Bupa has announced its partnership deal with UK Sport is to continue until March 2014.
The partnership means Bupa is continuing its support of UK Sport's Athlete Medical Scheme (AMS). AMS provides extensive medical insurance to support elite athletes in their recovery from illness and injury.
This is an extension of the 2011 deal, whereby Bupa became the ‘Official Health Insurance Partner of UK Sport'.
As a result of the partnership, over 1,300 of the UK's best athletes on the UK Sport World Class Performance Programme have access to specialist medical treatment covered by Bupa, when expertise outside of the day to day medical support is required.
This varies from diagnostics tests and MRI scans to surgical procedures. The World Class Performance Programme is investing £369million to help athletes prepare for international competition and ultimately to represent Great Britain at the Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Damien Marmion, managing director of Bupa Health Funding, said: "We know just how crucial it is that injuries get identified and treated as quickly as possible to enable a speedy recovery.
"By extending our partnership, it allows our elite athletes to quickly access to the best medical care available. This means that they're back to competing at the very top levels as soon as they're able."
Liz Nicholl, chief executive of UK Sport said: "In the hugely competitive world of elite sport it is vital our athletes remain at the peak of their performance and able to perform in key competitions.
"Injury prevention and recovery are therefore critical to an athlete's success on the world stage, which is why through our twinned approach of providing support to athletes through the home country sports institutes and the Athlete Medical Scheme provided by Bupa, we are able to provide world class support to our elite athletes."
