Added Value benefits for businesses – Everything you need to know
In reading this and the linked articles you will understand:
- What added value benefits are available
- How insurers compare in what they offer
- How you can signpost these services to your clients
Added value benefits offer a range of additional services, designed to provide complementary support to clients. Increasingly an integral part of any protection policy, added value benefits range from legal advice & help lines, through to app based virtual GP consultations. Many of these benefits can be accessed at any time and are not restricted to only being available if & when a claim arises. This means that increasingly protection insurance policies are more than just ‘worst case scenario’ insurance coverage and instead include services that can help clients maintain their health and wellbeing. When included on a Business Protection Insurance policy, these added value benefits can utilized by the business for the benefit of insured employees (for example a director or key person), or to help support the business itself.
Which insurers offer legal support to businesses?
The proceeds from business protection policies provide financial support to get the business ready to face the future again and of course owners will still have their financial advisers to turn to. But sometimes a different area of expertise, such as legal advice, is needed. The costs , however, can be prohibitive – particularly for smaller businesses that are likely to feel the loss of a keyperson more keenly. This is why the legal guidance or advice helplines that are offered by some insurers as part of their business protection propositions can be so valuable to clients. In this insight we examined the legal support providers offer on business protection.
Virtual GP services – how insurers compare
Over the last year by far the most popular “added value benefit” in terms of views of articles and selections within our various benchmarking tools has been virtual GP services. Whilst clearly driven by difficulties in being able to visit a GP face to face throughout the pandemic, the general consensus from advisers we speak to is that the value of such services will not diminish when restrictions are lifted. With more insurers now offering virtual GP services than not, it seems that this has become the must have benefit and today. In this article we assessed the launch of Scottish Widows “Clinic in a Pocket” app and how it compared to other providers.
Second Medical Opinion Services – How insurers compare
Many clients will have more faith in a diagnosis or course of treatment if more than one medical professional comes to that same conclusion independently of each other. That is why the second medical opinion services that some insurers offer on their protection plans are valuable to clients and why it may benefit advisers to know who offers what. In this insight we delved into the detail of second medical opinion services.
Health Checks – How do Providers Compare
For advisers, the health checks that some insurers provide as additional benefit on their protection plans can provide a great way in to a conversation about the merits of having cover. Clients can also feel they are getting more value for money from their policies, as they will benefit from it even if they do not need to make a claim. In this article we highlighted the insurers who provide health checks as part of their value-added services and examined the key differences between them.
Blue Monday – How Providers’ Mental Health Support Compares
Mental health is recognised as the single largest cause of disability in the UK, significantly higher than cancer or heart disease and affects one in four people every year. The total economic costs of mental ill health in England has been estimated at more than £105 billion each year and with the emotional and psychological suffering often impossible to calculate, considering the financial burden can also be pretty eye-watering. But protection clients are not without support. Published on ‘Blue Monday’, this article we examined the support offered by providers to help you in your client conversations.
