Health-on-Line health insurance review
Health-on-Line works as part of the AXA Group, one of the UK’s biggest insurance providers with more than 85 years of expertise. As part of AXA Health, Health-on-Line helps to provide top quality private medical care to millions of customers across the UK.
Having the right health insurance is an easy way to ensure you have access to the best quality medical treatment if you become ill or injured. With long NHS waiting times being a concern for many, health insurance is becoming more popular with those looking to skip long queues and get top quality specialist care.
Here is everything you need to know about Health-on-Line health insurance plans and the main benefits on offer through AXA Health.
About Health-on-Line
Health-on-Line was first established in the year 2000 as a new health insurance provider in the UK industry. From 2005 onwards, Health-on-Line was supported and underwritten by AXA PPP Healthcare. They officially joined the AXA Group in 2012.
AXA PPP Healthcare and Health-on-Line have now merged to form AXA Health. All Health-on-Line policies will still be valid, but you may now need to contact AXA for any questions, cancellations or changes to your cover.
About Health-on-Line health insurance
Health-on-Line health insurance offers a range of brilliant customer benefits including cheap gym memberships, discounted health assessments and more. Their policies include excellent core cover plus additional benefits to help you build the best policy for your needs.
Until recently, you could still buy health insurance policies from Health-on-Line directly. From 31st July 2023 onwards, you need to contact AXA Health to buy a new policy or make changes to an existing policy.
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How does Health-on-Line health insurance work?
Health-on-Line has been providing the UK with good quality health insurance cover for over 20 years. Though you can no longer buy Health-on-Line policies, there will still be many customers who bought their cover through Health-on-Line.
There were 3 main options for policies:
1. Health For You – This covers diagnosis of new conditions, full outpatient surgery cover and full cover for in/day patient fees with selected hospitals
2. Personal Health – This offers you comprehensive cover through more than 250 top UK hospitals and specialists
3. inSpire – This offers you flexible cover through Spire Healthcare and Ramsay Healthcare UK hospital networks
To buy a new health insurance policy you will now need to contact AXA Health (following the merger of Health-on-Line and AXA PPP Healthcare). This will include a different range of policies such as:
- AXA Personal Health Insurance
- AXA Small Business Health Insurance
- AXA Corporate Health Insurance
Note: If you already have a Health-on-Line policy, your cover will still be valid and include the same policy terms and benefits. You will need to contact AXA Health if you need to change or cancel your cover.
What does Health-on-Line health insurance cover?
Below is a summary of what is covered under existing Health-on-Line policies. New policies will now be bought through AXA Health directly and you can find more information about these policies and their benefits here: iam|INSURED – AXA Health Insurance
Type of Cover | Health-on-Line Private Medical Insurance |
Available policies | Health-on-Line Health For You Health-on-Line Personal Health Health-on-Line inSpire |
What is covered? | What you are covered for will depend on the exact plan you have chosen. inSpire plans In/day patient hospital charges Specialist fees Diagnostic tests (following a referral) Outpatient cover for specialist referred surgery £50 per night NHS cash benefit Choice of comprehensive cancer cover or NHS Cancer Support (often cheaper) Phone access to physiotherapy advice Health For You plans Treatment at Health-on-Line approved private hospitals (plus day patient fees) Specialist treatment (no annual limit) Parent accommodation if a child is in hospital (covers one parent) Private ambulance transport (if needed) Outpatient cover for specialist referred surgery 24/7 Health at Hand helpline £50 per night NHS cash benefit Choice of comprehensive cancer cover or NHS Cancer Support (often cheaper) Phone access to physiotherapy advice Personal Health plans Choice of a wider range of hospitals (still includes day patient fees) Parent accommodation if a child is in hospital (covers one parent) Private ambulance transport (if needed) Outpatient cover for specialist referred surgery 24/7 Health at Hand helpline Phone access to physiotherapy advice |
What is not covered? | Any policy exclusions (anything you cannot claim for) will be listed in full in your policy terms and conditions document. |
Policy term | You will be covered for one year from your policy start date, with the option to renew your policy. |
Where am I covered? | You will be covered for private medical care within the UK (some restrictions may apply). |
Increasing cover option included? | Health-on-Line provided the option to add extra benefits to enhance your level of cover such as: Outpatient cover Therapies cover Private GP cover Mental health cover Dentist and optician cashback Travel cover option |
Decreasing cover option included? | You could choose to remove additional benefits when you renew your policy or opt for a policy with less cover to cut costs e.g. Health-on-Line inSpire. |
Pros and cons of Health-on-Line health insurance
Pro | Con |
Strength of brand reputation as part of the AXA Group | Not much information available on their website |
Good level of core cover | May not be easy to know where you stand following the merger with AXA PPP Healthcare |
Includes customer benefits such as discounted health assessments and gym discounts to reward members | Won’t cover pre-existing medical conditions (most cases) |
What is Health-on-Line business health insurance?
