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Share on LinkedInWe have today published new work with the ABI, “Futureproofing workplace health: Scaling up the impact of protection and health insurance.”
The report highlights the significant prize that could be achieved from boosting take-up of protection and health cover, delivering a range of benefits and helping government achieve its target of improving labour market participation. We make a series of recommendations that would help to make this a reality, including:
- Reform of SSP, including by increasing the rate and removing waiting days, creating a stronger safety net underpinned by more support for employers.
- Ensuring that any incentive framework for occupational health also supports employers to deliver better workplace outcomes through insurance.
- Reforming the interaction between benefits and IIP insurance to reduce disincentives for low and median earners.
- Ensuring that more employees are aware of any health benefits that they have access to – including by making the day one benefits statement an annual event and better utilising the mid-life MOT.
In particular, these interventions are aimed at boosting insurance take-up among SMEs and the self-employed, where policy has previously failed to shift the dial. In the longer term, it is critical that government, industry, employers, and broader stakeholders work together to ensure a basic level of workplace health support for the vast majority of people.