Cost is the most important factor for employers when setting up a health and risk benefits strategy.
According to Towers Perrin's UK corporate health and wellbeing survey, price is the greatest influence when implementing a health and risk policy, cited by 45% of respondents, followed by employee satisfaction (29%).
Organisations that provide private medical insurance for their staff have already faced rising prices, with the average cost per employee escalating by 18% in the past four years. Where employers have switched providers in the past four years, 62% did so because of increasing costs, while 59% said price remained an issue for them.
However, more than one in 10 (13%) organisations still offer retiree medical plans to new joiners, although the cost of this is, typically, shared between employer and employees.
When it comes to other benefits, nearly half (48%) of respondents have a wellbeing programme in place, and more than a quarter provide access to a healthcare cash plan. In most cases (86%), these are solely employee-funded.
