support, and receive that on the NHS instead if you need it. You can also opt in to using AXA’s Guided Fast-Track Service every time you need to see a specialist. Both of these choices will lower your premium.

  Also, if you pay your premium annually, you’ll receive a 5% discount.

• Does AXA health insurance cover dental?

  If you purchase the dental add-on, you’ll receive cover for 80% of your dental fees, up to £400 per year.

• Does AXA health insurance cover pre-existing medical conditions?

  No, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.

• How do I cancel my AXA health insurance?

  You can cancel your policy by calling 0800 454 080 or writing to AXA PPP healthcare, Phillips House, Crescent Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2PL.