Different types of companies have different needs from their group health insurance provider.
As an IT services company, it can be confusing to find the right insurance product that meets all your needs. This can be especially difficult since there are so many insurance products to choose from. However, with the right guidance, the process to choose the right group health insurance can be highly rewarding.
When choosing a GMC for an IT services company, there are certain special factors that need to be kept in mind. In this article, we’ll take you through the main considerations.
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24*7 Call Support and Dedicated Relationship Manager
A health emergency can arise at any time. Diseases don’t wait for working hours. This is why one of the first features that your company needs to check for is the presence of 24*7 call support. 24*7 call support means that your employees can reach out to the insurance service provider at any time.
For example, if an emergency arises at night and the employee needs to find out the nearest network hospital, then they can simply get on a call with the customer support team of the insurance service provider and receive their assistance.
Not every insurance provider provides this feature, however, it can make a big difference to your insurance experience.
Further, you should also check whether the insurance company provides a dedicated relationship manager. A dedicated relationship manager is someone who has been designated by the insurance company to help you with all your insurance-related needs. They will help you file claims, they will help you renew your policy, they will help you make changes to your policy, and so on.
Having a dedicated relationship manager can save you a lot of hassle in the long run. They are just one call away and a single point of contact between you and the insurance company.
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Family Floater Plans
There are two kinds of insurance policies that you can offer your employees. An individual plan or a family floater plan. An individual health insurance plan only covers the employee. In contrast, a family floater plan will include the employee and their family (such as a spouse, children, or even parents). A family floater plan provides a yearly insurance cover with a sum insured that can be shared by each member of the family.
It is essential for an IT services company to ensure that the needs of its employees are met. Providing family floater policies can be highly cost-effective for the company and also ensure that the employee does not have to look elsewhere for the insurance needs of their family.
Nowadays, there are flexible group insurance plans which allow employees to choose between an individual cover or a family floater cover. Employees who need insurance for their families can choose the family floater option, while others can opt for the individual plan. Hence, it takes care of the needs of every kind of employee without any hassle.
Presence of Network Hospitals near Employees
There are two ways in which a health insurance claim can be made. The traditional option is a reimbursement claim. In a reimbursement claim, the necessary expenses are met by the insured, and then the insurance company pays the insured for the expenses that were incurred.
However, nowadays, a new option exists which is called a cashless claim. In a cashless claim, the insurance provider directly pays the hospitals for the cost of the treatment of the insured without the insured having to pay the hospital (apart from the costs not covered by the insurance). This makes it much easier for the insured.
The issue is that a cashless claim can only be made at a network hospital. Every insurance company has its own set of network hospitals from whom it can accept a cashless claim.
Hence, as an IT services company, you need to ensure that network hospitals exist near your employees. This can make it much easier for your employees to have their treatment without having to break the bank while paying for their costs.
Since your employees may live all over India, it may be essential to look for an insurance service provider that has a pan-India presence in terms of network hospitals.
Coverage of Pre-Existing Diseases from Day One
A pre-existing disease is a medical condition that the insured suffers from before they enter into a health insurance plan. Usually, insurance policies do not cover pre-existing diseases for a period of two to four years from the time the policy was first entered into (this happens for a variety of reasons that we will not discuss here).
However, the situation with group health insurance policies can be different. There are several health insurance companies that provide coverage for pre-existing diseases from day one. This means that any employee can get healthcare treatment, even if their illness predates the health insurance policy.
It can be vastly beneficial for your employees if they receive a plan that covers pre-existing diseases. This is because almost everyone nowadays suffers from some kind of medical condition. It can be hard for employees to wait for a few years before they can get treatment for such conditions with the benefit of insurance.
Hence, it is best for employers to opt for a group health plan that covers pre-existing diseases as soon as the policy has been entered into.
Wrapping Up
As an IT services company, your needs will be different from other types of companies. The vast majority of your employees may be scattered around India while working from home. Your workforce may consist of entirely white-collar workers. And so on. Hence, the group health insurance for an IT services company will need to be different too.
Talk to your insurance broker to understand how they can help you find the right policy that is specially tailored to your needs. You can opt for extra add-ons or remove riders and so on. Nowadays, insurance companies can provide flexible policies which can be made to suit such needs.
