Can Group Health Insurance Increase Employee Retention?

“Good Health is Good Business” – Paul Drescher, CEO, Wates Group. Undoubtedly Employees are the crucial system underpinning any organization’s ability to grow and thrive. Offering right benefits to your employees is important because it shows them you are invested in their overall well-being including health. Group health insurance is a company benefit that shows appreciation, strengthens employee loyalty and improves the company’s image.

What is Group Health Insurance?
Group health Insurance is a type of health insurance plan that covers for a group of people (Employees) who work under the same organization. This is often offered as a valuable benefit for employees as the premium for the same is borne by the employer.
Eg, if a company XYZ buys a Group Health Insurance Plan from Vitality. Then, the company XYZ will pay its premium but all of its employees will benefit from the Group Health Insurance Plan. Benefits can range from hospitalisation expenses to maternity benefits. 
Lets look at multiple benefits of Group Health Insurance Plan to both – the employer & the employee:

Benefits of a Group Health Insurance to an Employer:

• Employee Retention: Providing group health insurance as a company benefit is an effective measure for employee retention and a perfect way for an employer to show that it respects its staff & care for its well-being. Securing your employees with a right health insurance is a valuable benefit an employer can offer in a job. Happy employees means better performance leading to company’s attainment of goals & objectives.
• Value for money: Because it’s a group package, it offers unbeatable value for money as compared to individual health insurance plans. In addition, policies are individual in their tariff structures and, depending on the size of company, can benefit from premium discounts of up to 25-30%. 
• Tax benefits: As per the Indian Tax Regulations, companies are offered tax deduction benefits if they buy a group health insurance for their employees. 
• Attract new talent: A company that cares for its employees is well recognised not only among its employees but, on the outside, too. Therefore, offering benefits such as a health insurance will always reflect well on a company’s goodwill thereby, making it attractive workplace for its potential employees.

Benefits of a Group Health Insurance to an Employee:

• Comprehensive Insurance cover: Group Health Insurance covers all the employees of the organization equally. Thus, providing health insurance benefits to all the employees at zero cost as the premium is paid by the employer.
• No waiting period: Usually all health insurance policies comes with a waiting period for specific illness and treatments. Like waiting period to avail maternity benefits is usually 2-4 years in individual insurance plans. Since, group health insurance is a standard plan it does not have any waiting period and you can avail all the benefits as soon as you join the company.
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• Easy Claim Process: The claim process in case of Group Health Insurance is relatively simple. Since the agreement is between a company & an insurance company, the claim is settled in a speedy & hassle free manner by an in-house personnel.
• Option to include other family members: Some group health insurance plans can be customised to include closed family members like spouse, parents & children.

Limitations:
While a group health insurance provides a range of benefits for both an employer and employee, it does come with a few limitations which we should be aware of:

• Some plans do not offer coverage for parents
• Validity of Group Health Insurance plan is limited to the time you are working for the company.
• No tax benefits for employees

Final Words:
Employees are the most valuable resource in any organization. Employers need to ensure that their workforce is happy & motivating. An unhappy workforce can have grave implications for the entire organization’s growth. Having a group insurance policy is good for both the employer and the employees.

Companies looking to attract the best talent from around the world & retailing them at the same time are constantly looking to improve their employment and benefits packages, and one of the best ways to do this is by offering private health and medical insurance to your employees. 

At Vitality, we always strive to use an innovative approach to develop group health insurance policies, plans, and products that cut costs while maintaining superior coverage at affordable prices. We also provide a COVID-19 specific group cover to ensure your employees are covered against this grave pandemic.