8 News Experts to reveal PMI sector’s long road to recovery
MENTAL HEALTH WORKPLACE SHAME British employees are too scared to discuss mental health problems with colleagues, according to a new survey. An online poll of 600 people was conducted by Time to Change, a coalition of mental health charities as it launched a new nationwide campaign called “It’s time to talk, it’s Time to Change” in a bid to encourage conversations about mental health. In the survey, only one in three respondents (29.7%) said they would feel comfortable telling a work colleague they had been off work as a result of their mental illness, while nine out of 10 respondents (88%) said they would feel comfortable saying they had been away from work for a physical health problem. The findings echo an earlier report from Aviva UK Health. The insurer’s survey of 1,000 workers last year found that just 4% said they would approach their boss with a health concern while a further 5% said they might confide in a colleague.
FOS PMI COMPLAINTS Complaints about private medical insurance are less likely to be upheld in favour of the consumer compared to other insurance products, suggests data from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Data for individual businesses show that of the 36 complaints about Aviva UK Health, 35% were upheld in favour of the consumer, compared to 41% of the 49 about AXA PPP healthcare and 50% of the 64 about Bupa Insurance Ltd (which includes other forms of insurance).
AVIVA TAKES STAKE IN HCML Aviva UK Health has bought shares in the holding company of rehabilitation services provider HCML, Ballard Investments Ltd. The two companies have a long-standing relationship, with HCML delivering Aviva’s Back-Up service, a case management service for customers suffering from back pain. In addition to buying shares in Ballard Investments, Aviva Health has made a financial investment in HCML.
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The 5% drop in overall demand for private medical insurance experienced in 2009 does not appear to have been stemmed in 2010, a leading economist has toldHealth Insurance. However, while corporate
Dr Annabel Bentley Adrian Humphreys Blackburn, who will be
demand for health insurance may have continued to slide following the recession, individual consumer demand looks to be holding up better. Speaking ahead of the annual
Private Healthcare Insurance conference in May, Philip Blackburn, a senior economist at organisers Laing & Buisson, said that his initial analysis of insurer performance in 2010 suggests that a trough in the business cycle has been having a heavy downward impact in some areas of the PMI market.
addressing the conference and revealing more detailed information about the state of the market, said: “It appears that fall-outs from the recession were clearly lagged on policy renewals, with high unemployment, and difficult business conditions continuing to weaken demand. A lack of any significant growth in UK economic growth since the recession, and acute fiscal tightening in the public sector with its spillover into the private sector, have meant that demand for medical insurance is probably yet to stabilise.” However, Blackburn said that “on a more positive note” early
Nigel Edwards
indications are that individual demand for medical insurance has not been as vulnerable as corporate demand during this time. The Laing
& Buisson conference will focus on health insurance market clarity, with addresses on this issue by Dr Annabel Bentley, medical director at Bupa Health and Wellbeing, Neville Koopovitz, CEO of PruHealth, and Adrian Humphreys, managing director of corporate business at WPA. Also addressing the conference on the crucial impacts of major NHS reforms is Nigel Edwards, acting CEO at the NHS Confederation.Health Insurance editor David Sawers will chair the event. Full details of the event which is on May 26th in central London are available at: www.
laingbuissonconferences.co.uk
Cash plans ‘an ideal solution’ to cope with EU eye laws Jill Davies, chief executive of cash
Employers are being urged to ensure they have adequate HR and health and wellbeing policies in place in order to comply with EU legislation coming into force this year. The rules will make regular eye tests compulsory for employees who drive while on company business. Under the EU proposals, which
must become law in each member country including the UK by 2013, holders of commercial licences will have to have their eyes tested every five years, and holders of private licences every 10-15 years. At present, there is no legal
obligation for employers to ensure their drivers comply with minimum sight requirements. Once a driver has passed the mandatory driving test sight assessment, they are not required to prove the fitness of their eyesight again during their working lives.
plan provider Westfield Health, said it was essential that companies ensure that they have adequate measures in place to ensure they can provide and fund the tests. She said: “Obviously this new
legislation will help to improve road safety. Not just for the drivers themselves, but for other road users too. However, at a time when many businesses are struggling to make ends meet, a lot of employers will no doubt be asking who will fund the sight tests – the company or the driver?” According to Davies, while in
practical terms it does not matter who pays for the tests, many employees will be expecting their employer to fund the cost. “This presents an obvious opportunity for providers of corporate-paid health cash plans,” Davies said. “Employers will be looking for the most cost-effective
HI
way to ensure staff have access to optical care whenever they need it – while keeping additional administration and paperwork to a minimum. A health cash plan ticks all of these boxes.” Mike Blake, compliance director
of national specialist intermediary PMI Health Group, said that by implementing a cash plan fleet businesses could take a step both towards meeting the new requirement while also providing access to other health and care services, such as physiotherapy. Blake said: “Healthcare specialists suggest the responsibility to provide access to regular sight tests will fall to the employer. This, however, may present an opportunity to introduce an employee benefit to cover this cost, while at the same time addressing other healthcare risks faced by drivers.”
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www.hi-mag.com April 2011
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