Bupa transforms SME health insurance offering

Bupa has transformed its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) health insurance offering, launching a suite of new benefits to help businesses keep your clients healthier while supporting growth and talent retention.

The enhancements build on Bupa’s position as a leading healthcare partner for small businesses, combining comprehensive cover with ways to help employers manage claims costs and premiums sustainably.

New benefits for all SME health insurance customers^*:

• Dental care – including a yearly dental allowance that provides a dentist and a hygiene appointment for every person named on a policy at over 360 Bupa Dental Care practices.
• Face-to-face GP appointments – 15-minute appointments including tests available at 69 Bupa health centres, alongside digital GP services
• Preventive health support – through DNA testing unlocking new prevention pathways for those at risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, plus Bupa Medication Check to help personalise treatment
• Enhanced mental health support – including access to Members First – a new treatment option for mental health talking therapies with no excess, co-payment or impact on outpatient limits, and JAAQ at Work for employee engagement.
• HR advice – all SME customers now have access to support through WorkNest, a small business employment law and workplace management specialist

The launch comes as sickness absence remains at historically high levels, with around 150 million working days lost each year in the UK. SMEs are particularly impacted, with limited capacity to absorb productivity loss. Bupa’s modelling indicates that reducing employee absence by just one day per year could unlock more than £2 billion in economic value for UK small businesses.¹

Dan Sullivan, Director of Products and Propositions at Bupa UK Insurance, said: “Small businesses are under pressure right now. With sickness absence at record levels, even one person being off can have a big impact. That’s why SMEs need healthcare that works harder for their business – helping people stay well, get support earlier and return to full health sooner, improving productivity and growth.

“SMEs need to compete with large corporates on benefits. By strengthening our SME health insurance offering, we’re bringing together something genuinely distinctive – from being the only UK insurer** to include a dental allowance as standard, to leading the market on preventative health. Combined with our cancer cover, the most comprehensive mental health support and connected care pathways, it gives small businesses a high quality, competitive package to attract and retain great people.”

Additional benefits of Bupa’s SME health insurance include:

• Comprehensive cover – including Cancer Promise, with fast access to diagnosis and breakthrough drugs and treatment, and Mental Health Advantage offering enhanced support for mental health conditions
• Connected Care – access to Bupa’s joined up healthcare system, connecting digital services with in person care across GP, dental, specialist, mental health, hospital treatment and dental. Delivered through My Bupa and Blua, it helps customers move seamlessly from initial consultation through to diagnosis, treatment and ongoing support
• Physiotherapy and primary care pathways – fast access to clinical triage, guidance and treatment for common musculoskeletal and everyday health concerns
• Health helplines – supporting employees with expert advice for medical worries, family mental health and the menopause
• Neurodiversity support – coaching sessions to help employees to understand and navigate a diagnosis
• Dedicated support – account management, Bupa Connect to manage policies online, rewards programmes and CPD certified e-Learning courses to help employers get the most from their cover

Find out more

To explore the full range of enhancements and see how they could support your SME clients, click here to read the brochure and find out more (PDF, 1.0MB)

Notes

• Dental care – available to all eligible customers from 1 August.
• Face-to-Face GP services – available to new and renewing eligible customers from 1 August.
• Medication Check – available to new and renewing eligible customers from 1 June, and all eligible customers from 1 August.
• Prevention Pathways (breast cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease) - available to eligible renewing customers from 1 September, and to new customers following a 12 month waiting period

^**For verification click here - https://www.bupa.co.uk/~media/Files/MMS/bins-23713 (PDF, 2.0MB)

¹Health workforce, healthy economy research:
https://www.bupa.co.uk/~/media/Files/MMS/MMS-hosting/digi-04476 (PDF, 1.5MB)