On October 6th, the Global Risk Team attended the Assurex Global Account Manager Meeting. This meeting was designed to share insurance trends that are occurring in different countries. Broker partners from the United Kingdom, Mexico, Panama, Canada, Germany, France, the Middle East, and Italy attended the meeting.
During the session, there was an overwhelming amount of questions surrounding COVID-19 impacts on the labor force. In most developed countries, there is a national labor shortage due to employees wanting to stay home or take advantage of unemployment benefits. While this is not inherently the case for all countries (Latin America appears to be unaffected), employees have left companies to find jobs that accommodate flexibility such as working from home or adjustable hours. Employee Benefits are one of the best strategic advantages that companies can provide in order to attract and retain employee talent.
Employers are paying particular attention to EAP programs, medical, disability, and leave practices. Many countries already have statutory provisions in place include medical and disability insurance as a part of their social security laws. Even so, offering supplemental coverage is crucial to separate a company from the competition.
As an example: offering supplemental coverage in addition to the free healthcare in the UK may give employees faster access to getting care, better providers, and more comprehensive coverage that includes dental and vision at affordable rates. Employees are more likely to stay loyal to a company that gives them better care over the average UK citizen. They are also altering their disability leave to incorporate illnesses due to pandemic or communicable diseases that could keep an employee in quarantine.
Footnotes:
Stokes, Crystal. “International Account Managers Meeting.” Assurex Global Series. 6 Oct. 2021, Virtual.