You may have a business health insurance policy through Health-on-Line. Health-on-Line sold several policies with the aim of protecting employees and helping employers to reduce employee sickness and improve their worker’s health and wellbeing.
You can choose to renew your business health insurance policy with AXA Health at the end of your policy term, or switch to a new provider if this works better for you.
How much does Health-on-Line health insurance cost?
If you apply for a new Health-on-Line policy, you will be directed to apply with AXA Health. AXA Health will consider several factors when deciding the cost of your policy such as:
- Your age
- Where you live (Postcode)
- Excess amount
- Any additional benefits
The cost will vary depending on each person who applies. If you decide to apply for a new policy through AXA Health, you may be able to benefit from schemes such as no claims discount which can help you save up to 80% on your premiums.
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by Elizabeth Turner-Long - 9th August 2023
Can I get Health-on-Line health insurance with pre-existing conditions?
YES – AXA insurance will provide health insurance policies to people who have medical conditions. It is important to note though that you may not be covered for these conditions under your policy.
If you chose full medical underwriting when you applied, Health-on-Line will have assessed your full medical history to determine what they would and wouldn’t cover.
If you chose medical history disregarded, you should be covered for pre-existing conditions (if you switched from another provider or are part of a business plan).
If you chose moratorium underwriting, you aren’t covered for any pre-existing conditions that you have experienced in the last 5 years. You may be covered for them once you have had your policy for two years (if you have experienced no symptoms).
Note: AXA Health will not cover the treatment of long term (chronic) conditions that require ongoing care.
Health-on-Line health insurance contact numbers
If you need to contact AXA Health about a Health-on-Line policy, these are the main contact details that you will need.
Telephone (General enquiries) – 01202 54444
Email – information@axahealth.co.uk
Opening hours – 8.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday
Telephone (Quote helpline) – 01202 544255
Email – information@axahealth.co.uk
Opening hours – 9.00am – 7.00pm Monday to Friday
Post:
AXA Health,
80 Holdenhurst Road,
Bournemouth,
Dorset
BH8 8AQ
How to claim on Health-on-Line health insurance
To submit a claim on a Health-on-Line health insurance policy, this is what you need to do.
1. Visit your GP about your symptoms and ask for either an open referral or named referral.
2. Call the claims team to check your claim is eligible and the specialist you want to see will be covered by your policy. In most cases, it should be possible to get your claim approved immediately over the phone. Sometimes, the claims team may need to request more medical evidence from your GP first.
3. Send over medical evidence (if requested) and the claims team will review this and get back in contact with a decision.
4. Book your treatment and Health-on-Line (AXA Health) will pay the bill for you. If you do not select treatment at a hospital in your hospital list, you will only be covered for 60% of the cost of your treatment/consultations.
You can use the private hospital search tool on the Health-on-Line website to check which specialists are available near you: Health-on-Line – Private Hospital Search
Note: Please note that Health-on-Line policies won’t cover you for ‘primary care’. This includes claims for GP referred scans or tests. They will only pay out once you are at a stage where you need to claim for specialist/consultant treatment following diagnosis.
Health-on-Line claims contact details
Telephone – 0345 600 1292
Opening hours – 8.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday
How to cancel Health-on-Line health insurance
It is always possible to cancel your health insurance policy. You can cancel for any reason and at any point in your policy term.
Simply contact Health-on-Line (AXA) at the above contact details listed on this page and explain that you want to cancel your plan. It should be a simple and easy process and you can then choose to take out a new plan with a new provider if you wish to.
