Working out group health cover for your company, before you speak to anyone selling it

Setting up or reviewing a company health scheme usually starts with two questions: what can you actually get at your headcount, and what will it cost once tax is taken into account. This site exists to answer those two questions, backed by the HMRC guidance, legislation and insurer-published terms that state each threshold and rate.

Who it's for

It is written for the person who runs a company, or looks after its people, and is working out group private medical insurance for the first time: a founder, a director, an HR lead. You know how PAYE and National Insurance work and you've probably filled in a P11D, but terms like medical history disregarded underwriting or Insurance Premium Tax may be new. Employees offered a place on a scheme use the site too, mainly to work out what the premium will cost them in tax and what happens to their cover if they leave the company.

How it's funded

The site does not take quotes, applications or referral fees. It does not introduce or refer readers to insurers or brokers, and it does not collect personal data to pass on to anyone. Nothing entered into the tool is stored or sent anywhere.

That also sets a boundary on what the site does. It sets out how a scheme is structured and taxed; choosing a scheme and agreeing terms is a decision to make with an insurer or a regulated financial adviser.

Where the figures come from

Each threshold, tax rate and underwriting rule is attributed to the document that states it: an HMRC Employment Income Manual reference, a section of ITEPA 2003, HMRC Notice IPT1, or an insurer's own published scheme terms, together with the date that source was read. Where a rule depends on circumstances that can change year to year, such as tax treatment, the page says so next to the figure.

Named insurers appear where their published terms set a headcount threshold or an underwriting option. The directory lists them with links to their own terms.