Group insurance schemes available for companies
Employee engagement and security are important for employee retention. In order to achieve this, employers can take care of an employee’s concerns over financial security, medical expenses, and workplace safety. To this end, there is a range of group insurance schemes available for companies.
Group medical insurance
A group medical insurance policy provides many benefits that employees might not get on an individual policy, such as the inclusion of pre-existing diseases. Also, such policies tend to waive off waiting periods for certain diseases and provide immediate cover for maternity. In fact, organisations can customise their corporate health insurance plans to suit the requirements of their employees. Moreover, organisations can also extend group health insurance benefits to the family members of employees. Premiums for group health insurance plans are usually low and they offer tax benefits for the employer.
Group term life insurance
A group term life insurance plan would prove to be beneficial if employees lose their life. It provides monetary relief to an employee’s family in the event of an employee’s death. Under group term life insurance, the benefit amount typically varies between one and five times the employee’s annual income, based on what the employer decides. This can be a useful amount to take care of a dependent’s education, marriage, or even just day-to-day expenses.
Group personal accident insurance
Many group personal accident insurance policies cover not only accidental death, but also medical expenses for treatment post an accident as well as partial and total disabilities. Thus, such an insurance can help meet ambulance expenses, doctor’s fees, treatment charges, and the like. This group insurance policy helps employees and their families by sharing a major part of the financial burden in case of any accident during the course of employment.
Workers’ compensation insurance
This insurance covers an employer’s legal liability, as defined under the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923, to workers engaged on their premises or on their project. In manufacturing and construction units, even where there might be as few as 20 workers, workmen’s compensation insurance is mandatory to cover occupational diseases, accidents, and injuries during the course of employment.
Such a group insurance plan covers partial and complete disability along with death at the workplace. Because this insurance is mandated by law, if the employer fails to provide workmen’s compensation, they could be held responsible under law. This insurance pays the costs awarded by worker courts, whatsoever they may be.
Public liability insurance
This insurance covers third-party claims filed on a company. Here, third-party usually refers to clients or the public. They can make claims against financial loss, property damage, or physical injury on the company’s premises. Typically, a claim is made when a third party, say a vendor or client, gets hurt on the company’s premises and files a suit. Public liability insurance covers the cost of fighting that suit as well as the damages awarded by the courts.
Professional indemnity
Professional liability insurance protects employees from any legal repercussions arising from mistakes made in their professional capacity. An unintentional mistake by a company director can hold the company legally at fault and even lead to a complete shutdown. Similarly, a wrong decision made unintentionally by a doctor could cause a patient their life.
Such an insurance is a must for hospitals, law firms, consultancy firms, and construction companies to protect their employees from lawsuits and to maintain their reputation.
Travel insurance
An organisation may have employees who travel frequently. In such cases, the employees probably have to deal with delays, loss of baggage, and health problems. Such problems on a work-related trip could delay an important deal or in some other way affect business function. A corporate travel insurance scheme offers 24*7 travel assistance to compensate for such problems.
Group pension cover
This is a retirement cover for employees. It allows employers to make a contribution to an employee’s retirement funds. The resulting benefit accrues to an employee only post-retirement and in the form of pension. This can also be in the form of a group superannuation insurance that manages provident fund contributions.
Case study: 360-degree cover for employees
Ramesh worked for LoadDelivery.com as a field worker transporting goods from one station to another. His employer provided him a group term insurance cover. One day, he met with an accident and passed away. His family was entitled to the sum assured under the group term cover.
Since Ramesh was the sole provider for his wife and two kids, without the term cover, his widow Premlata would have found it difficult to take care of the kids. However, she now has a financial safety net while she works out a plan for the future.
Let us assume Ramesh survived the accident and his company had group personal accident insurance. In such a case, if he needed surgery, the insurer would cover his hospitalisation expense up to the limits insured. If he was disabled, Ramesh would be eligible for compensation under the terms of the insurance and awards by the worker courts.
