Small Business Health Insurance

Moneyrepublic offers affordable and flexible health insurance for small businesses across the UK. Our tailored plans cater to diverse needs, from biotech startups to family-run services, ensuring your team's well-being. Covering diagnostic tests, mental health, and private healthcare, our comprehensive packages include benefits like unlimited GP appointments. We address pre-existing conditions and work-related stress, promoting employee health. Simplifying the process, Moneyrepublic provides quick access to quality healthcare, supporting your business's growth. Choose Moneyrepublic for accessible and comprehensive small business health insurance.

What is small business health insurance?

Small Business Health Insurance, or SME health insurance, caters to employees in small to medium-sized companies, covering crucial medical expenses. Designed as a support system during times of need, SME medical insurance is indispensable for smaller businesses, ensuring continuity amid staff absences due to illness. Our plans provide comprehensive coverage, addressing needs from cancer care to mental health support. This offers peace of mind to your employees and ensures seamless business operations.

Who qualifies for small business medical insurance?

Health insurance for a small business implies that you have a company that qualifies as a small business, which usually means having up to 250 employees. However, it is suitable for sole traders as well.

As a small business owner, you can choose some particular employees from your company to be included in the insurance, as well as your partners and children. The start date of the coverage may differ depending on who is included in the plan. We can help you choose which format will be suitable for your case.

Do you need business health insurance?

Business health insurance can be seen as a tool to run a business in a more secure and efficient way.

Getting small business health insurance will help your company with the following:

• Saving time. Getting insurance guarantees fast access to healthcare services, which helps to reduce the time used for resolving healthcare-related issues. It allows one to concentrate more on the core business tasks, increasing the productivity of work.
• Getting access to various healthcare options. It provides different levels of healthcare access to suit your needs and budget.
• Ensuring the well-being of the employees. From the employees' point of view, having health insurance at work creates a safer and more comfortable working environment.

What are the benefits of small business health insurance?

With health insurance, your business can easily get the following benefits:

• Attracting and retaining human resources. Getting insurance is an investment in the health and well-being of the employees. The benefits of company insurance will make your business look more attractive in the eyes of potential employees.
• Faster treatment. Business health insurance will allow employees faster access to healthcare services compared with the national healthcare system.
• 24/7 information phone line. You and your employees will have an opportunity to get information on healthcare questions instantly at any time.
• Online GP services. Insurance will give you an opportunity to get a quick online or phone consultation with a general practitioner 24/7.
• Flexible appointment scheduling. Insurance will grant you and the employees of your enterprise more freedom in planning healthcare appointments.

What's Included in Our Health Insurance Coverage?

The exact list of healthcare services you will get covered by the insurance depends on the insurance plan you choose.

As for now, we offer three different insurance plans:

• Basic. Includes inpatient care and hospitalization expenses.
• Medium. Includes inpatient care, hospitalization expenses, and outpatient therapies.
• Comprehensive. Includes inpatient and outpatient care, extra treatments, psychotherapy, and mental health counselling. This plan also provides opportunities for getting supplementary treatments.

Why choose us for small business health insurance?

We Protect your Budget

We prioritize your financial well-being, offering small business health insurance solutions that align with your budget, ensuring cost-effectiveness without compromising quality coverage.

Insurance Premium Match

Our commitment includes providing competitive rates, matching insurance premiums that suit your business needs, giving you value for your investment in employee health coverage.

Tailored Packages

Experience personalized solutions tailored to your small business. Our flexible packages address your specific requirements, ensuring comprehensive coverage that fits seamlessly into your operational framework.

Personal Service

At MoneyRepublic, we pride ourselves on delivering personalized service. Our dedicated professionals offer assistance, guidance, and a human touch to ensure your small business health insurance experience is seamless and satisfactory.

What does our small business health insurance cover?

Inpatient Cover

Our small business health insurance provides thorough inpatient coverage. This includes treating acute conditions requiring a hospital bed and overnight stay, known as inpatient treatment. For faster treatment access, employees must be diagnosed through the NHS first. However, potential challenges arise if there's a waiting list for a specific diagnostic test, especially for non-urgent cases, causing delays in diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

Outpatient Cover

Our small business health insurance offers customizable outpatient coverage, encompassing the cost of initial investigations and tests for acute conditions that don't require overnight hospital stays. You can choose full outpatient cover, set a cash limit per year (typically £1000), or exclude it for cost control. Opting for comprehensive cover ensures full access to both inpatient and outpatient treatments, including private diagnostics and testing for swift diagnosis. Tailor your coverage to suit your staff's needs and budget effectively.

Mental Health Cover

Addressing the legal obligation to shield employees from work-related stress since 1974, our small business health insurance prioritizes Mental Health Cover. The recent surge in remote work and the impact of the pandemic underline the need for proactive duty-of-care by UK businesses. Adding Mental Health Cover to your policy incurs a modest increase of approximately 3%. This enhancement offers employees swift access to face-to-face and online counseling, contributing significantly to corporate governance. Notably, it lightens the load on your human resources responsibilities, emphasizing our commitment to comprehensive employee well-being. Opt for our Mental Health Cover to ensure holistic health support for your team.

Dental & Optical

Our small business health insurance extends coverage to Dental & Optical care. Cost-effectively meeting the needs of both health-conscious and less health-focused employees, we provide a straightforward approach. Opting for a cashback basis, employees can easily claim reimbursements for dental expenses, covering check-ups, hygienists, and x-rays, with a generous limit of approximately £400-£500 per year per employee. Additionally, our optical coverage refunds employees between £200-£300 annually for new glasses with prescription lenses. This valued benefit enhances overall well-being under our comprehensive small business health insurance.

