Reuters recently reported that health insurance rates could rise by as much as 20% this year due to the huge rise in the number, and cost, of claims in 2023.
Employers have experienced a significant increase in demand on company health benefits by employees, due largely to the fact that NHS waiting lists have soared in the UK since the Covid pandemic. As a result, many people are seeking treatment on their private medical insurance.
With costs of medical staff and services rising above inflation, higher take-up of online doctors and more expensive care including new cancer treatments, premiums are rising, with some workplace health insurance schemes posting rate rises of more than 40%.
The higher number of remote workers than pre-pandemic may also lead to more claims for back problems.
For this year, Mercer Marsh Benefits predicts the medical trend rate in Britain will be 11%, compared to 3% for general inflation. This rate is based on medical inflation combined updates to treatment, usage and regulation.
Employers are now looking at ways to tackle this increase, and some predict it could lead to employees paying a flat fee of £100-£250 to see a specialist following initial consultations with a private online doctor, or companies offering health screening to identify medical issues before they get worse.
DocHQ offers a range of services to assist employers looking to offer employees direct access to health and wellbeing services, including health screening via a wide range of bespoke health tests. It also offers DocHQ Physio, a virtual physiotherapy service using cutting-edge AI technology that track body movements for faster recovery, reducing claims costs.
