Private healthcare is one of the most popular employee benefits. Which is no surprise when doctor’s appointments and hospital beds are rarer than a blood diamond. But private medical also gives you lots of benefits as a small business owner. In fact, we’re not sure there are any downsides to group health insurance…
#1 You can have private medical even if you’re a company of one
If you’re a small business (or even if it’s just you), you can still have a group private medical insurance policy and pay for it through your business. It may not be a tax-free benefit for you personally, but it will reduce your corporation tax (see #3)
#2 Health Insurance can cost almost nothing
If your benefits budget is modest, you can set up a voluntary scheme where individuals choose to opt-in and premiums are deducted from their salary. So you only have to cover scheme administration costs and potential employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs).
#3 A company-paid scheme will reduce your corporation tax
Group medical insurance is an allowable business expense. So, if you do opt for a paid scheme where you pay premiums on behalf of your employees, you’ll pay less corporation tax.
#4 Employees won’t need time off for doctors’ appointments
Lots of group private medical policies include a 24-hour virtual GP or nurse-practitioner phone line. So your employees can get support when they need it. Plus, having out-of-hours GP access reduces the need for in-work-time doctor appointments.
#5 Cashback offers can offset employee benefit-in-kind costs
Lots of insurers offer cashback for dental and optometry costs. Typically, the employee pays for their appointments and treatment and then submits a claim to get some of the money back. Some insurers reimburse as much as 80% of the cost (up to a limit), so although it’s not a tax-free benefit for employees, the cashback can go a long way to offsetting the benefit-in-kind tax.
#6 Employees will be more likely to stay with you
Private healthcare is a much less common perk in smaller companies. So, adding it to your employee benefits package will help you stand out when recruiting, and make employees more likely to stay.
#7 Employees can get back to work quicker
NHS waiting lists are longer than ever. Which could mean months off work, especially if an employee is waiting for an operation. Access to private hospital care means employees will be diagnosed, treated and back to work without unnecessary delays or unnecessary strain on their mental health.
And because Private Medical is so helpful, here are two bonus benefits for good measure…
#8 Employees can choose to add in family members
Adding in family members to an employee’s private medical insurance policy has two benefits 1) The employee and their family feel valued and looked after which makes the employee more likely to stay 2) Employee absence isn’t always about employee illness; they may be calling in sick to care for a family member. If family members can also benefit from being treated privately, there will be less impact on your employee.
#9 There’s lots you can do to reduce the cost
If you do opt for the ‘company paid scheme’ but you’re still worried about cost, there are lots of ways to tailor policies and reduce the cost such as:
- Adding an excess which is normally payable per year rather than per claim
- Reducing outpatient costs
- Removing add-ons like physiotherapy
Could you save money with a market review?
Using our market review service, we’ve been able to save companies as much as 30% on their private medical insurance policies even with the same insurer. So even if you have an existing company health insurance scheme, it might just be worth a second opinion.
Want to retain good people AND reduce employee absence?
Call Vikki on 0118 923 5092 or email: Vikki.Claxton@macbeths.co.uk
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