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Family members on group policies

PUBLISHED: 16 May 2018 | LAST UPDATED: 6 January 2023

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A new rule has been introduced which affects family members on group policies with Medical History Disregarded (or MHD) underwriting. 

For groups joining AXA, or renewing their existing AXA private medical insurance policy, on or after 1st April 2018, family members will only be eligible for MHD under the following circumstances:

  • If they join at the same time as the lead member (employee)
  • If they join within 13 weeks of the date the lead member (employee) joins
  • New spouses, civil partners or any person living permanently in a similar relationship with the lead member, if added within 13 weeks of them qualifying as a family member
  • New-born children must be added from their date of birth within 3 months of their birth date, also with confirmation that they've been conceived naturally and they aren't adopted. 

If a family member is added at any other time, they'll need to declare their full medical history. Their cover will be provided on a Full Medical Underwriting (FMU) basis.

Details of this rule can be found in the latest group secretary guide. It's currently being sent out to all new groups or any groups renewing after the 1st April 2018. 

Please note, this is only applies to groups who've selected cover on an MHD basis.

Some additional minor changes have been introduced to the wording in the refreshed Group Secretary guides. Please ensure that you and your client has read and understood the Group Secretary guide relevant to their chosen plan.

The information in this article is correct at the time of publishing.

If you have any questions, speak to your AXA representative today.

For intermediary use only.