The days of any group risk product being viewed simply as an insurance mechanism have long gone.
Even group life, which used to be the one product that sold on price alone, can now contain a list of additional features as long as your arm.
These can include everything from virtual GP, wellbeing and legal services to stress and bereavement helplines, employee assistance programmes (EAPs), fitness discounts and cancer care support.
We certainly don’t always recommend the life scheme with the most competitive headline premiums but take a more holistic view of which package provides best value.
On group income protection the added-value features can even be considered by employers as being as important as the scheme’s core ability to pay out a regular income in the event of employees being unable to work as a result of long-term sickness or disability.
Indeed, some clients regard themselves as effectively buying a mini occupational health department and getting an insurance contract thrown in.
Most popular
Across group risk schemes as a whole, we find that the highest take-up rates for these added-value features tend to be for 24-hour virtual GP services, second medical opinion services and mental health services.
The virtual GP services, in particular, have accelerated in popularity with the growth in homeworking and hybrid working since the COVID pandemic, as they enable people to consult with a doctor from their own home at a time convenient to them.
Advances in online video technology and AI have seen the services develop rapidly in areas such a symptom triage and the analysis of medical images.
Other add-ons like online physiotherapy and online mental health support have also been major beneficiaries of these trends but, additionally, the cost-of-living crisis has helped drive demand for virtually all group risk added-value features.
New focus
When money starts feeling scarce it becomes ever more important for employees to make full use of services already freely available.
Similarly, employers become keener to get a bigger bang for their buck and realise there isn’t much point in paying for a package that includes a whole suite of useful services unless their availability and potential benefits are effectively communicated to employees.
So, we have observed a noticeable recent increase in clients mentioning these added-value features to us and upping their game in raising awareness of them to their workforces.
Some clients have even been incorporating free services like psychological therapy, second medical opinions and virtual GP services into their HR and absence policies, reaching out to employees who are currently signed off from work.
Need for expert advice
This is all certainly good news for employees, although it does have a slight downside in that it can make reviewing and switching schemes slightly trickier.
If, for example, a workforce has become used to using certain additional features and is clearly valuing them, this needs to be taken into consideration if the scheme provider’s premium rates have become less competitive. A switch may or may not be in the employer’s best interests.
Fortunately, Chase de Vere has the expertise and experience to help with such decisions and also to select the most appropriate scheme at outset after doing a thorough fact find.
We are having to do ever more due diligence around the added-value features because their availability and quality can now vary so much between different insurers – and also between different products offered by the same insurers.
Providers are continually tweaking their offerings, and the attractiveness of scheme propositions can change very quickly.
For example, at present AIG and Canada Life arguably have the strongest add-on ranges but it remains to be seen whether this will still be the case with the former now that it has been acquired by Aviva.
So, the role of the specialist intermediary has never been more important in the quest to obtain the most complete value from your group risk products.
If you would like to find out more about how Chase de Vere can help you select the most suitable added-value features and the best value group risk scheme overall then please don’t hesitate to contact your dedicated Consultant.
The information contained within this article is for guidance only and does not constitute financial advice