Healthcare & Protection recently published an analysis of Group PMI pricing, and it will come as no surprise to most that costs are spiralling.
For traditional PMI, some businesses are facing rises of 30-50% on their premiums - and for some clients that’s happening for the second or third year in a row. When you hear of 75% renewal increases for a second year or single rates between £1200 - £1800 per person per year, then it’s no wonder clients are looking for alternative solutions.
At Equipsme we’re seeing lots of PMI customers coming to us precisely because they’re being priced out of traditional plans - and they’re looking for something more sustainable.
Our hybrid plans sit in the middle between traditional PMI and cash plans. To put that in cost context, our most popular plan has only gone up by the equivalent of c.5% on average year on year since our launch in 2018.
We’re pretty proud that that’s not only market-beating but inflation-beating, too.
We’re also proud that it’s the result of very deliberate choices, based on client needs and priorities.
Price
We’ve achieved our price point and its relative stability through community pricing - and by making firm and transparent choices about what we cover.
We have consciously removed cancer treatment and focussed instead on early diagnosis and supporting people back to the NHS for treatment services.
The result is health insurance plans that can be extended to include more or all of the workforce, instead of gold-plated services for select individuals.
Product
Our products have been designed to respond to the issues that are most important to both employees and their employers.
For businesses, that means prioritising the services that make the biggest difference to workforce health and wellbeing - as well as making them stand out as an employer of choice. It means more people on cover, and more focus on the most common causes of sickness absence. At the end of the day, more days are lost because of MSK issues than are lost to cancer treatment.1
For most ordinary people, it’s those same everyday health issues plus early diagnosis that top their wish lists, as so many continue to struggle to get early attention from the NHS.
It’s why all Equipsme plans come with 24/7 GP, health advice lines, at-home health checks and AXA Health physio access. One of our most popular plans – just £276 per employee per year – also includes private diagnosis services through AXA Health.
Proof
We’re the first provider to generate a robust Return on Investment figure – helping intermediaries and firms make a business case for health benefits.
Our work with workplace wellness experts Fruitful Insights calculates an ROI of around £3 for every £1 invested in an Equipsme plan – a figure that’s helping HRs secure FD and Board support for health benefit investment.
It’s been the missing link for brokers as benefit budgets have continued to tighten, and clients have started to demand data figures instead of just renewal ones. It’s also why we’ve gone one step further to work with our intermediary partners, their clients and Fruitful to generate bespoke ROI calculations for prospects as part of our new business services. See our ROI page and download the report here.
Pay-off
The pay-off for our unique combination of price, product and proof has been a massive increase in demand over the last 12 months. The premium price-crunch has played directly into our hands - or at least our business model.
That’s very much been recognised by the industry, and we now work with some of the UK’s leading Employee Benefit Consultants. They’re actively recommending Equipsme as a hybrid solution, especially for the wider uninsured market, and those looking for more affordable and flexible PMI alternatives.
My personal opinion for advisors is to encourage clients to look at the long game.
As the Health & Protection article points out, aggressive Year 1 pricing and switching strategies aren’t doing employers or their employees any favours. All it’s doing is pushing the pain down the road, and/or setting them up for a Year 2 or 3 shock - and a Sophie’s Choice between price and promises.
If you’d like to find out more about Equipsme plans, please do get in touch for a demo. At [email protected] or contact Gavin directly on [email protected]
Gavin Shay, Distribution Director, Equipsme
Sources:
1 Sickness absence in the UK labour market - Office for National Statistics
