Cigna Europe has announced a five-year strategic overhaul to its healthcare plans that will increase the focus on personal lifestyle support as well as covering medical treatments.
The insurer says the strategic review, based around a concept it describes as ‘Whole Health’, will lead to product innovation later in the year, and is designed to create more opportunities for brokers to support individuals and employers, while helping tackle the UK’s mental health crisis.
The company’s new approach will extend beyond the typical provisions of ‘body and mind’ support to help people stay healthy and well in an ever-changing world.
It follows research by the company into the current state and future of care delivery, recognising that Whole Health is more than just physical and mental health – and includes all the things makes up an individual’s world; family, friends, work-life balance, access to care, finances and home environment. A difficulty in any one of these areas can have an immediate knock on effect on a person’s whole health, says Cigna Europe.
Arjan Toor, CEO, Cigna Europe, said: “Our lives aren’t two-dimensional and health services shouldn’t be either. It’s time to look at the bigger picture and acknowledge that our lives are complex, particularly right now and what works on paper may not work for people’s realities. Whole Health is an evolved way of looking at well-being. It allows us to look at the most important parts of people’s daily lives, not just their physical health, and holistically understand and support them. We believe it’s time to transform traditional healthcare solutions, and our new proposition has been developed with this in mind – to meet our customer’s new and ever-changing needs.”.
“Our new vision offers brokers a true market innovator solution, helping to better meet their clients’ needs and providing a positive growth opportunity for their business. The well-being culture has moved from being a nice-to-have to a greater strategic issue, and it’s crucial that we evolve our proposition to meet our customer’s new and evolving needs.”
Cigna’s recent Covid19 Global Impact Study found that 31 per cent of Britons have taken time off work due to Covid-19 and 46 per cent feel that that pandemic has had an impact on productivity at work. The study also found that employees want more support from employers, with 43 per cent wanting flexible working location/hours, followed by financial support for Covid testing, demanded by 46 per cent, and enhanced healthcare services an ask for 42 per cent.
