Insurance group cover is a form of business insurance which allows businesses to purchase income protection, life insurance, and health insurance for their employees as a group.
Rather than purchase an individual policy, employees may obtain insurance cover provided by their employer as an employee benefit.
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What is group cover for insurance?
Group cover is insurance which provides benefits to a group of people, usually purchased by an employer for a group of employees.
Each employee will have their own individual insurance policy, but rather than arranging their own cover through an insurance company or an insurance broker, they will obtain the insurance as an employee of the company.
Group or corporate insurance cover is provided by the following companies:
(income protection, life insurance)
(income protection, life insurance, health insurance)
(income protection, life insurance)
(income protection, life insurance)
(corporate health insurance)
(corporate health insurance)
What types of insurance offer group cover?
The types of personal insurance available as group cover include income protection, life insurance, and health insurance.All offer distinct benefits to employees.
Group Income Protection
Group income protection offers income protection to employees as a benefit of employment. Income protection insurance is designed to replace a proportion of your income if you are unable to work due to an illness, or injury.
Income protection provides the employee with a monthly payment (up to 75% of their salary) for as long as they are unable to work, or for the remainder of the policy term should they be unable to return to work.Employees will receive benefits from their income protection plan following a period of time known as the deferred period which may be a number of weeks or months.
Income protection insurance policies usually include therapeutic and rehabilitation supports to facilitate the employee’s return to work, be that full or part time.
Group Life Insurance
Group life insurance provides a lump sum should the employee die during their employment or during the term of the life insurance policy.
Group life insurance is also available which provides for a spouse’s pension to be paid monthly to a former employee’s spouse or children’s pension to be paid as a monthly income to the former employee’s family until the children turn 18 or 21, if they are in full time education.
Generally, the employer will decide on the amount of benefit provided to the employee’s family or beneficiaries.This may be a multiple of their salary or a lump sum specified by the employer.
Group life insurance may offer life insurance protection with less medical questions or underwriting than individual life insurance, depending on the amount of benefit offered to the employee.
Group life insurance may also offer additional benefits such as GP access or a second medical opinion, as well as supports such as counselling and/ or bereavement support to an employee’s family, depending on the plan chosen by the employer.
Group Health Insurance
Group or corporate health insurance offers financial benefit and access to healthcare for employees.
Health insurance in Ireland will cover at least a minimum of inpatient and outpatient care, maternity care, psychiatric care, convalescence, and substance abuse treatment.
Typically, corporate or employee health insurance will offer access to private health care as well as additional benefits such as screening and insurer provided rapid access healthcare.Group or corporate health insurance plans may offer more comprehensive benefits than one purchased by an individual.
This supports employees’ engagement and productivity in the workplace and may reduce levels of sick leave in the business.
Who is group insurance cover for?
Although insurance group cover has traditionally been associated with larger, corporate firms and the public sector, it is available to any business with more then three members who could avail of insurance group cover.
Insurance group cover premiums are considered an allowable expense for tax purposes, so it may be more viable than expected for smaller businesses.
Insurance group cover provides a way to manage potential expenses of long term sick leave. Paying for insurance group cover in predictable, monthly payments may be preferable to paying longer term sick pay.
For any organisation that wishes to attract and retain staff, it is worth considering.As it is an attractive employee benefit.
Benefits of group cover for employers:
There are a number of benefits to providing group insurance to your employees.Group insurance, be it group income protection, group life insurance, or company health insurance can provide the following benefits to employers.
Benefits of group cover for employees:
Employees who are covered by group insurance as part of their employment will not only benefit from protection provided by their employer.They will also benefit from the following:
Is group cover standardised?
Group insurance cover can be tailored to the needs of your business – may be part of a benefits package to attract/ retain senior staff or it may be available to the whole workforce.
This is for the employer to decide, depending on what remuneration they wish to offer their staff and their available budget.
Levels of cover can likewise, be tailored to the needs and budget of the employer.
For example, group life cover can be for a fixed lump sum paid on the death of an employee to their dependents, it may be a spouse pension paid monthly to the employee’s former spouse, or a children;s pension paid to the former employee’s family until the children turn 18, or 21 if in full time education.
These monthly payments can be index linked to protect against inflation as an additional option.
Do employees contribute to group cover or is it covered by the organisation?
Insurance group cover is a benefit provided by employers to employees.It is paid for by the employer for the benefit of their employees.
This expense is a tax allowable expense for employers who can deduct it from their tax.
Learn more about group cover insurance today.
Group insurance cover is available to businesses of all sizes, with cover available for as few as 3 members.
It is a strong incentive in recruiting and retaining employees and can help employers provide for employees and their families as well as manage absence from the workplace.
Take an assessment and speak with a Qualified Financial Advisor today to see if insurance group cover is right for your business.
