You may be an owner of a start-up, an MSME, an SME, or even a large manufacturing company with many employees. Irrespective of the setup, your employees are the backbone of your organizational success. Employee satisfaction is an umbrella term that encapsulates much more than a decent salary. It includes career growth, recognition, and, above all, focuses on their physical and mental well-being. Several organizations have started prioritizing the well-being of their workforce over everything else, which is where a group insurance policy comes into play.
Medical costs have been ballooning both in India and all over the world. It has become a costly proposition for individual employees to provide medical care for their families, quickly becoming one of the major pain points that employers must address. One of the solutions that employers can provide is to subscribe to a group insurance plan that covers their valuable employees and family members.
This article discusses how group health plans are one of the better solutions to cater to employee health insurance needs.
Features of a Group Health Insurance Policy
- Typically, treatments such as cataract surgery and total knee replacement surgery are covered within the ambit of the policy.
- Some group mediclaim plans also cover critical illnesses over and above routine medical illnesses.
- Group health policies include a waiver of four years in case of pre-existing medical illnesses or the first-year exclusion for the reimbursement of expenses.
- Group mediclaim plans provide extensive coverage terms, listing the inclusions and exclusions for medical treatment.
- These are yearly plans which must be renewed every year.
- Employees are often given the option to add family members, such as spouses and children, for additional coverage.
- Group policies also cover pre-hospitalization, post-hospitalization, nursing, and hospital room rent charges.
- In addition, employees can add on critical illness covers and other extra protection.
- Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and pacemaker costs are also included under the items covered.
Why Should Organizations Choose a Group Insurance Policy?
While there are a plethora of benefits that group insurance provides to the beneficiaries, organizations that offer them also find themselves in an advantageous position. Here are the reasons why an organization should consider choosing a group insurance policy for their employees:
1. It improves Employee Retention.
When you take care of your workforce and make them feel valued, they return it by proving their loyalty to the organization. Employees who are a part of a sizable group insurance plan are often reluctant to switch their workplace because they fear that the new workplace may not provide them with the same perquisite.
2. It is Cost-efficient.
The cost of having group insurance for 50 people is similar to having individual mediclaim policies for 20 of them. So, when organizations subscribe to a group health plan, they are able to provide individuals with a more extensive cover without going overboard with premium outflows.
3. It Offers Hassle-free Claim Settlements.
No employer would like to see their employee struggle with insurance claims for an extended timeframe. An individual health policy requires medical underwriting, and there are several hassles when it comes to claiming settlement. A group health plan, on the contrary, comes with a hassle-free claim settlement because the risk is spread across multiple people.
4. It Provides Wider Coverage.
Most individual policies are reluctant to cover pre-existing medical conditions and other ancillary aspects, such as maternity. This means that individuals may not be eligible for these plans and will have to bear hefty medical-related outflows in emergencies. In contrast, group medical plans cover pre-existing medical ailments and are not dependent on medical underwriting. Therefore, individuals get the benefit of insurance coverage irrespective of their condition.
5. It Has a Shorter Waiting Period.
These policies do not come with a waiting period, which is usually the norm with an individual health plan where the insured has to wait for up to 8 weeks for policy activation. Here, employees are insured from the day you buy the policy and complete its documentation.
6. It is Pocket-friendly.
We all have come to accept that insurance is usually a costly affair. But group mediclaim plans are anything but. Given that these cover a group of people, the insurers are happy to charge a lower overall amount compared to individual insurance plans. This means that when you compare the per person average, group plans are significantly cheaper than most other plans, enabling the employer to cover their employees with ease.
Key Takeaways
Group health policies provide employees with the peace and comfort of knowing that they and their families are protected. They feel relieved that they do not have to face the burden of high hospitalization costs. In these days of rising medical expenses, group health plans protecting employees’ health is the most crucial perquisite that an employer can provide to his employees.
All parties benefit from the arrangement of a group insurance policy. The employees’ productivity improves as they work in stress-free environments, knowing their health and medical expenses are covered. This directly affects the employer who benefits from the improved productivity and reduced churn.