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James Shattock, Managing Director, Legal & General Retail looks at the benefits of pooled risk and offering employee benefits that include people with a pre-existing condition or medical history.
Employers are tasked with ensuring that DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) objectives and principles are reflected in workplace practices and applied to employee benefit plans. But considering the huge complexities in trying to meet everyone’s needs, is there a risk of meeting no ones?
I exaggerate for effect, of course. But the fact remains that there are disconnects between employers and employees when it comes to thinking on DEI. So, maybe it’s time for some simplification and a consideration of the insurance industry’s role as part of that?
Our own data shows that employers are significantly more confident than employees on how well their organisation is doing on offering benefits and services that support DEI goals; 77% of employers said (net) ‘good’, in comparison to 58% of employees. On top of that, a significant proportion simply sat on the fence, which is telling in itself: 13% of employers said ‘neither good nor poor’ in comparison to 25% of employees.
It’s hard to say for sure what’s behind these disconnects. It could be that employers aren’t listening to their employees. It could be that DEI objectives and principles simply aren’t ‘felt’ through employee experience of workplace practices and benefits. It could be that employers are so focussed on trying to keep up with each other on initiatives for different populations, they’ve lost sight of the cultural aspects that would benefit all. It’s likely a combination of all these things.
The point is that in this complicated world, we might risk losing sight of the simple things that help create the conditions for equity and inclusion; such as day-to-day interactions (more on this in the interview, in our latest CMO report, with Financial Inclusion Commissioner Johnny Timpson OBE). And, as part of this, on the things that the group protection industry can very tangibly help with; namely the very equitable and inclusive nature of pooled risk.
Benefits matter to DEI
As discussed in the foreword to this report, when it comes to recruitment, the power is in the hands of the job applicant. And employee expectations are changing. Salary will always represent a key factor, but people also want personalised benefits and life work balance and, as is the theme throughout our Chief Medical Officer report series, people want – and deserve – good work that’s beneficial for their health.
Organisations need to be able to attract, retain and engage people from diverse groups. So, benefits that support equity and inclusion will undoubtedly prove valuable. This is not only about hiring strategy though. It’s simply the right thing to do.
It’s about removing barriers and hurdles to cover. And it’s about ensuring that when cover is in place, support is fully accessible, tailored to need and focused on outcomes.
Back to basics: Pooled risk
Enter Group Income Protection (GIP). We talk about the tailored support and outcomes aspects in other articles in this report. Here, I’m going to zoom in on accessibility.
GIP has always remained true to the core principle of pooling risk across a group of people. This allows a wider access across the health profile of employees, with limited medical underwriting – if at all – required. In fact, any individual medical underwriting of employees only tends to impact the very highest earners, and only for a portion of their benefit.
This pooling enables employees – regardless of health conditions past or present – to gain access to valuable and essential insurance coverage with the simplest of eligibility; just by being employed and actively at work.
This not only brings financial peace of mind, but also access to a raft of everyday wellbeing support services, whether a claim is involved or not. Plus, tailored return to work support from a multidisciplinary clinical team, where a claim is involved.
In my opinion, this makes GIP equitable in that there are no barriers to cover, everyone is treated the same, regardless of medical history and health risks. It also helps in creating the conditions for inclusion; helping people feel safe and valued.
And all this for a fraction of the spend compared to other employee benefits.
Everyone who works in this industry knows this. But do we shout about it enough? Do we help employers understand how this might align with their DEI objectives and principles? This is still to be determined.
Source
*Legal & General Wellbeing at Work Barometer 2022. Legal & General commissioned Opinium to carry out this research, involving 1,005 senior managers or above in business’ with over 10 employees. Also 1,040 middle managers or below in business’ with over 10 employees. Field dates, 1 June 2022 – 11 June 2022.