Employers can expect a £2.78 return for every £1 spent on Equipsme Health Insurance, according to a new “credible return on investment (ROI) model” created in partnership with wellbeing data analysts Fruitful Insights,
The providers said this “first” quantifiable ROI for health insurance will help HR leaders make a stronger case when speaking to financial decision makers.
Researchers examined data including sickness absence rates, NHS and private healthcare waiting times, and workforce job levels. From this they calculated a conservative ROI for the impact of health insurance on employee productivity and business costs.
Equipsme said the clear ROI figure is a “significant milestone” for the health insurance industry, adding that its transparent pricing model has made it possible. The provider, which offers plans in “the middle ground” between cash plans and traditional private medical insurance, highlighted its consistent pricing offer for both new and renewing businesses.
Bespoke ROI data
Fruitful Insights said that with this calculation process it can now offer employers bespoke information about the ROI they can expect from Equipsme’s plans.
Matthew Reed, managing director of Equipsme, said: “The cost of living crisis has not gone away, nor has the pressure on the NHS and businesses are now trying to find extra national insurance costs to boot. All of which makes the growing demand for health benefits even more challenging for businesses.”
He said that while the provider has seen the number of lives they cover continue to increase each year, he understands that for employers investing in health benefits is a big decision.
Figures for decision makers
Reed said: “The one thing businesses ask us for again and again is an ROI – what will we actually get back if we invest in employee health? Throw away statements about better engagement and employees feeling good are a waste of time in the eyes of decision makers. HRs must prove to their boards, stakeholders and investors – in pounds and pence – why precious budget should be spent on health benefits.
“With Fruitful Insights, we’ve managed to get them an answer. Our extremely conservative calculation crunches all the numbers and shows that companies could get more than double their money back on an Equipsme plan. For many of the organisations we’re working with it’s the thing that’s finally moved the needle on their benefits.”
Fruitful Insights co-founder Mike Tyler said his firm was pleased to be part of the health plan provider’s mission to broaden health insurance “beyond the upper echelons of senior management” by giving HR teams a business case for wellbeing.
“All the evidence indicates that happy and healthy employees make for better, more productive businesses, and that providing health insurance that speeds quicker access and interventions can have a measurable impact on productivity, he added.
“Through this partnership we can also go a step further and actually personalise return on investment calculations to each individual business. That means a more tailored case for health benefits centred around happy, engaged staff who are more productive, less likely to leave – and back to work quicker when they get ill.”
‘Valuable tool’
Commenting on the ROI development, Mark Waters, head of professional excellence at Howden Employee Benefits, said: “Equipsme and Fruitful have come up with a credible ROI model, based on hard data and reasonable assumptions. The fact it can also be tailored to individual businesses is a valuable tool. This will be invaluable for benefit strategists and for businesses, who need to prove that health support can more than pay for itself.
“Right now, health insurance costs are spiralling, and some businesses are baulking at their renewal costs. Not only has Equipsme provided a middle ground between traditional PMI and cash plans, but they’ve provided the evidence businesses need to confidently invest in the health of their people.”
