Yes, Vitality health insurance covers mental health, but in two separate places in its Membership Guide. Talking therapy such as CBT or counselling, arranged through Vitality's mental health panel, is part of the core plan, with the number of sessions set on your membership certificate; psychiatric hospital care and wider out-patient treatment come only with the Mental Health Cover option. An FCA-authorised broker can quote a Vitality plan both ways so you can see what the option adds to the premium; ask for their free call-back with this page's form.
Every quotation comes from Vitality's Membership Guide (Your Personal Healthcare plan terms and conditions), print code VHTCR0002 08/2024, the August 2024 edition. The copy quoted is hosted by a broker, mytribeinsurance.co.uk, not by Vitality, so the guide sent with your policy takes precedence. Page numbers match the numbers printed in the guide's page header.
Two layers: the core talking-therapy line and the Mental Health Cover option
The benefit table has two separate places for mental health. The first is on page 10, in the core plan, where the "Talking Therapies" line reads "Mental health therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or counselling, undertaken as an out-patient, and arranged through our mental health panel", with the limit shown as "See membership certificate". How that route works without a GP letter is on does private health insurance cover therapy; the section after this one covers the part specific to Vitality.
The second is the option, on page 11, which the guide says is "only available to you if you (the planholder) have chosen" it: "You are only covered for the cover options that show on your membership certificate, which will also show any limits that apply." The two layers compare like this (the option column is page 11):
| What | Core plan (page 10) | With Mental Health Cover (page 11) |
|---|---|---|
| Talking therapy | CBT or counselling through Vitality's panel; "See membership certificate" | Out-patient talking therapies through the panel, including "cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)", "eye movement desensitisation reprocessing therapy (EMDR)" and "counselling", shown as "Full Cover" |
| In-patient and day-patient care in a psychiatric hospital | Not in the core table | "28 days of in-patient treatment per episode" and "28 days of day-patient treatment per episode" |
| Other out-patient care | Not in the core table | Consultant appointments, ECT and diagnostic tests; psychologist consultations "upon GP referral"; therapist appointments a consultant psychiatrist agrees are clinically appropriate; "£1,500 per plan year" |
The two talking-therapy cells look as if they disagree, so here is how they fit. On the core plan, panel talking therapy runs to the number of sessions printed on your membership certificate, a point the guide makes on page 15 and again on page 24. The option's row describes panel talking therapy as "Full Cover", but page 15 still says the session count is on the certificate with or without the option, and page 11 says the certificate shows any limits that apply. So the certificate settles your number either way: without the option, expect a stated session limit; with it, look at exactly what the certificate would print against talking therapy before you rely on "Full Cover". Adding the option would usually raise the premium, by an amount that depends on the rest of the plan.
Talking therapy without a GP letter, and the three-month rule
Vitality allows self-referral for talking therapy, whether or not the plan includes Mental Health Cover (page 15). Before any session you contact Vitality or visit its Care Hub so it can arrange a therapist on its panel. The practical rule on page 32 repeats the point: "You will not need a GP referral for mental health talking therapy and physiotherapy (providing you have Out-patient Cover) as long as you arrange these through our panels."
The part that matters for anyone with a history is a rule that is easy to miss. Page 15 says: "Once you have been a member of the plan for three months or more, your acceptance terms, and any specific medical conditions listed in the section “Exclusions – what’s not covered” on pages 26 to 29, will not apply to talking therapy arranged through our panel." The next sentence keeps the limit on it: "The remaining plan exclusions continue to apply, and we will not cover treatment that is not helping to improve the condition or is only serving to control the symptoms."
Put plainly, after three months as a member, the terms you were accepted on and the specific conditions listed in the exclusions section stop applying to panel talking therapy; every other exclusion still applies, and so does the bar on treatment that is not helping or only controls symptoms. The guide ties the rule to talking therapy arranged through the panel. That is narrower than the general past-conditions clause covered on mental health insurance and pre-existing conditions. Your own history may change how it works, and a broker can explain that when they call back.
What the Mental Health Cover option pays: 28 days, £1,500 and a consultant in charge
With the option on the plan, the route changes. Page 14 says: "If you have chosen to include ‘Mental Health Cover’ then all treatment must be arranged by a psychiatric consultant, following a referral from your GP, except:" two cases: "out-patient consultations with a clinical/counselling psychologist who you were referred to by your GP" and "treatment arranged by our mental health panel". The table on page 11 adds that appointments with a mental health therapist qualify "where treatment is agreed as clinically appropriate by a consultant psychiatrist". A psychologist, in the guide's glossary on page 45, must be "registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and be recognised by us".