How to complain about Health-on-Line health insurance
Health-on-Line (and AXA Health) do their best to treat customers well and provide good quality products. If they fall short or you are unhappy with the way you have been treated, you are entitled to complain.
You can contact them over the phone, via email or post, or through the online customer portal. To fully assess your complaint, you will need to provide:
- Your name and membership number
- The best phone number to contact you on
- Details of why you are complaining
- Any additional details you think are relevant
You should receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within 5 working days. They aim to resolve complaint as quickly as possible and should usually do so within 8 weeks maximum.
Making a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an impartial and free service for financial services customers in the UK. This service can be used to settle any disputes between life insurance companies and their customers in the United Kingdom. If they feel that you have suffered any financial loss as a result of your life insurance policy, then they may rule for compensation to be awarded.
Telephone – 0800 023 4567 (or 0300 123 9123)
Telephone (outside the UK) – 0207 964 0500
Health-on-Line health insurance benefits (free)
25% OFF Nuffield Health health assessments – As part of your policy, you are entitled to discounted health assessments through Nuffield Health. This includes various tests and the chance to speak to a doctor about your health concerns.
Easy access online customer portal – You can read all information about your policy online in the online portal and can manage your policy quickly and easily.
Gym discounts from Nuffield Health and Hussle – To help improve your lifestyle, Health-on-Line offer gym discounts in partnership with Nuffield Health and Hussle
Access to top AXA benefits – As Health-on-Line is an AXA brand, you can access popular AXA benefits including Health at Hand online GP services and more.
Optional benefits of Health-on-Line health insurance
Health-on-Line would allow you to add extra benefits for enhanced cover such as:
Dental and Optical benefit (cashback) – Covers up to 80% of routine dental fees (up to £300), up to 80% for the cost of glasses/contact lenses (up to £140) and up £25 per year for eye tests.
Outpatient cover – You could add standard outpatient cover which includes up to 3 specialist consultations a year and unlimited cover for diagnostic tests. You could add even more cover with full outpatient benefits which includes unlimited specialist consultations.
Therapies option – This benefit includes up to 10 sessions with a specialist such as physiotherapists, osteopaths or chiropractors following a GP referral
Mental health option – Enhanced mental health cover pays out for up to 30 days of in/day patient treatment and up to £1,000 toward outpatient psychiatric consultations (if referred)
European and Worldwide travel cover – This protects you under AXA PPP’s travel cover, helping to cover the cost of emergency medical treatment while abroad.
Health-on-Line health insurance reviews
Many people find it helpful to read reviews of a product or service online before deciding on their insurance provider. The main place UK consumers will look for independent customer reviews is TrustPilot. Health-on-Line has 605 reviews on TrustPilot (as of 11/09/2023).
Health-on-Line (TrustPilot score) – 3.1 out of 5.0 stars (as of 11/09/2023)
60% of Health-on-Line customers that left a review rated Health-on-Line 5.0 out of 5.0 stars, with 12% rating them 4.0 out of 5.0 stars.
Other policies sold by Health-on-Line
Health-on-Line only sells health insurance policies. Their parent brand AXA does sell other forms of insurance including:
- Life insurance
- Home insurance
- Car insurance
- Business insurance
Frequently asked questions about Health-on-Line health insurance
Is Health-on-Line the same as AXA? | Health-on-Line works as part of the AXA brand of insurance providers. AXA PPP healthcare and Health-on-Line have now been combined under the name AXA Health. All policies bought through Health-on-Line are underwritten by AXA. |
What is the phone number for Health-on-Line? | You can call Health-on-Line’s quote helpline at: Telephone – 01202 544255 |
Who is the best private medical insurance UK? | There are some brilliant options for private health insurance in the UK. Each insurer offers something slightly different. We would recommend doing some research or getting advice from an expert if you’re not sure which policy will work best for you. |
Do I need a GP referral for AXA Health? | YES – Most claims through AXA Health (including Health-on-Line) will require an open referral from a GP. |
How do I buy Health-on-Line health insurance?
As of 31st of July 2023, you can’t buy new policies through Health-on-Line directly. The quotes page on their website will direct you to the AXA Health website for any new enquiries.
If you need some extra advice and guidance, it can be useful to speak to a health insurance specialist. Our team can help you assess all your options and compare quotes across the market to ensure you get the best health cover at the right price.
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