“Equipsme is a real and credible alternative to traditional PMI or cash plans. We like it so much we introduce it to our clients, as well as having a policy for our own business.”
HB Underwriting and sister company McClarrons have had an Equipsme plan in place since 2020. Not only is it working for employees but they also introduce it to their client base. At HB Underwriting specifically, that includes introducing it via their distribution network of agricultural and rural brokers.
The Managing Director at HB Underwriting, explains: “Our core insurance product is called Rural Protect, which works to cover farmers and agricultural businesses against their legal and regulatory risks by way of a specialist management liability policy.
“With the research that we have done relative to new product development, we know that injury and sickness absence is a real problem within the farming sector. And we know that the accident and sickness cover that typically comes with farm-combined products is a blunt tool that doesn’t always work as it should. While it can pay out when someone is ill, the circumstances have to be exactly right - and it doesn’t provide support to actually help people get better in a proactive manner.
“Having people out of the workplace with no route or plan to get them back – especially at peak times like harvest – can have a huge impact on farming businesses. So a health plan that can actually help get employees back to work faster, and potentially ease the sickness absence claims process, could add real value to our customers.”
GP access and MSK conditions
“In agriculture, things like GP access and musculoskeletal conditions are particular problems. You’re not around to be on the phone to a Doctor if you’re out on a tractor from 5am, and it is obviously very physical work so things like injuries and strains are fairly common. Equipsme plans all come with virtual GP access and physio cover, for under £10 per person per month.
“It can be a hurdle to introduce something ‘new’ that doesn’t fit into the usual boxes, and Equipsme is very much outside of the box. It’s not quite PMI and it’s not quite a cash plan. We wanted our people to sell it – but the more we got to know the product the more we liked it and adopted it for our own employee benefit programme.
“As a small business there’s only so much you can do in terms of perks and benefits that’s going to be within budget. Equipsme is such great value for the cover provided, it seemed like exactly the sort of thing our people could use for themselves. And what better way for our brokers to get to know it, than by learning how it works from the inside out?”
High engagement
“Equipsme has been really successful and really well received across both HB Underwriting and McClarrons. Engagement is incredibly high, at around 130%, so people are actually using the product and anecdotally giving great feedback on it.”
“We’ve currently got about 70 of our team on the Equipsme plan, starting on level 3, which includes private diagnosis services. When they reach 5 years with us we decided to reward employee loyalty further so that level goes up. Around 15% have also chosen to pay in themselves to upgrade cover or add family members, which indicates to us how much people value it.”
“We also chose to add in Stress Support, giving people access to Equipsme’s Employee Assistance Programme, and it’s not just about stress, there’s a whole host of services in there to assist employees.”
Early diagnosis
“For most businesses, PMI for every single person just isn’t affordable, or sustainable over the long term. We’ve seen instances where one large cancer claim has caused the whole scheme to become unaffordable. Equipsme’s approach to cover and how it manages and spreads risk ultimately means more people can get a more general level of private health support. This works for us and we think it can work for our Brokers’ customers, too.”
Customer service
“We’ve been very happy with the service we’ve received from the team at Equipsme. The ease of administration is fantastic. It’s simple to add and remove people, and because individual buy-ups are direct, employees can upgrade without making the process more cumbersome for our internal HR team. Renewals have always been very smooth, any issues with claims have been rare and sorted out swiftly, plus we get great information that we can use in our own internal comms to raise awareness of health issues.
“This year Equipsme will also be delivering some webinar refresher sessions, so the team have that reminder about what they’ve got and how they can be using it ahead of our next renewal. That kind of support can really make a difference.”
Investing in health
HR Manager, Emma Cutress, adds: “The feedback I get on Equipsme is really good. People like the benefits, feel like they’ve got good support, and appreciate the fact that we’ve invested in them and their health.
“More than ever what people like is being able to access the GP so quickly. It has become particularly difficult to get an NHS appointment in our area, and people appreciate having somewhere else to turn to when they need to see a doctor quickly.
“The Stress Support service has also been really well received, and I know several colleagues who’ve used the counselling service and been very impressed with the support available. It’s been a great string to add to our bow, and helped us improve our wider mental health support.”
Access and options
“We want our people to be well and we want to support them in staying well or getting better – and just having that peace of mind and safety net when they’re ill or injured. We want to give our team options and access to support that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford – because paying for your own counselling or physiotherapy can be prohibitively expensive.
“Equipsme lets us do that for every employee. The fact is that traditional PMI at this scale just wouldn’t be realistic. With Equipsme, our people get much of the same benefits at a value we can work with as an independent, medium-sized business.”
About Equipsme plans
Our client testimonials and employee case studies are from people who’ve had a really good experience with Equipsme. We think they help others understand what we do and how we do it. But it’s also really important to understand what we don’t do. We’re committed to being completely up-front and transparent about our plans. For example, terms and conditions will apply (depending on the benefits described in this case study), such as the exclusion of pre-existing conditions in the three years before cover starts, long-term/chronic conditions, and private cancer treatment (once a cancer diagnosis has been made).
More details can be found on our website at Employee health insurance plans | Equipsme
