In this blog post we will discuss the importance of group risk insurance through the lens of statistics and the reality of the impact that cancer has on so many lives.

Treatment and Prevention

First, let’s take a look at the facts. Cancer will impact one in two of the UK population. It comes in more than 200 different types with a new diagnosis being made nearly every two minutes.

But research from Cancer Research UK shows that, as of 2015, more than a third (38%) of cancer cases are preventable.

While much of the focus on working towards a world without cancer naturally relies on medical research and scientific advancements, the lifestyle aspect cannot be underestimated when it comes to prevention.

It is absolutely crucial for employers to understand their role and influence in helping employees to eliminate harmful lifestyle and social habits that can contribute to a cancer diagnosis.

Helping your team to establish a healthy lifestyle may also increase the risk of survival after a diagnosis is made.

Survival rates have been improving steadily over the decades and employers should do their bit to increase employee awareness of the risk factors and instigate workplace cultural change.

This means tackling the main issues – smoking, drinking and sedentary lifestyle – and providing realistic alternatives.

For example, flexible working options such as work from home will allow employees to more easily fit exercise into their routine. As alcohol is directly attributed as a cause in around 3% of new cancer cases in the UK each year, employers should also consider reviewing company policies around alcohol, e.g. weekly work drinks, and breaking down any drinking culture linked to the workplace.

Mental Health and Cancer

Establishing and maintaining a productive workspace with satisfied employees should be the goal for every business owner. Not only does this improve recruitment and retention, it also ensures that you protect the health of all employees and your business bottom line.

It’s also crucial for good employee physical and mental health. Research has suggested that five forms of cancer are more likely in men who work in a stressful job for 15 years. Stress, in turn, can leave employees more vulnerable to serious illness. The main aim should therefore be to minimise stress.

With mental health and cancer in a reciprocal relationship, it is also important for employers to ensure that workplace culture does not have a negative impact when employees are already dealing with a serious illness.

Emotional and Physical Support

After a cancer diagnosis is made or even pre-diagnosis when symptoms are first apparent, the psychological impact is often underestimated as the focus falls on the physical suffering.

But the entire process of diagnosis and treatment can put immense strain on the ill person as well as their family, friends, and even colleagues. In many cases this leads to anxiety and depression, and a longer, more complex recovery process.

While we can hope and look forward to a world free of cancer in the long-term, our improved understanding of prevention techniques means it is the employer’s responsibility to put the best cover in place to support people and their families who’ve been affected by cancer.

The Group Risk Insurance market offers a diverse range of products to support employees before diagnosis, during treatment and on the road to recovery.

Among group critical illness, life insurance and income protection policies, benefits might include the second medical opinion service to catch the illness in its earliest stages – early detection and diagnosis has already done much to improve the ten-year survival rates.

Value Added Benefits

These protection policies offer tailored and targeted support to those in need, helping to maintain a good quality of life during difficult times and financial, emotional and practical relief for families and employers even if the worst should happen.

Other benefits might include the employee assistance program and bereavement counselling. For example, Group Income Protection offers invaluable cover for employees beyond the often-insufficient statutory sick pay allowance.

Making claims will support the employee and their family financially, practically and emotionally; this should ultimately expedite recovery and return to work and/or help the sufferer to achieve a good quality of life despite their illness.

Value added services on protection claims also provide patients with an important support structure throughout their illness, with nurse protection in particular a valued service to support the many cancer sufferers who feel isolated and lonely during their illness.

Group Risk Insurance Number Crunching

The numbers speak for themselves. The Group Critical Illness market paid out £45m in 2015 and Canada Life alone saw an average of six cancer claims every single working day in 2017.

The cost of care for the four most common cancers has been estimated at £1,500,000,000 a year, or 3% of the total cost of hospital care in the UK.

Private healthcare is another key protection policy to consider for your employees. The availability of treatment and early diagnosis are two of the most powerful ways to battle cancer and increase the individual chances of recovery – bypassing those NHS waiting lists may save your life.

As technological and medical advances make way for new treatments, it remains to be seen how readily they would become available via public healthcare models that makes private healthcare even more essential.

The Group Insurance Market

Every year, the UK group insurance market pays out thousands of claims for cancer, but detection and treatment methods are improving all the time.

As we focus on increasing awareness and putting the best possible protection in place, we can continue this positive trend and ensure that anyone who does suffer has access to the highest quality of support in every aspect.

