While looking at ways to try and support long term sick staff without breaking the bank, I’ve come across income protection insurance - your org pays an annual sum and if someone is off long term sick, they get a pay out for a proportion of their wages and/or help back into work
Has anyone used one?
My concerns are:
Is it worth it, i.e. will the insurer pay out or try to get round it?
Do you generally have to buy it as a packeage with private healthcare which we have some ethical considerations around
It sounds good in theory but would be good to hear some case studies!
I implemented this at my previous organisation after I queried our sick leave policy and when I was diagnosed with a serious illness. After doing research the org was able to purchase the income protection insurance as a stand alone policy rather than purchasing private healthcare. They were a tiny organisation so the annual fee was fairly manageable. The quotation was based on a calculation of employee age, job role, location, current health. So for example the larger the organisation and older the staff are, the quotation would likely have been higher.
Given the fact I was already diagnosed with a condition and we wanted to cover for this, it was also a tad more expensive. But we went through a broker and we asked a LOT of questions before proceeding (personally I’m also dubious of insurance companies).
Once I went on sick leave, I believe the process to submit a claim was fairly easy but another admin person did this. But as a person on the receiving end of a new sick leave policy - it was lifechanging and honestly was integral to helping me during my recovery period. So I’d really encourage you to explore this.
If you fancy chatting in more detail, let me know.
