Two insurers both cap it at £5,000, but they count the limit in completely different ways.
What the policy documents actually say
AXA Health pays up to £5,000 for an external prosthesis across the lifetime of the membership — not per year. It also pays without deducting the excess and without affecting the no-claims discount, which is unusual and worth knowing.
Aviva contributes up to £5,000 towards the cost of purchasing the first prosthesis after surgery, including the cost of fitting it. The limit attaches to the first one rather than to the membership.
The distinction matters over time. A lifetime cap is exhausted once; a first-prosthesis contribution says nothing about replacements. Bupa addresses replacement separately, covering maintenance, refitting or replacement where you have acute symptoms directly related to the prosthesis and it was fitted as part of eligible treatment.
Same headline figure, three different answers to the question people actually care about: what happens in ten years when it needs replacing.
As with everything else here, none of it reaches a need that existed before the policy did.
Questions to put to the insurer or broker
- Is the £5,000 per lifetime, per prosthesis or per year?
- Are replacements and refitting covered?
- Does the excess apply to this benefit?
Related questions
- Can I add my partner, child or parent to my policy?
- Is company-paid private health insurance taxed as a benefit in kind?
- Does private health insurance cover A&E or an emergency?
- Will private health insurance pay for cosmetic surgery?
Sources
- Source: Aviva — Healthier Solutions Terms and conditions (2025-04), read 4 September 2026.
- Source: AXA Health — Personal Health membership handbook, October 2024, read 4 September 2026.
- Source: Bupa policy guide — Bupa By You health insurance (BINS 14718) (2024), read 4 September 2026.
The limit behind every answer here
None of this reaches a condition you already have. Cover is written for problems that arise after it starts, so anything you have symptoms of when you apply is excluded — permanently under full medical underwriting, or until a symptom-free period has passed under a moratorium. Chronic conditions are excluded by every insurer whose wording we hold. Figures quoted come from current policy documents and change at renewal, so check the document you are actually offered.
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