Our exclusions

At Equipsme, we’re upfront about what is and isn’t covered on our plans – helping you make the right decision about what’s best for your employees, and best for your business.

At Equipsme, we don’t cover cancer treatment.

Instead, we focus on early diagnosis, so people can get answers quickly, and onto the right path of treatment under the NHS.

What do you cover?

Our plans that include diagnosis can help with faster cancer diagnosis, which is key to successful treatment¹. We cover eligible scans and consultations up to diagnosis – including MRI and PET scans, and follow-up appointments to discuss the results.

WHY don’t you cover cancer treatment?

One way we’re able to keep our prices competitive, responsible and sustainable, is that we’ve very carefully chosen not to include cancer treatment.

We know cancer is emotive and a big concern, but treatment also comes at a big cost. It means some businesses can end up facing huge increases at renewal and that might mean having to cancel the policy if it’s no longer affordable. We don’t want that, and employees don’t want to pay high P11D tax on expensive private medical insurance.

What happens after diagnosis?

When cancer is confirmed, our members go back to the NHS for treatment. Often they are able to swap to the NHS list of their private consultant, or to a recommended NHS oncology colleague.

Despite its waiting lists, the NHS is still effective at treating diagnosed cases of cancer, a process which often involves the kind of multi-disciplinary care best delivered in large public hospitals.

How does cancer impact my business?

While 1 in 2 people will get cancer within their lifetime², one of the biggest risk factors is age. More than half of all people newly diagnosed with cancer in the UK are aged over 70³ – and often out of the workforce already (with under 500,000 thought to be still working across the UK)⁴.

The average age of Equipsme members is closer to 40, and according to the ONS 62.9% of the population is of working age – 16 to 64⁵.

Which is why we’ve chosen to support the bulk of working age adults by charging the same for all employees aged 16-69, anywhere in the UK.

Why is fast diagnosis so important?

What an Equipsme plan can do for you and your team is to get you answers and get you on the right path faster – and that’s incredibly important when it comes to cancer. The earlier you catch it, often the easier it is to treat.

For example, bowel cancer is the 4th most common cancer in the UK⁶. While there are different types and grades of bowel cancer, when it’s spotted at Stage 1 before spreading elsewhere, 90% of people will survive bowel cancer for 5 years or more after their diagnosis. At Stage 4, only 10% will⁷.

How good is the NHS at cancer treatment?

And figures from the NHS, as at October 2025, show that once a diagnosis and treatment plan is agreed, treatment starts quickly – 92.5%⁸ of people diagnosed with cancer start treatment within 31 days.

For the remaining people who don’t start treatment within 31 days, this could be due to hospital delays, but most likely the need for complex treatment plans and further tests, scans and genetic results, to agree the right treatment pathway.

How does Equipsme help people with cancer?

Just because we don’t do cancer treatment doesn’t mean our services don’t support members with cancer. Here’s how we can help:

24/7 GP
If your employees can’t get an appointment with their NHS GP that suits their working hours, or if they’re worried about talking to someone in person, our virtual GP service is there 24/7. Most appointments are made within 24 hours, there’s no time limit on the consultation, and the 24/7 Health Hero GPs can issue private ‘open referral’ letters. All members have to do is share it with AXA Health, who will confirm if they are covered and if so, can help organise the referral to a private specialist.

Diagnosis services
If diagnosis and/or treatment is part of their plan, it means employees can access specialist health support through AXA Health. If their claim is covered (i.e., not a pre-existing condition or otherwise excluded), they can see a consultant at a private hospital to get the health tests and answers they need, faster.

Fast-track online outpatient services
Members with diagnosis on their plan also have access to AXA Health’s specialist cancer diagnosis pathways for 3 common cancers – breast cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer. (This is for members aged over 18 and aged over 40 for the prostate cancer pathway). These pathways mean Equipsme members can access diagnosis services through AXA Health, without the need for a GP referral. The breast, skin and prostate cancer diagnostic screenings are provided by Check4Cancer, a reliable and trusted provider of early cancer detection in the UK. Please note a raised PSA reading is needed for the prostate pathway.

Cancer support line
All Equipsme members can also access the AXA Health Cancer support team. Specialist cancer nurses can help with ongoing reassurance, support, and answer specific questions following a diagnosis. They’re there for families as well as patients themselves.

Important information:

Please be aware that we exclude from physio, consultations, diagnosis and treatment cover any pre‑existing conditions that a person has had in the three years before their cover starts.

All claims are subject to the terms and conditions of the Membership Handbook and prior authorisation by the claims team at AXA Health. For more information about what is and isn’t covered please read about our exclusions here.

Where can I find more support?

Cancer research
NHS Cancer support
Macmillan Cancer Support