With increasing demand from employees at all levels, and ever-increasing costs, many businesses are looking to press the reset button on their health benefits.
But what are the implications of stopping your current health plan, and bringing your people on board with Equipsme instead?
Here are the top 10 things businesses need to consider before switching:
1. Sustainability and equitability
How affordable are your current benefits, and how much of your workforce can access them? These are the two key drivers for switching to Equipsme, as businesses look to protect more of their workforce, and control spiraling costs.
At Equipsme we currently community rate our plans, have a single fixed price per plan level for all employees aged 16-69, and our most popular plans have seen increases equivalent to only around 5% on average year-on-year since we launched in 2018. We’re committed to providing cost-effective, practical health benefits that work for whole work forces for the long term.
2. P11D tax
Many businesses may be reviewing the sustainability of their current arrangements from a budget perspective. In the last three years, premiums may have risen to a level that the Board are asking to review their options, but employees may be asking the same thing with an increase in their personal tax burden.
With Equipsme, premiums may be lower which attracts less Benefit in Kind tax and if employees upgrade or add family, this is exempt as it’s a voluntary purchase.
3. Current claims
When you switch health insurance providers, people with ongoing and current claims will need to reset their underwriting. For a few individuals that will be inconvenient, but you may have been considering stopping the health benefit all together as it became unsustainable for the long term. Moving to Equipsme may also mean you can now offer health benefits to more employees for longer.
However, you won’t make the switch overnight. The risk of disrupting current claims can be minimised by giving employees 6-9 months’ notice of the change and Equipsme can support with the communication during the transition phase.
4. Pre-existing conditions in the last 3 years
When you switch to Equipsme, everyone resets. That means everyone in your company will be subject to new terms and conditions, including our exclusion of three-year pre-existing conditions. This means members can’t claim for any condition they’ve had symptoms, medical advice or treatment for, in the three years before they became an Equipsme member. This includes any claims that are current with the previous health insurance provider.
There are benefits which can be used from day one which would cover existing health conditions. These are the GP services, nurse helplines and the health check, as well as stress support and dental and optical benefits (if chosen by the business for their employees).
5. Cover differences
It’s likely the cover your people get under Equipsme will be different to the cover they’ve had before, and it’s really important they understand what’s included and what’s not.
The biggest difference between Equipsme and other private medical insurance is that we don’t cover cancer treatment. In order to keep our prices sustainable, we offer cover up to the point of a cancer diagnosis (ie, when you are still trying to find out what’s wrong). This means that while Equipsme can help provide early, swift support for diagnostic procedures and initial assessments, it does not cover any treatment or care once a cancer diagnosis has been confirmed.
AXA Health’s cancer care team are on hand to help people and their families understand their treatment and help navigate between private and the NHS treatment.
Find out more about Equipsme and cancer care: Our cancer cover | Equipsme
Psychiatric in-patient care is also excluded from Equipsme cover along with some standard industry insurance exclusions, such as for chronic/long-term conditions
You can find more information on our exclusions here: Our exclusions | Equipsme
6. Leading service partners
The change in cover doesn’t mean a change in quality. The services we selected to make up our award-winning plans are delivered by some of the biggest and most respected health providers in the industry like AXA Health, Thriva, Health Assured and Health Hero, so you can reassure your team their health is still in safe hands.
More information about our health partners: Our service providers | Equipsme
7. Practical health benefits employees want
Switching to Equipsme is an opportunity to refocus your health benefits on quality practical benefits that everyone can use and access. This isn’t rainy day health insurance – it’s health back-up for everyday use.
All our plans come with a 24/7 GP service, health support line and physio sessions. With minor illnesses and MSK issues being the top reasons for sickness absence in the UK, and with people struggling to get seen on the NHS, we believe the biggest difference we can make to your business and to your people is quick access to private care and early intervention.
You can choose from four different plan levels, and all ages 16-69, cost the same price.
Level 1 at £60 pppm - includes hospital treatment and specialist diagnosis benefits with no excess to pay.
Level 2 at £39 pppm - is the most popular plan and includes hospital treatment and specialist diagnosis benefits with a £150 excess to pay once per plan year.
Level 3 at £22 pppm - includes access to a private specialist and private test and scans. Quick diagnosis is key to getting treatment faster and creating peace of mind during a time of worry
GP Plus at £9 pppm - includes access to our 24/7 GP, 24/7 nurse helpline, and physio support.
Physio, diagnosis and treatment are accessed through AXA Health’s network of private specialists and hospitals, so you know your team are in safe hands.
All our plans include the following extra support and value:
- Private GP 24/7
- Physio support and F2F sessions (number of sessions dependent upon plan level)
- Nurse helpline 24/7
- Cancer & Heart support helpline
- Annual home health check
- Elder care support
- Gym, health check and optical discount
- You can upgrade benefits
- You can add family
Find more information about our plans: Our plans | Equipsme
8. Employee choice
Equipsme is unique in the market because it allows your people to pay in themselves to upgrade their cover and choose the level of benefits they believe is right for them and also add their partner and children, giving them extra peace of mind.
That means once you’ve opened the door to private healthcare, they can pick the right level of cover for themselves and their families.
9. Customer service support
With Equipsme it’s easy for employees to self-serve, because all our benefits can be accessed via an app or online. We’ve also got a dedicated customer service team to help people if they need support.
10. Open communications
The best way to make the switch to Equipsme is to bring your people with you on the journey. We’ve found that organisations can secure company buy-in when they explain the sustainability benefit of switching, the equitability of whole of workforce cover, and the quality and flexibility of Equipsme plans.
We’re here to help you communicate the switch, and help you promote Equipsme to your workforce.
For more information on how Equipsme can help your business please contact our friendly team on [email protected] or call 020 3965 6410.
Date created: December 2024.
