Law firm Norton Rose swapped its private medical insurance scheme to a provider offering additional benefits in June 2006. Although it had no qualms about the service or premiums of its previous insurer, Mandy Campbell, pensions and benefits manager, believes that the additional benefits offered by PruHealth will make the scheme more attractive for staff.
Even though the company pays for single cover, with employees paying for dependants, Campbell says many staff opted out of the old scheme because of the tax they had to pay on the benefit.
"We were looking for employee engagement in the healthcare plan because the people who used it valued it, but lots of people didn't go into it because they didn't see any benefit to them," she says.
The new plan includes benefits such as discounts on gym membership and products such as smoking cessation programmes. Staff can also get money back from the policy at the end of the year if they lead a healthy lifestyle.
"Even if you don't think you are going to make a claim, there are still lots of perks (staff can take advantage of)," explains Campbell.
Although it is currently too soon to tell whether more staff will eventually join the scheme, Campbell believes it has been well received.