For more information on any aspect of group risk insurance, contact Vintage Corporate today on 020 8371 5232 or via email at info@vintagecorporate.co.uk

For more details on private health insurance, our colleagues at Vintage Health would be happy to help. Just call 020 8371 5240 or email info@vintagehealth.co.uk

The post Cancer and Group Risk Insurance first appeared on Vintage Corporate Limited.

We always advise our clients that healthy financial planning means taking an open-minded and proactive approach that includes reviewing all wealth and asset arrangements on a regular basis to ensure they are still fit for purpose.

From the employer perspective, this is just as important. Creating an employee benefits package is just the first step as you need to regularly review all of your benefits to ensure that they are legally compliant, meet the needs and desires of your employees, and provide you and your business best return on investment.

This is especially timely as recent government employment figures show that a record number of over-50s are now in the workforce. Employers need to make sure that they are catering appropriately to this demographic with regards to retirement planning provisions.

Figures show that over-50s account for one in three members of the workforce in comparison to 21% back in 1992 and employers might choose to focus on value added services to cover the needs of this demographic.

Practical and Emotional Support

We must always consider the desired outcome when it comes to managing our finances which is why value-added service have evolved in recent times to become an essential part of the protection package. Many providers have developed their offerings to include these support options which cater to employees of all ages and needs.

These essentially act as bolt-ons to critical illness, health insurance and income protection policies to ensure that the needs of the insured person/s are considered not only upon diagnosis but before, during and after a claim is made. But it’s crucial to understand that a claim does not even need to be made in order for the insured party to access these services.

Prompted by the industry’s desire to further support people with mental health issues, value added services offer practical and emotional support to individuals and their families during difficult times regardless of whether there is an ongoing claim. Nurse care support, bereavement counselling and therapy are prime examples of such services, which support a healthier and possibly speedier recovery.

Some protection policies may also include services such as medical helplines, carer support and virtual GPs. Income protection customers may benefit from value added services such as in-house rehabilitation and vocational coaching.

Using Protection to Build Trust

It all depends on the policy chosen and the needs of every individual, but the fact remains that when these added extras are included with an insurance package from a corporate perspective, they are likely to expedite both the initial treatment (thanks to early intervention) and the employee’s return to work through a solid and structured rehabilitation pathway.

For employers providing benefits, value added services can build extra bricks in that solid bridge of trust between you and your team. It shows that you have taken the time and effort not only to build an employee benefits package that caters to their needs, but to go that extra mile in order to support them during difficult times.

A crucial aspect of value-added services is that they recognise the importance of prevention, for example, with the provision of second medical opinions. This provides the insured person with a fully supportive framework from the moment they see the first signs of illness or injury.

It also potentially reduces the need to make a hefty claim by supporting early diagnosis before an illness becomes more advanced and therefore more complex and time-consuming to treat. For smaller businesses in particular, this could be an intelligent risk management strategy.

A Customer-centric Approach to Insurance

By choosing to invest in customer-centric insurance that values the consultative approach and early intervention support, you are showing your employees the value of such insurance and encouraging both team loyalty and benefits take-up.

This is a type of protection that is truly invaluable where the focus is on making clients healthier and less likely to claim on their policy in the first place.

It also avoids the need for you to put pressure on valued employees to return to work more quickly than they are able and risk damaging good relationships.

This type of insurance offers peace of mind that you have all the support available to get your employee healthy again as soon as possible.

It also means that people and their dependents can benefit from protection “immediately” without a prior claim needing to be made.

This is protection at its very best and while the cover itself should be the most important factor for choosing a policy, added value options are likely increase engagement and emphasise the real value of this benefit and the support it brings.

Mental Health and Value-Added Services

Dedicated nurse care support is one of the most common value-added services and a fine example of how patients feel supported with access to a lifeline that they can use as and when they need. It is ongoing support, not a one-off or limited service, that will help people when they feel they simply cannot cope or are in need of practical advice.

The same goes for medical helplines and GP apps – with the NHS under more pressure than ever, this type of personal dedicated service will transform a patient’s experience.

It is this human aspect that encourages long-term loyalty and retention. With mental health one of the biggest causes of absenteeism and therefore a great headache for employers, the wellbeing and support service that comes with so many protection policies provide an immediate lifeline for those in need, helping to relieve excess stress and supporting employees in maintaining their day to day lives.

This might be support following a bereavement or critical illness diagnosis, mental health counselling or more general support in handling practical and emotional issues.

Whether you’re seeking individual or corporate protection, it is well worth considering how value-added services could support your end goal. Contact our team at Vintage Corporate today for more details.

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