Health Insurance As An Employee Benefit
Posted on 26th September 2021
Research shows that over half of the UK’s employees feel that their benefits packages don’t meet their needs.
While almost half of employees who feel they have a good benefits package are engaged with their job, this figure drops to just one in five for those who are dissatisfied.
Lack of employee engagement can affect performance and productivity, so this is an important consideration for business owners and managers.
Our national workforce is diverse, so a single solution won’t suit all companies, but good health is important to everyone.
Health insurance for your employees
You might imagine that only larger companies can offer group health insurance schemes. However, even as a small business owner, you could add a healthcare policy to your employee benefits package to help build loyalty and engagement within your team.
Business health insurance is like a personal health insurance policy. It can pay for much of the cost of many types of private medical treatment and care, but it’s provided by employers to cover their employees.
If an employee is diagnosed with an illness, they can make a small excess payment to receive their treatment while the insurer pays for most of the cost. As an employer you will benefit from having a valued employee back to good health as quickly as possible. Your employee will be reassured that you take their welfare seriously.
Even small businesses could find that group health insurance is cheaper than individual policies. Spreading the risk between just two people can help bring down the cost of premiums.
How employer health insurance works
Your business can take out a policy to cover all your employees or you could choose who you offer it to, provided this decision isn’t discriminatory. You could, for example, choose to offer it to your managers and supervisors because their absence through illness could have a serious impact on your business.
You will be spreading risk across your workforce, which will help to make the cost of premiums lower than for individual policies.
Your employees will benefit because:
they will have access to high quality healthcare for a wide range of illnesses and conditions
waiting lists for treatment will, in most cases, be shorter and appointments are often available at more convenient times
care will be more personalised, based on their preferences
a 24-hour GP or nurse practitioner phoneline is often included.
Your business will benefit because:
your employees will receive treatment more quickly so that they are fully fit for work
medical advice can be accessed outside working hours
improved wellbeing will increase productivity
your employment benefits will help to attract and retain good quality employees.
Company health insurance costs
Prices are normally per employee per year and might be affected by:
Company size – generally, the more people you cover, the lower the price per employee. There are specialist policies available for smaller businesses with fewer than 250 employees.
Average age – because you are taking out a group policy, the premiums will be based on the average age of everyone covered so, if your team is young, your premiums will be lower.
Cover required – different levels of cover are available and the more comprehensive the package, the more it will cost. Additions you might consider could include outpatient cover, dental care, psychiatric care, physiotherapy and second opinion appointments.
Business type – the type of work your employees undertake might increase the level of risk for certain injuries or illnesses. This could make claims more likely which will increase your costs.
Location – some places, like Central London, can be more expensive, and your policy price could be affected.
Excess payments – your employees will usually pay an excess for their treatment. The lower the excess, the higher the premiums will be.
Please get in touch to find out more about group health insurance as a benefit for your employees.
Tagged as: Employee Benefits, Health Insurance
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