Private GP Services

Our small business health insurance offers Private GP Services, a valuable addition to your policy. Consultations are conducted over the phone or online, including video calls arranged within 24 hours. This service addresses the challenges of lengthy wait times and work disruptions associated with local GP appointments. Employees benefit from prompt medical attention, reducing absenteeism. Additionally, coverage can extend to include dependents, making it an attractive option for parents with young and school-aged children. Elevate your employee healthcare with our efficient and inclusive Private GP Services.

Dependents

Our small business health insurance allows you to extend coverage to employees' immediate family, fostering staff loyalty. Acknowledging the collaborative effort between work and home life, this extension is a highly effective way to support your employees. The cost of including dependents can be covered by the company or funded by employees through salary sacrifice, both commendable options. With premiums negotiated to make the cost approximately one-third of an equivalent individual policy, uptake is generally high. Elevate your employee benefits by extending coverage to dependents under our comprehensive small business health insurance.

What’s not covered?

Small business medical insurance generally do not cover:

1. Pre-existing conditions
2. Chronic Conditions
3. Emergency Care
4. Fertility Treatment
5. Standard Pregnancy
6. Cosmetic and plastic surgeries

The main types of company health insurance underwriting

Full Medical Underwriting (FMD)

Full Medical Underwriting (FMD) is a cost-effective choice for companies. Employees complete detailed medical questionnaires, and insurers may contact their GPs for accurate medical history. The key advantage is upfront clarity on coverage, including any exclusions due to historical conditions. While time-consuming, it's suitable for smaller companies with fewer than five employees. FMD ensures transparency and affordability in your company health insurance, making it an ideal option for those seeking a clear understanding of coverage without compromising on cost.

Moratorium Underwriting

Moratorium underwriting, the most common for company and private medical insurance, defers the underwriting process until a claim is made. Covering employees, it automatically excludes pre-existing conditions from the past five years. In the event of a claim, the insurer assesses the medical history to determine coverage. Ideal for small businesses, it minimizes paperwork and speeds up policy implementation. However, employees only discover coverage upon making a claim. While widely used, it's crucial to understand the limitations of Moratorium Underwriting for informed decision-making in company health insurance.

Medical History Disregarded (MHD)

Medical History Disregarded (MHD) lives up to its name, disregarding employees' medical history and covering them for acute conditions, regardless of pre-existing status. Typically accessible for companies with 20 or more participants, this underwriting type comes at a higher cost due to increased risk. MHD offers comprehensive coverage, making it suitable for larger companies seeking extensive health insurance benefits for their employees.

Does small business private health insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

Most of the health insurance plans in the UK do not cover pre-existing conditions. This applies to small business health insurance as well.

The main purpose of health insurance is to cover expenses for the health problems which can arise after the coverage period has begun. On the other hand, pre-existing conditions refer to the health problems one has had before applying for the insurance. Usually, those are chronic illnesses for which one has received treatment or professional consultation within five years before applying for the insurance. However, suppose one has not consulted healthcare specialists or received any treatment for a pre-existing condition during the two years after the insurance coverage period started. In that case, future cases associated with that condition may be included in the coverage.

How much does health insurance cost for a small business?

The cost of a small business health insurance can vary, depending on the number of different factors. The most important of them are:

• Size of the team. The more employees your company has, the more chances you have to get a discount, making the cost of insurance per employee smaller.
• Age of the workers. The older a person is, the more their insurance will cost. The monthly insurance cost for employees in their sixties may be 2-3 times higher than for those in their thirties.
• Area of specialization. The riskier the tasks employees are performing, the higher the insurance costs will be; insurance costs for a roofer would not be the same as that for an office worker.
• Location. The cost of the insurance depends on the average prices for the medical services in the area your business is located in; it will be higher in London than in a small town.

Small business insurance costs also depend on the kind of insurance plan that is chosen. Plans with diagnosis and treatment would be more expensive than the basic ones guaranteeing access to a GP and physio along with health checks and support.

How much does health insurance cost for a small business per employee?

As mentioned above, the cost of health insurance for small business employees depends on a number of factors. To estimate it more closely, let's consider an example:

Examining a health insurance plan for a company outside London with 20 employees, with an average employee age of 30 years, this suggests a relatively young workforce. Here's what's covered: full in-patient and out-patient care, physiotherapy, dental and optical services, mental health support, and cancer cover. Each employee pays a £100 excess per year, and the monthly premium is £380

The total annual premiums come to £4,560, and when divided by the number of employees, each pays £228 per year.

This plan covers a lot and involves sharing some costs. It includes a list of hospitals you can use and aims to keep things clear and simple for employees. For businesses caring about their employees' health, this plan offers good coverage and support when needed.

Based on a typical policy for small businesses with 1 to 249 employees in January 2024.

How is small business health insurance taxed?

Small business health insurance is funded using pre-tax profits, making it a deductible business expense. This expenditure typically isn't subject to corporation tax. Yet, for employees benefiting from health insurance, it becomes a P11D/benefit in kind, necessitating employers to complete a P11D form and report it to HMRC, leading to taxation for the employees.

Can I switch business health insurance providers if I want to?

Yes, switching business health insurance providers is generally possible, except during ongoing serious illness treatments like cancer. The crucial factor isn't just if you can switch, but if it's the right choice for you. Assess your circumstances and reasons before making the decision to change health insurance companies.