Benenden Health is opening to intermediaries with its launch into the corporate health insurance market.
Services offered as part of Benenden Healthcare for Business include private medical diagnostics and private medical treatment where there is a wait on the NHS, round the clock GP and mental health helplines, physiotherapy, cancer and mental health support, care planning and social care advice.
Benenden said requests for private medical treatment for approved procedures in its treatment network will be considered if employees have already been given an NHS referral of five weeks or more and they have a CCSD code for a procedure from its approved list of procedures.
Diagnostics test will be covered up to £1,800 in value but members will have to pay in excess of this.
“Scheme members can request private medical diagnosis in our national diagnostic network for symptoms which have been referred by an NHS GP and where the NHS wait time will be more than three weeks,” the insurer said.
Membership is priced at £11.90 per person, per month and the cost is the same for everyone, regardless of age or pre-existing conditions and there is no excess.
The minimum number of people that can be added to the scheme is five and renewal premiums are based on the whole Benenden population experience not individual schemes.
There is no medical underwriting requirement to be eligible for membership. Benenden guarantees to accept everyone because their medical history is disregarded providing they are a UK resident at the point of joining.
The benefit can also be offered to employees’ dependants that live at the same address, again for £11.90 per person, per month.
Members also benefit from rewards and discounts and access to the Benenden Health app and wellbeing hub.
Prior to the launch Benenden Health products had only been available directly to retail consumers.
It’s entry into the corporate healthcare market comes just weeks after Health & Protection revealed Cigna is withdrawing its corporate private medical insurance and healthcare trusts products.
Andy Wiggans, chief commercial officer at Benenden Health, said: “We know that current environmental concerns such as NHS wait times and the cost-of-living crisis have put health and wellbeing at the top of both employer and employee minds.
“Therefore, we believe it’s absolutely the right time for Benenden Health to bring our affordable healthcare alternative to the intermediary market as more employers look for cost-effective solutions to help their employees.
“Less than one in five UK employees have any healthcare cover which leaves 80% of the UK workforce unprotected. With Benenden Healthcare for Business, brokers can offer their clients the opportunity to cover every member of their workforce with a private healthcare benefit.
“At just £11.90 a month with no underwriting and a guarantee of acceptance for everyone, Benenden Healthcare for Business is simple to manage and implement and makes business healthcare an affordable reality for all employees.”
