Company Health Insurance
Corporate health insurance – switching schemes

Businesses with corporate health insurance plans may tend to display the same sort of inertia when it comes to switching insurers as the rest of us. Although this is an area in which a certain degree of care needs to be exercised, switching might nevertheless result in a health care scheme which better suits you and your employees’ needs and, at the same time represent better value for money.

What to beware

Switching schemes makes some companies and their employees nervous because of:

• the possibility of the new private medical insurance provider insisting that any of the individuals covered has a clean bill of health; or
  
  
• that pre-existing medical illnesses and conditions are excluded from the cover; or
  
  
• that illnesses and conditions suffered within the previous five years are excluded from the terms of the new cover;
  
  
• employees who have previously enjoyed cover without such conditions and exclusions might not unreasonably object to a change of regime.

A number of corporate health insurance providers do indeed impose such conditions on companies that switch their medical health scheme provider. However, it is may be possible to find insurers who make switching easier and without unduly sacrificing the existing levels of cover for you and your employees.

Switching made easier

• on a review of the medical histories of the individuals covered on a case by case basis; and
  
  
• exclusions based on a few broad criteria, such as:
  
  
• any illnesses or conditions currently already excluded by the existing insurer;
  
  
• very recent or ongoing conditions or illnesses; and
  
  
• more major medical issues, such as heart conditions and strokes, cancer, arthritis and psychiatric illnesses.

Of course, as with all insurance policies, policy features and benefits vary among company health insurance providers so it makes sense to do a little research before you switch.

Switching to a corporate health insurance provider who is able to deliver some or all of these safeguards, might help alleviate some of the concerns that you and your employees have, whilst at the same time providing the company with better value for money and the insured individuals with better access to private medical insurance.