The in-patient days are counted per episode, and the definition is worth reading whole. Page 15: "An episode of in-patient or day-patient mental health treatment begins with the first admission to hospital, and ends when 56 days have elapsed since the last in-patient or day-patient treatment, whether this was covered under the plan or not." You are covered for 28 days of in-patient treatment plus 28 days of day-patient treatment in each episode, and once 56 days have gone by since the last in-patient or day-patient treatment the limits are fully restored for a further episode. The guide also says there is no benefit for "home nursing following in-patient treatment for psychiatric and mental health conditions" (page 14).
The £1,500 on page 11 is shown against the out-patient group in the table above (consultant appointments, ECT, diagnostic tests, psychologist consultations and psychiatrist-agreed therapist appointments), and the guide calls it "£1,500 per plan year". A plan year, in the guide's glossary on page 47, is "a period of 12 months from the plan start date or from any annual renewal date". Panel talking therapy sits on its own row. Before relying on either number, ask a broker to get the certificate wording for both from a Vitality quote, and ask what it adds to the monthly price; the call-back is free.
Limits that apply whichever layer you hold
Page 15 warns that "Due to the nature of mental illness, it may become apparent over the course of treatment that you are suffering from a chronic condition", which "may result in no further benefit being available for that condition". Where that happens, "we will always give you notice before withdrawing cover so that you can make alternative arrangements". The guide's definition on page 26 counts an illness as chronic if it has at least one characteristic, among them "it needs ongoing or long-term control or relief of symptoms" and "it comes back or is likely to come back", and adds "We will normally not cover treatment of a chronic condition if the purpose of the treatment is just to control the symptoms."
Under "Other medical conditions" on page 26, Vitality does not pay claims relating to "treatment of alcohol abuse or drug abuse, or any addiction, and treatment of any related medical conditions resulting from these".
If you are struggling now, you do not have to wait on an insurer or a claim: Samaritans answers free on 116 123, "Open 24 hours a day", whether or not you hold any insurance.
On page 27 the same list excludes "Treatment, including investigations and assessments relating to neurodevelopmental conditions and other developmental behavioural or emotional difficulties. Examples include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, learning difficulties, conduct disorder and attachment disorder". An ADHD or autism assessment therefore falls under this exclusion rather than the mental health benefit; private health insurance and ADHD goes into it.
Then there is the underwriting you joined on. Under full medical underwriting, page 30 leaves out of cover any medical or mental health condition, and any related condition, that you have now or had in the past and that is likely to need treatment in the future; those conditions are listed on your membership certificate as personal medical exclusions. The other underwriting routes, and how the clause fits with the three-month panel rule, are set out on Vitality's underwriting page.
Speech therapy and the other therapies
The "Therapies Cover" option on page 11 is a separate list, paid "after referral by a GP or consultant": chiropractic, osteopathy, chiropody/podiatry, acupuncture, homeopathy and consultations with a dietician (at most two a plan year). Speech therapy is not one of the six, and the mental health rows name CBT, EMDR and counselling. If speech therapy is what you need, ask the broker to raise it with Vitality during the call, which costs you nothing.
Speech difficulties linked to a developmental condition could fall within the neurodevelopmental exclusion above, so say which situation you mean when you ask. For the market-wide picture on speech and occupational therapy see the therapy page.
How the other insurers differ
The structure is not unique to Vitality. Aviva sets out its own limits on Aviva health insurance and mental health, AXA's add-on option is covered at AXA Health mental health, and the best health insurance for mental health sets several wordings side by side. What each costs is on cheap health insurance for mental health, and Vitality's own pricing drivers are on what Vitality costs. Reviews of the insurer as a whole sit on is Vitality good.
Vitality and mental health: your questions
Does Vitality health insurance cover mental health?
Its Membership Guide covers panel talking therapy in the core plan, with sessions set on your certificate, and psychiatric in-patient and day-patient care and wider out-patient treatment through the Mental Health Cover option. Past conditions and long-term conditions can limit both.
Does Vitality health insurance cover therapy?
CBT and counselling are covered when arranged through Vitality's mental health panel, and EMDR is named under the option. Self-referral is allowed, but you contact Vitality first so a panel therapist can be arranged.
How long does Vitality pay for a stay in a psychiatric hospital?
With the option, the guide says 28 days of in-patient treatment plus 28 days of day-patient treatment per episode, where an episode ends once 56 days have passed since the last in-patient or day-patient treatment.
Pricing Vitality with and without the option
To see Vitality priced with and without Mental Health Cover, give your age and the cover you are weighing on the enquiry form. The broker phones, explains what the certificate would say about sessions and limits, and none of it costs you anything.