Vitality Health Insurance Review

Quick Overview of Vitality Health Policy

Vitality Health Insurance is a game-changer, offering a host of benefits designed to promote your overall well-being. Here’s what sets it apart:

• Virtual GP Access– Immediate access to a virtual doctor, ensuring prompt healthcare support.
• Exclusive Rewards- Enjoy perks such as free Amazon Prime, cinema tickets for Odeon and Vue, Waitrose discounts and complimentary Café Nero coffee.
• Cashback Incentives– Receive cashback for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and engaging in fitness activities.
• Discounted Gym Memberships– Access reduced-rate memberships at Virgin Gym, Pure Gym, and Nuffield Health, making it easier to stay active.
• Wellness Screening– Benefit from health check-ups and screenings, allowing early detection and prevention.
• Mental Health Support– Receive support and resources for mental health, acknowledging its importance.
• Personalised Plans– Tailored insurance plans to suit individual needs and preferences.
• Access to Specialists– Connect with top medical specialists for expert guidance and care.
• Champneys Spa Experience– Indulge in relaxation and rejuvenation at Champneys Spa with Vitality, as you’re entitled to exclusive spa discounts and wellness packages.
• Apple Watch Incentive– Get the opportunity to acquire an Apple Watch Series 8 for as little as £39 upfront, making tracking your health and fitness goals easier and more rewarding.

With Vitality Health Insurance, your health is not just insured; it’s actively nurtured and rewarded.

Is Vitality a good insurance company?

Vitality’s journey began in 2004 when Discovery and Prudential merged to form PruHealth. In 2014, they became the sole owner and rebranded as VitalityHealth. This branch of the Discovery Group, founded in 1992, operates in 31 countries and serves over 5 million individuals. 

With a century of experience, Vitality has consistently been named Moneyfacts ‘Best Private Medical Insurance Provider for nine years. They also secured the ‘Outstanding Individual Health Insurance’ award at the 2021 Cover Excellence Awards. Their financial strength is robust, evident by their ‘Very Strong’ rating of B+ at the AKG Financial Strength Awards.

Customer feedback varies; Trustpilot rates the company highly with an ‘excellent’ 4.3 out of 5 based on over 23,000 reviews. In contrast, Google and SmartMoneyPeople provide less favourable scores, with ratings of 2.6 out of 5 and 1.4 out of 5, respectively.

Our comprehensive analysis aims to offer a thorough understanding of why Vitality stands out as the ideal choice for your health insurance needs.

What benefits do you get with VitalityHealth insurance?

Key Benefits of Vitality Health Insurance:

In-Person Private GP Service 

You can see a private GP for just £20 when London Care is on your hospital list, offering a convenient option for medical consultations.

Digital GP Service

Access UK-registered GPs within 48 hours using the Vitality GP app, and you also have a 24/7 GP telephone line for quick medical guidance.

Healthy Living Programme and Rewards

Stay motivated and healthy with discounts and rewards designed to promote an active lifestyle and well-being.

Comprehensive Mental Health Cover

Your core coverage includes mental health support, including counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy, ensuring your mental well-being is taken care of.

What is covered by Vitality health insurance?

Vitality’s primary health insurance, Personal Healthcare, includes full inpatient and partial outpatient in core cover. It offers options ranging from Consult Select to London Care hospitals. You can customise your coverage with add-ons. Vitality encourages a healthy lifestyle with exclusive rewards and incentives.

Core Cover

Vitality Personal Health core cover includes the following benefits:

Key Benefits
In-patient and day-patient treatment	Cover hospital fees, consultant’s fees, and diagnostic tests, including advanced scans like MRI, CT, and PET scans.
Out-patient Surgery	Provides full coverage for outpatient surgical procedures.
Cancer Cover	Comprehensive Cancer cover included as standard
Virtual GP	Provides video consultations and a 24-hour telephone helpline. Offers up to £100 for investigations and private prescriptions when referred by a Vitality GP.
NHS Hospital Cash Benefit	NHS cash benefit offers £250 per night for in-patient treatment, up to a total of £2,000, and £125 per day for day-patient treatment, up to a total of £500.
Childbirth Cash Benefit	Offers a £100 benefit for each child.
Parent Accommodation	Complete cover is provided for one parent when they accompany children under 14
Pregnancy Complications	Do not include cover for regular, routine pregnancies. However, it does provide coverage for pregnancy complications in emergencies, such as miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and stillbirth.
Private Ambulance	Full coverage when it is deemed medically necessary
Home Nursing	Complete coverage if advised by a specialist
Oral Surgery	Full coverage for specified procedures.
Talking Therapies	Include up to 8 sessions per plan year of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or counselling (except when Psychiatric Treatment Cover is selected).
Lifestyle Surgery	Offers up to a 25% contribution to the cost of consultations and package treatments for specified corrective and weight loss surgeries.

