Best Small Business Health Insurance in the UK – The Reviews

posted 3rd September 2025

Posted 2 months ago

By Darren Lewis

Knowledge Hub

Best Small Business Health Insurance in the UK (2025 Guide)

best small business health insurance in the uk

With growing pressures on the NHS, many employees now view private medical insurance as a priority when choosing an employer. Finding the right health insurance policy for your business isn’t always straightforward. With different levels of cover and a wide choice of insurers, it can be difficult to know which provider offers the best service and value.

For small businesses, it’s an important decision to get right. A well-chosen health insurance scheme can help attract and retain talent, reduce absence through faster access to care, boost morale and productivity, plus show your staff that their wellbeing is a priority.

This guide to choosing the best health insurance for your small business brings together independent ratings, customer feedback and expert broker insight, all in one place, saving you time and effort and making it easier to choose the best provider for you and your team.

Small Business Health Insurance at a Glance

  • Benefits: Staff can bypass lengthy NHS wait times, reduced sick days, can boost productivity, helps to attract and retain talent, increased team morale, premiums are corporation tax deductible.
  • Standard cover: In-patient and day-patient tests, treatment and specialist consultations, private cancer cover, MRI/CT/PET scans, mental health support, 24/7 Digital GP access.
  • Optional add-ons: Outpatient consultations and diagnostics, therapies such as physio, dental & optical cover, travel cover.
  • Rough cost: Small business health insurance in The UK typically costs from £25 to £80 per employee per month for standard cover, with more comprehensive cover ranging from £90 to £150+ per month.
  • Perks: Gym, health club & spa retreat discounts, discounted fitness tech/equipment, free wellbeing and mental health support, freebie treats such as cinema tickets and barista coffees.
  • Common exclusions: Pre-existing or chronic conditions, fertility, cosmetic procedures, overseas care (unless covered by add-on).

Best Small Business Health Insurance Providers in the UK

To help you compare the leading insurers so you can decide which is the best small business health insurance for your company, we’ve compiled data from multiple trusted sources such as Defaqto, Which? and Trustpilot, along with expert broker insights in the table below:

Where have we gathered our data from?

To give you the most balanced view of each insurer, we combined four trusted sources of information:

  • Defaqto Star Ratings – an independent measure of product quality and features.
  • Trustpilot Reviews – real customer feedback based on thousands of experiences.
  • Which? Customer Score - based on surveys of UK policyholders, reflecting satisfaction with customer service, claims and overall value.
  • Broker Rating – expert opinion from our trusted business health insurance broker partners, based on how insurers perform in practice with SMEs.

This approach means our data reflects:

  • Product quality
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Real-world broker expertise
Provider Defaqto Trustpilot Which? Broker Insight
Aviva Health ★★★★★ 4.5/5 68% 4.5/5
AXA Health ★★★★★ 4.1/5 63% 4.3/5
Bupa ★★★★★ 4.4/5 61% 4.8/5
Vitality Health ★★★★★ 4.0/5 55% 4.1/5
WPA ★★★★★ 4.6/5 74% 4.2/5

Data compiled from Defaqto, Trustpilot, Which? and Broker Insight for 2025 best small business health insurance reviews.

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Scroll down to read a more detailed review of each provider and see which one is the best fit for your business.

small business health insurance policy holder
Aviva Health business health insurance logo

Aviva Health

  • Defaqto: 5 Stars (Solutions & Optimum)
  • Trustpilot: 4.5/5 from over 25,000 reviews
  • Which? Customer Score: 68%

Aviva Solutions Product Overview

Aviva’s “Solutions” plan is specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It combines comprehensive cover — including cancer care and mental health as standard — with competitive pricing. Other features such as outpatients and diagnostics can be included easily, giving SMEs control over their costs

  • USP: Most competitive product for small businesses
  • Broker Comment: "Aviva keeps things simple with competitive prices and a good mix of benefits, which makes them appealing to a lot of businesses. The main drawback is they’re not the most modern when it comes to admin, some bits still involve paper forms and documents, which can feel slightly dated."
AXA Health business health insurance logo

AXA Health

  • Defaqto: 5 Stars (Business Health plan)
  • Trustpilot: 4.1/5 from over 16,000 reviews
  • Which? Customer Score: 63%

AXA Health Business Product Overview

AXA Health offers modular SME plans, letting businesses add mental health, therapies, or outpatient care. Used by over 1000s of businesses across the UK.

  • USP: Best product for flexible policy options
  • Broker Comment: "AXA is well known for looking after their customers and has a wide range of cover options, even beyond the standard cover, like travel and dental. The only thing to watch is that their prices can sometimes be on the higher side compared with others."
bupa business health insurance logo

Bupa

  • Defaqto: 5 Stars (Bupa Select)
  • Trustpilot: 4.4/5 from over 36,000 reviews
  • Which? Customer Score: 61%

Bupa Select Product Overview

Bupa’s SME plans (2–249 employees) are among the most comprehensive in the UK. Standard Cover includes cancer cover, scans, mental health, and digital GP services.

