Health benefits for insurance and reinsurance teams

What insurance teams need from health care

People who assess risk for a living need care they can reach quickly and trust. In Great Britain, workload is the main cause people give for work-related stress, depression or anxiety, and professional occupations report it at a rate of 2,730 cases per 100,000 workers, above the 2,040 average for all occupations [1].

Mental health is the largest part of that need worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that 16% of working-age adults had a mental disorder in 2023 [2]. A team that can reach a psychiatrist or psychologist directly, in confidence, can ask for help as soon as they need it.

Renewal seasons and long hours

The weeks around the main renewal dates are long for underwriters and brokers, and long hours carry a measured risk. The World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization estimate that working 55 hours or more a week, compared with 35 to 40 hours, is linked to a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease [3].

Leaders feel the load most. A global workplace survey found 46% of leaders reporting a lot of stress the previous day, 7 points more than individual contributors [4]. A yearly review with the same physician, and a doctor who can be reached the day something changes, gives senior people practical support through the busiest weeks.

What the evidence says about workplace wellbeing programmes

Insurance people will want the evidence, and the strongest trial of workplace wellness programmes sets realistic expectations. A randomised trial across 160 worksites found that a workplace wellness programme raised the share of people who reported regular exercise and actively managing their weight, after 18 months, with no significant effect on clinical markers of health or on medical spending [5].

The most common benefits in British workplaces are access to counselling, offered by 71% of organisations surveyed, and an assistance programme, offered by 67% [6]. Only 29% of organisations train line managers in mental health [7]. A membership that puts a doctor and a specialist within the same day’s reach adds the clinical layer that sits behind those benefits.

Care in the cities where the market works

Insurance and reinsurance gather in a few centres, and our 13 cities include the main ones. The London market is served by our London care, and New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai hold the regional hubs where many firms write business.

Miami and Sydney serve teams that cover the Americas and the Pacific. An underwriter who visits clients in Singapore and returns to London keeps the same concierge and the same record in both, and the firm holds one contract for every city.

Teams who travel to clients and hubs

Underwriters and brokers travel to clients and to the regional hubs throughout the year, and heavy travel has a measured effect on health. A study of medical records found that people travelling for work 21 or more nights a month were more likely to report trouble sleeping and symptoms of anxiety and depression [8].

Care that travels with the person answers that. An underwriter who lands in Hong Kong reaches the same concierge and the same record they use in London, and a doctor can see them the same day.

A checklist for an insurance firm choosing health benefits

Ask these questions of any partner you consider, ourselves included.

• Can a person speak to a doctor the same day, in every city where the firm writes business?
• Can people reach a psychiatrist or psychologist directly, without going through the firm?
• Does the same physician review each leader’s health from one year to the next?
• Are families covered by the same arrangement and the same concierge?
• Does the firm see anonymised reporting only, with small groups left out, under a data processing agreement?
• What evidence does the partner offer for what it provides, and how will it report on use each year?

What The Wellness for teams gives an insurance firm

The Wellness for teams is one membership for the whole firm, with its leaders and their families included, and it holds inpatient and outpatient care, dental care, diagnostics and health programmes in 13 cities. A concierge arranges everything, and the firm receives one invoice, renewed once a year. Outside the United States it takes the place of national plans at renewal, and in the United States it is the global layer above the medical plan.

The firm sees anonymised reporting only, with small groups left out, under a data processing agreement. Leaders can start in one morning and the whole firm within 10 days. Nobody is refused care, and care beyond the plan is billed at the published fee. Our doctors are registered with the General Medical Council, and care is delivered through registered partner clinics and accredited laboratories.