Having been seen by many as a major “success story of the pandemic”, employers are increasingly turning to cash plans to stave off the Great Resignation.
As a potent recruitment and retention tool, their use is being widened to a greater number of pay grades.
This means providers are evolving their services to cope with increased demands for an ever-growing, ever-evolving customer base.
And there is the hope eventually these customers will expand their view into other health benefits and insurances.
Tackling the Great Resignation
“In 2022, we are now seeing more employers struggling to retain and recruit the top talent for their business in a candidate-led jobs market,” Paul Gambon, sales and marketing director at Medicash, tells Health & Protection.
“These organisations are looking for ways to make themselves stand out from the crowd as candidates are looking at the whole package being offered, rather than just salary.
“By providing a solution to this need we have continued our strong growth into 2022, and we would encourage our brokers to tap into this new way of positioning our services to see similar returns.”
Susie Morris, director of trust sales at Healix Health Services, says cash plans are coming into their own due to a number of factors.
“The pandemic has brought health and wellbeing into focus for employers and employees alike. We’re also currently in a time that many have coined ‘The Great Resignation’ – one in three employees are expected to resign this year.
“With staff increasingly considering their next move and reshuffling their priorities to focus more on their health and wellbeing, having a full and comprehensive health and wellbeing provision has become crucial for employers when it comes to attracting new staff and retaining sought-after talent.”
Expanding coverage
Kathryn Vellacott, business development general manager at WPA, agrees and believes these will prove a stepping stone to greater interest in other health benefits and insurance.
“We’ve experienced significant cash plan growth, especially in the corporate market, where benefits are being introduced to not only recruit and retain staff but also give them a valued benefit extending the choices available,” she says.
“In the short term, this may also be as a result of the health challenges faced across the country.
“And in the longer term, we see employees on a cash plan today as a funnel for private medical insurance (PMI) products tomorrow and a central part of inclusive holistic wellbeing strategies.”
This approach fits as cash plans are not just being offered to a select few anymore, says Claire Linaker, associate director, health & benefits at Willis Towers Watson.
“We’ve seen a rise in the popularity of cash plans and in particular expanding cover and access to a wider workforce across many organisations,” Linaker said.
“Benchmarking can provide organisations with invaluable data that enables them to improve the structure of their benefit offering across all job categories and grades.
“We’re also seeing organisations place greater value on the entirety of their benefit offerings, with many companies broadening benefit offerings to support their overarching wellbeing strategy and business needs.”
Support during soaring inflation
In terms of claims, SimplyHealth revealed it has seen an increase in demand from corporate clients across its benefit categories, with claims values continuing to rise due to the increasing costs of treatment.
And while dental treatment has taken the longest to return to receiving the same volumes of claims prior to the pandemic, this is slowly returning to normal volumes.
Jennie Doyle, head of marketing at Health Shield Friendly Society, revealed that average dental claims values at the mutual have increased due to a number of factors.
“Previously we attributed that to the fact that we cover Personal Protection Equipment [PPE] and perhaps more dental work being required after a period of inability to access dental services,” she said.
“However, it could also be attributed to inflation. If care providers are starting to pass this cost on, this makes health cash plans even more valued as employees are facing a financial pinch in the current environment, especially those on lower incomes.”
Value for dependents
But another key trend the firm it is witnessing is around the volume of claims for members’ dependents, Doyle added.
“The volume of claims for members’ dependents and children has increased by nearly 8%. Around one in five claims were for dependents last year.
“It’s great to see that health cash plans are increasingly being used to not only keep the member in the best of health, but also their family.
It’s a trend that began during the Covid-19 pandemic with increasing technology and digital-based services, she adds.
Digital services growing in popularity
Perhaps unsurprisingly as the pandemic has continued its grip on the country, apps and digital services have become more popular, says Debra Clark, head of specialist consulting at Towergate Health & Protection.
“These seem to appeal to younger generations, of which there are more of in the workplace than ever before, but also to employers trying to reach out to a broader working community with more people working from home or in hybrid roles,” she says.
“It also appeals to people who don’t have access to a computer as part of their work role, as they can access via their own phone without issue.
“We’ve also seen an increase in demand for flu jabs this winter because of the Covid pandemic and people wanting to ensure they were as protected from the risk as possible.”
And that increased demand for virtual services such as remote GP services offered within cash plans shows no signs of abating in future, according to Steve Ellis, head of employee benefit consulting at Prosperis.
“These have been the success story of the pandemic and now we are emerging, we are receiving strong positive feedback that companies are wanting employees to keep using them to reduce time out of work and more importantly, stay healthy.”