Optional Extras

Optional Benefits
Outpatient Cover	You can enhance the core plan with outpatient cover, This includes covering expenses for specialist consultations consultant fees, out-of-network physiotherapy and diagnostic tests like blood tests and x-rays, all covered up to the limit you select. Outpatient options- £500, £750, £1000, £1250, £1500, or full cover. You can lower your outpatient limit and choose unlimited diagnostics which covers outpatient diagnostic tests
Mental Health Cover	In addition to Talking Therapy included in your core cover you can include Mental Health Cover at an extra cost which includes unlimited therapy sessions, as well as inpatient, outpatient, and day-patient coverage for up to 28 days per plan year.
Therapies Cover	Includes chiropractic treatment, osteopathy, chiropody/podiatry, acupuncture, homoeopathy, and two consultations with a dietitian following a GP or consultant referral.
Dental, Optical & Audiological Cover	-It provides benefits for dental preventive care, major dental treatment and routine dental treatments, covering dental check-ups and hygienist expenses (up to £100), contributing 80% of dental treatment costs (up to £400), and fully covering emergency dental cover post-accident (up to £2,500 per claim, limited to two claims per plan year). -When you choose Vision Express, you can claim back 100% of the costs, up to £500 in total each plan year. If you use any other optician, we’ll cover 80%, up to £300 each plan year.-Claim back up to 80% of the costs, up to £300 in total each plan year for your Hearing tests and hearing aids.
Worldwide Travel Cover	Include Worldwide travel cover to your core cover which provides up to £10 million in cover for overseas emergency medical costs, including: Urgent medical care overseas Travel vaccines and prescribed medicines Unexpected travel expenses like lost baggage Coverage for winter sports injuries

Advanced Cancer Care

Vitality Health provides Advanced Cancer Cover as a standard feature, which covers all eligible cancer-related expenses upon diagnosis. This includes full coverage for both in-patient and out-patient costs if you are diagnosed with cancer.

Cover includes: 

• Full cover for Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy
• Full cover for Biological Therapies
• Full cover for Hormone and Bisphosphonate Therapies
• Full cover for Cancer Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery
• Full cover for Stem Cell Therapy
• Full cover for Follow-Up Consultations
• Up to £1,000 per day for a maximum of 14 days for End-of-Life Home Nursing Care
• Up to £300 per condition for Wigs and Restyling
• Full coverage for Scalp Cooling
• Up to £200 for mastectomy bras and up to £5,000 per condition for external prostheses
• Discounted screens and risk assessments for bowel and cervical cancer as part of Targeted Cancer Screening.

Hospital List

You have the freedom to select your preferred consultant and hospital for treatment, provided they are recognized by Vitality and included in your hospital choices. By including Countrywide or London Care lists of top UK hospitals in your plan, you gain maximum control and flexibility in your private healthcare decisions.

Excess Options

Vitality Health provides several choices for your policy’s excess, which is the amount you commit to pay towards a claim. The higher your excess lower your monthly premium. 

You can select from the following amounts: £0, £100, £250, £500, or £1000.

Medical Underwriting Options

Vitality Health provides several underwriting options for their policies, each with its own features:

• Moratorium Underwriting
  • Pre-existing conditions are not covered for a set period (usually 2 years) from the policy start date.
  • After the moratorium period, some pre-existing conditions may become eligible for coverage.
  • Simplified underwriting process with no need for detailed medical history disclosure.

• Full Medical Underwriting (FMU)
  • Requires a detailed medical history questionnaire and may involve a medical examination.
  • All pre-existing conditions are assessed and clearly defined in terms of coverage.
  • Comprehensive understanding of your medical history for precise coverage determination.

• Switch Underwriting
  • Designed for individuals switching from an existing private health insurance plan to Vitality.
  • Allows you to maintain your current coverage level without new underwriting for pre-existing conditions.
  • Terms and conditions may vary depending on the specifics of your previous plan.

• Medical History Disregarded for Company Policies
  • Available for group or company health insurance policies.
  • Simplified underwriting process where pre-existing conditions may be disregarded.
  • Coverage is often provided without detailed individual assessments, making it convenient for group policies.

The choice of underwriting method can significantly impact the scope and terms of your health insurance policy, so it’s important to understand the implications of each option and select the one that best suits your needs and circumstances.

What does Vitality exclude?

Vitality health insurance, like other insurance companies, mainly helps with acute health issues, not chronic ones like asthma or hypertension. Check your policy details to find out what is covered and what is excluded from your plan. Normally Vitality excludes:

How to make a claim?

