Being an employer, you strive to ensure that your employees are healthy and happy. Unfortunately, they sometimes encounter mental problems. At such times easily accessible care is of crucial importance to them. Fortunately, today’s insurers are no longer merely covering the cost of medical care or providing medical assistance. They are increasingly focusing on the mental wellbeing of your employees and offer a range of additional services to this end.
Healthcare providers have been working with an online platform and app for some time. This makes it easy for insured persons to report a hospitalisation, submit medical costs, activate the third-party payment system for the hospital, request a refund for pharmacy expenses via AssurPharma, etc.
We have noticed that many insurers have recently extended their services, creating a genuine healthcare platform. This enables employees to call on general practitioners and psychologists more quickly. Long waiting lists for physical appointments with a doctor or psychologist are being replaced by instant consultations via a digital platform.
Using the app, your employees can gain access to digital care services anywhere and at any time. For example, initial support when their general practitioner cannot be contacted or a consultation with a doctor (by video call) or psychologist (by telephone, video call or sometimes even face-to-face).
Insurers are also increasingly providing supplementary wellbeing related services, including digital articles, webinars, an online burn-out assessment tool or a mindfulness programme. Sometimes individual support can be provided via an ‘employee assistance program’, with an emphasis on psychological support and tools to improve your mental wellbeing.
Thanks to these ongoing developments a range of supplementary services is being provided to promote the wellbeing of your employees and their family members. Are they covered by a collective healthcare insurance? If so and depending on their hospitalisation and/or outpatient care insurer, they can now take care of their physical and mental health in a straightforward manner, in comfort and in privacy, thanks to the various paying or non-paying tools provided to them. These additional services are sometimes also offered in combination with a collective invalidity insurance.
The healthcare services that are provided are thus not merely significantly extended but also taken to a higher level. By making healthcare services more easily accessible and by lowering the threshold, insurers are keen to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of your employees. As a caring employer, the fact that you can pay even more attention to mental wellbeing and preventive care in this way represents a major asset.
Do you have further questions about the wellbeing services offered today by your insurer? If so, please contact your Account Manager Employee Benefits at Vanbreda Risk & Benefits.
Hybrid working gained momentum with the corona crisis. Cross-border employment relationships may experience issues with regard to the applicable social security system with a corresponding impact on the employee benefit plans regarding pension, disability and health care coverage for your employees.
As an independent business owner, it is important to invest your funds in a tax-efficient manner with the prospect of a nice return. It is recommended to find a clever way of handling the excess reserves rather than letting them evaporate in the corporate account. But what are good and tax-efficient alternatives for your available funds besides the standard supplementary pension schemes such as EIP and PLCI?
It is abundantly clear that it is not easy for most companies to attract new talent today. Shortages in the labour market and the war for talent represent a major challenge. Employees expect your company to offer a range of at least equally interesting fringe benefits in addition to an attractive salary. Which fringe benefits can you as an employer offer today in order to really make a real difference? Explore the various options to include a 'healthcare' budget: a benefit that offers added value to all your employees.
The Interprofessional Agreement 2021-2022 provides the sectors with a 0.4% margin for wage cost development. Most sectors are still examining how to implement this wage standard and which freedoms they will give companies in this regard. This should become clear in the coming weeks. If employers are given the option to convert this wage increase into an equivalent benefit, you may consider introducing an additional insurance for your employees or optimising an existing one. We briefly outline the various options for you.
