Aviva and Bupa both set out wording for 7 of the same benefits. This compares what each policy document says, benefit by benefit — only the benefits both address are shown, so every line is a like-for-like comparison rather than a gap.
| Benefit | Aviva — Healthier Solutions | Bupa — Bupa By You |
|---|---|---|
| Chronic conditions | Chronic conditions are excluded outright — anything needing ongoing or long-term monitoring, consultations, check-ups or tests. | Chronic conditions are excluded, defined the same way as by other insurers: anything needing ongoing or long-term monitoring. |
| Cosmetic exclusion | Cosmetic treatment is excluded, along with any consequence of it, whether or not it is carried out for psychological reasons. | Cosmetic, reconstructive and weight-loss treatment is excluded even where it is needed for medical or psychological reasons. |
| Dental and optical cover | Dental and optical sit in a separate benefit group, and claiming on them does not reduce the no-claim discount. Accidental dental injury is covered up to £600. | Dental is a named add-on (Dental Cover 20) with its own per-year maximums on the membership certificate, and it excludes pre-existing conditions and orthodontics. |
| Excess | Six excess tiers are offered, applied per member per policy year. | The excess is charged once per policy year, not per claim — the guide works this through with an example. |
| Home nursing | Home nursing is paid in full, but only immediately following covered in-patient or day-patient treatment. | Home nursing is a numbered benefit in its own right, payable only immediately after private eligible in-patient treatment. |
| Mental health cover | Out-patient mental health treatment is capped at £2,000 a policy year and requires a GP referral to a psychiatric therapist or specialist. | Bupa's Direct Access service lets a member call about cancer, muscle/bone/joint or mental health symptoms without a GP referral first — where AXA and Aviva both require a GP referral route into mental health cover. |
| NHS cash benefit | If treatment is taken on the NHS instead of privately, a cash benefit of £100 a night is paid for up to 30 nights. | Where cancer treatment is taken on the NHS instead, three separate NHS cancer cash benefits can be claimed: for in-patient treatment, for out-patient/day-patient/home treatment, and for oral drug treatment. |
Where they actually differ
- dental and optical cover: Aviva includes it, with a stated limit, while Bupa offers it as an add-on.
- mental health cover: Aviva includes it, with a stated limit, while Bupa includes it in the plan.
- NHS cash benefit: Aviva includes it, with a stated limit, while Bupa includes it in the plan.
Those are the lines that change a claim. Where both include a benefit, the detail that separates them is usually the limit and whether a referral is needed — which is why the wording above is worth reading in full, not just the fact that a benefit appears on both.
The full document for each
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Sources
- Aviva — Source: Healthier Solutions Terms and conditions (April 2025), read 4 September 2026.
- Bupa — Source: Bupa policy guide — Bupa By You health insurance (BINS 14718) (2024), read 4 September 2026.