  • USP: Recognised brand. Winner of Best Group Health Insurance Provider 2024 (Health & Protection Awards).
  • Broker Comment: "Bupa is the biggest name in private health insurance and has built up a strong reputation over the years. They’ve invested a lot in digital tools, which makes life easier for small businesses, but their cover options aren’t always as generous or flexible as some of the competition."
Vitality business health insurance logo

Vitality Health

  • Defaqto: 5 Stars (Vitality Business Health)
  • Trustpilot: 4.0/5 from over 25,000 reviews
  • Which? Customer Score: 55%

Vitality Business Health Product Overview

Vitality’s SME cover blends full medical protection with wellbeing incentives. Perks include discounted gym memberships, tech rewards such as the free apple watch reward, and lifestyle discounts. It encourages healthy behaviour while offering mental health support.

  • USP: The most innovative with its rewards programme
  • Broker Comment: "Vitality has shaken things up in the market with a fresh approach. Their digital systems are very slick, and they offer lots of extras through their rewards and partner programmes (like discounts and freebies if you stay active). It’s especially popular with businesses that want to give staff something engaging as well as practical."
WPA business health insurance logo

WPA

  • Defaqto: 5 Stars (WPA Complete Health)
  • Trustpilot: 4.6/5 from over 4,000 reviews
  • Which? Customer Score: 74%

WPA Business Health Insurance Product Overview

WPA is a not-for-profit insurer with a reputation for personalised service and transparent policies. Popular with sole directors and SMEs wanting attentive support.

  • USP: Best rated for customer service
  • Broker Comment: "WPA is a not-for-profit provider, which means they’re focused on service rather than shareholders. They’re known for going the extra mile for customers and giving you the ability to really tailor a plan to your needs. The only catch is that because they’re so flexible, it’s not always straightforward to do a like-for-like comparison with the big national insurers."

To learn more about business health insurance and to receive and compare quotes from every provider mentioned above, visit our business health insurance comparison page by clicking the link below

Compare Business Health Insurance

To Summarise

After analysing data from Defaqto, Trustpilot, and Which? alongside expert broker insights, we’ve identified that the best small business health insurance in 2025/2026 comes from names such as Aviva, AXA, Bupa, Vitality and WPA.

  • Best value: Aviva Health – 5-Star Defaqto, 4.5/5 Trustpilot, 68% Which?, broker rating 4.7/5. Competitive pricing with solid cover for small businesses.
  • Most flexible: AXA Health – 5-Star Defaqto, 4.1/5 Trustpilot, 63% Which?, broker rating 4.6/5. Modular plans ideal for tailoring benefits to SME needs.
  • Recognised brand: Bupa – 5-Star Defaqto, 4.4/5 Trustpilot, 61% Which?, broker rating 4.8/5. The well-known insurer offers a trusted all-round product with its Select Business cover.
  • Most innovative: Vitality Health – 5-Star Defaqto, 4.0/5 Trustpilot, 55% Which?, broker rating 4.5/5. Reward-based partner benefits model which encourages staff engagement and healthier lifestyles.
  • Best customer service: WPA – 5-Star Defaqto, 4.6/5 Trustpilot, 74% Which?, broker rating 4.4/5. Highly rated for personal service, especially for micro-businesses.

Last word

Small business health insurance is one of the most effective benefits you can provide to your team. It helps staff access treatment faster, reduces absence, and shows your commitment to employee wellbeing.

As well as looking at insurer reviews and ratings for many businesses finding the right policy is about what works for them in terms of price and cover levels.

At Compare My Health Insurance, we've partnered with highly rated business health insurance brokers who offer free, independent advice, a whole-market business health insurance comparison, and ongoing renewal support.

Instead of providing an 'off-the-shelf' quote, they conduct a bespoke fact-find to align with your budget and coverage priorities, delivering tailored recommendations for your business.

We’re proud to be rated Excellent (5/5) on Trustindex, with 100% of businesses surveyed in the last 3 months saying they would use us again.

That means when you come to us, you’re not just comparing policies — you’re backed by trusted experts who put your business first.

Check Out Our Guide To Renewing Your Business's Health Insurance

FAQs

Is small business health insurance tax deductible?

Can a sole traders get health insurance?

Can employees add dependents?

How much does small business health insurance cost?

Can I choose which employees are covered on the scheme?

What happens if an employee leaves the company?

Are pre-existing conditions covered?

What are the benefits of using a health insurance broker?

Find Reviews of Individual / Family Health Insurance Here

Please note that any information provided is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice.

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