Specialist health insurer National Friendly is challenging the cash plan market with the launch of One Fund, an innovative new corporate health product.
Unlike anything currently available, One Fund provides an annual sum of money that policyholders can spend on a range of core healthcare treatments comprising dental, optical, POCAH (Physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and homeopathy), specialist consultations, health screening and counselling.
Rather than setting restrictive limits, National Friendly has opted to give policyholders as much choice as possible in how they spend their cover. This will enable them to get more value from their plan by giving them the chance to claim larger sums of money.
The innovative product offers significant payments towards the bills that hit employees the hardest, as opposed to subsidising small everyday costs. A check-up isn't going to keep an employee off work, but a delayed dental crown might. The higher consultation scans and physiotherapy allowance also gives a greater opportunity to get treatment done privately to avoid any delays for treatment on the NHS. The lower the contribution an employee has to make towards a large bill, the higher the chance they will get the treatment done allowing them a speedy return to work.
Chief executive at National Friendly, Richard Sear, explains: “The cash plan market is largely formulaic, with many providers covering an extensive range of treatments but offering very low levels of cover. We wanted to develop a product that was different, that stands apart from the others, and we believe that One Fund really is a cash plan as you would want it if you could design it yourself.”
He continues: “In essence, many cash plans don’t really provide much value for policyholders. Feedback indicates that consumers would welcome bigger sums of money that can be used to cover more expensive treatments rather than a small contribution to lots of little ones. Premium levels for One Fund are in line with other cash plan products but offer policyholders the opportunity to claim so much more.”
Two of the most common causes of absence from work are stress and musculoskeletal problems. Traditional cash plans only cover an initial consultation and a few treatments. One Fund can provide cover for a full course of treatment (up to the annual limit), ensuring that the employee can be treated and back at work as quickly as possible.
With minimum monthly premiums starting at just £10 and One Fund offering six different premium levels going up to £20 a month, employers have real choice in selecting the most appropriate level of cover that best suits their employees’ needs.
The plan is also simple to implement and administer for the employer, with a straight forward claims process for the employee. After paying one £40 excess per benefit category each year, the policyholder can claim up to an annual limit of 72 x the monthly premium, which can be claimed in full for any benefit aside from optical and health screening which are subject to an annual limit due to these being elective treatments.
Sear concludes: “One Fund is aimed at employers that are looking for an employee benefit that goes beyond a traditional cash plan, but is not full PMI. After speaking with brokers, there is a definite hunger for a product such as this that bridges the gap between cash plans and PMI.”
Available from July 2010, One Fund is aimed at companies with more than 25 employees and will initially be sold through brokers looking for something a little different.