To make a claim with Vitality Health insurance, you can typically follow these steps:

Step 1

Start with an open referral from a GP, which can be obtained from the Vitality GP app or an NHS GP.

Step 2

Select a specialist from your chosen lists.

Step 3

Reach out to Vitality through Care Hub, by phone, or via the Vitality GP app to proceed with your healthcare needs.

How much does Vitality private health insurance cost?

The cost of Vitality Health Insurance can vary significantly based on various factors, including the age of the applicant. Here’s an overview of the average monthly premiums for Vitality Health Insurance:

Age	Average Monthly Premium
20-years-old	£39.01
30-years-old	£45.79
40-years-old	£51.16
50-years-old	£65.91
60-years-old	£94.27
70-years-old	£149.03

The average monthly premiums provided are based on individuals who are in good health, do not smoke, have selected a £100 excess, have a £750 outpatient cover limit with full outpatient diagnostics and have chosen a select select hospital list. 

Vitality Health also provides a premium match and offers a 10% discount if you switch from another insurance provider.

Keep in mind that these are average costs, and your actual premium may vary depending on your specific health, lifestyle and coverage preferences. Comparing health insurance options remains a wise approach before making your decision

Vitality health insurance rewards

If you have the right Health Insurance plan or life insurance policy with Vitality you can enjoy several additional benefits. These include discounted gym memberships at Virgin Active Active and Nuffield Health, discounted hotel prices and more. Additionally, if you progress through different “Vitality status” levels, you can unlock extra rewards like complimentary coffee, cinema tickets, cashback on healthy food purchases and the chance to get an Apple watch for free.

Statuses

Vitality Status plays a crucial role in Vitality’s health and well-being program. It’s a way to monitor how involved you are in the program and assess your overall health and well-being. Members can move up through different Vitality Status levels, like Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, by actively taking part in activities that promote health and making choices that support a healthier lifestyle. As you accumulate Vitality Points, you not only enjoy rewards but also have the potential to reduce your monthly premiums when it’s time for renewal, making it a win-win for staying healthy and participating in the program.

Discounts by Vitality

Members with eligible plans can enjoy Vitality Rewards, which provide a variety of appealing benefits. These benefits include reduced costs for travel and gym memberships, in addition to cash-back rewards. 

Here’s a breakdown of the key advantages:

• Gym Memberships Enjoy substantial discounts of up to 50% on popular gym memberships at places like Pure Gym, Nuffield, and Virgin Active.
• Health Screens Benefit from a 50% discount on health screens, helping you keep track of your well-being.
• Spa Retreats Save up to 75% on rejuvenating stays at Champney’s Spa, ensuring you get the relaxation you deserve.
• Mental Wellness Access a one-year subscription to the Headspace app, promoting mental well-being and mindfulness.
• Running Gear Get up to 50% off on running shoes at Runners Need, supporting your active lifestyle.
• Fitness Devices Enjoy discounts of up to 40% on high-quality fitness devices from Polar and Garmin.
• Cashback Earn up to 1% cashback when using your Vitality American Express credit card, allowing you to save as you spend.
• Entertainment Receive a free cinema ticket every two weeks, making it easier to enjoy the latest movies.
• Coffee Perks Enjoy complimentary Caffe Nero coffee, perfect for coffee lovers. Online Shopping: Access discounted Amazon Prime membership, enhancing your online shopping experience.
• Apple Watch benefits from discounted payments for Apple Watches, helping you stay connected and track your health and fitness.

Discounts by Vitality

By actively participating in these Vitality programs and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you not only benefit from improved well-being but also have the potential to reduce your insurance premium:

• Active Lifestyle- Engage in regular physical activities, track them using fitness devices or apps, and earn Vitality Points to potentially reduce your premium.

• Healthy Eating- Make nutritious food choices to accumulate points and qualify for premium reductions.

• Health Assessments- Participate in health assessments, screenings, or check-ups to earn points and possibly lower your premium.

• Tobacco-Free Living- Stay away from tobacco products, as maintaining a tobacco-free lifestyle can lead to premium discounts.

• Achieve Health Goals- Set and accomplish specific health objectives, such as weight loss or managing chronic conditions, to earn points that may reduce your monthly premium.

• Vitality Status Levels- Progress through different Vitality Status levels, like Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, by accumulating points, and each level can potentially offer premium discounts.

• Renewal Discounts- Consistently earn and redeem Vitality Points, and you can receive discounts on your monthly premium when it’s time for renewal.

At PremierPMI, we make it easy to get a Vitality health insurance quote. Our health insurance specialists focus on securing the best insurance at the most competitive rates and as an added benefit, you’ll also receive 1-month of free coverage with each policy you purchase