Frequently asked questions

Got a question about our mental health cover or your health insurance policy? We can help.

If you don’t find the answer to your question here, just give us a call on 0113 495 0976^{^}

Our health insurance is designed to cover you for the treatment of conditions that appear after you take out a policy with us, and that includes mental health conditions^*. However, even if you have a history of mental illness, that doesn’t automatically mean we can never support you in future.

When you take out a policy, you’ll usually be asked for some medical history. We’ll ask you about any symptoms, treatment or advice you’ve had in the past, including your mental health and wellbeing. How recent that was will affect what we can cover you for in future. Then we’ll be able to let you know if there's anything we wouldn't be able to offer you cover for - if it's been pre-existing. This is a wide-ranging area, so even if you’ve struggled in the past with similar but unrelated symptoms, we’d still look to see if we can support you.

For example, if you’ve had PTSD before, we could still cover you for future unrelated episodes of stress. And if you’ve had post-natal depression, we could still cover you for unrelated episodes of depression. We may be able to review any such exclusion whenever you renew your policy, so do ask us for a review. We can only consider covering you for previously excluded conditions for which you’ve had no symptoms, treatment or advice for at least 12 months^**.

Every decision we make is based on your own personal circumstances, so do call us to discuss your options on 0113 495 0866^{^}. We may record or monitor our calls.

^* Please check your policy documents to see if you have mental health cover.

^** The period of time will depend on the condition.

The mental health conditions we support page details the most common mental health conditions we help our members with.

We don’t cover some conditions, such as dementia and learning, behavioural and developmental conditions, however we do cover mental health related to learning, behavioural and developmental conditions.

If you decide to switch to Bupa you can select to have mental health cover (BBY Comprehensive cover includes this as standard). However, any pre-existing conditions may not be covered. To understand more about pre-existing conditions at Bupa, please call us on 0800 600 500^{^} to find out more.

Yes. Although we will support the long-term treatment of new chronic conditions such as depression and anxiety, we have limits on our cover. We’ll only cover one addiction treatment programme per member and there are limitations on in-patient stays per annum (for existing members this can be 28 days, 45 days or 90 days depending on the policy you have.)

It’s also important to consider your out-patient benefit limits when you buy a policy, to ensure you have enough benefit to pay for any required therapies you might need – for example, a consultant may recommend you need 20 sessions of face-to-face CBT therapy, which can cost £50 per session. If you chose a £500 out-patient benefit limit, this would not cover the cost of all the treatments you might need.

Please call us on 0800 600 500^{^} to find out more. Or you can read the full terms and conditions of our Bupa By You cover.

Bupa By You Policy Guide (PDF, 0.5MB) .

You could switch to our Bupa By You product but we’d need to chat to you about the health insurance cover you currently have. Please call us on 0800 010 383^{^} to discuss your options.

If you have mental health cover you should be able to see it on your membership certificate. If you’re still unsure, please call us on 0800 010 383^{^}

Even if you don’t have access to mental health cover, there are still many ways we can support you with mental health issues, without the need to claim.

1. You can speak to our mental health support team, who can put you through to a Bupa mental health nurse so you can speak about issues that are affecting you or a family member. They’ll be able to give you advice.
2. You can use our directory of mental health specialists to find private specialists.
3. You can call our Family Mental HealthLine on 0345 266 7938^{^} and talk to us about any concerns you are having about your child’s emotional wellbeing (even if the child isn’t covered on your insurance). The Family Mental HealthLine is available Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.
4. Our mental health hub has a wealth of useful information and advice from our experts.

This will depend upon the circumstances in which you left your group scheme, and any pre-existing conditions that we might continue to exclude. Please call us on 0808 296 3749^{^} to find out more.

Yes - if you take out a new personal policy assuming the condition and treatment are eligible. However if you have pre-existing conditions these may be excluded. Please call us on 0808 296 3749^{^} to find out more.

No. We provide a range of business health and wellbeing solutions designed with your employees’ health and wellbeing in mind. Our fully integrated solutions include virtual or face to face experiences and can be tailored to any size business, whatever your needs. https://www.bupa.co.uk/business/health-wellbeing-services

Yes, if you take out a Bupa By You health insurance policy you’ll be able to benefit from the increased cover for mental health for new conditions that arise after you join. Your claims will still be subject to other eligibility and dependant on the outcome of medical underwriting questions you’re asked when you join.

I need help. What’s my next step?

Bupa health insurance is provided by Bupa Insurance Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 3956433. Bupa Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Arranged and administered by Bupa Insurance Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales No. 3829851. Registered office: 1 Angel Court, London EC2R 7HJ

Frequently asked questions

Got a question about our mental health cover or your health insurance policy? We can help.

I need help. What’s my next step?

I already have Bupa health insurance.

I’m interested in health insurance for my employees.

I want to find out more about your mental health cover.

I don’t want insurance, but I do need some help

Can I get a quote for health insurance?

Is Bupa health insurance right for me?

Already a member?