What is Group Insurance?  

Group insurance plans are essentially policies that cover more than one person. They usually offer more favourable terms than an individual insurance policy – and they are increasingly found in New Zealand’s workplaces. Plans might involve free Life or Medical insurance for employees, and these even extending to their families, or the chance to sign up at low cost to a group insurance policy as a perk of the job.  

Types of insurance offered in group deals include income protection and life insurance, as well as health and health-related insurance: examples are trauma insurance (sometimes known as Critical Illness Insurance; this includes conditions such as cancer and strokes) and total permanent disability (when you are unable to perform everyday tasks without help). On the employer’s side, the incentives for providing schemes like this include healthier, happier and hopefully more secure and productive employees, who feel like their boss genuinely cares about their wellbeing. Depending on how the workplace is structured, employers might choose to cover everyone, or pay for insurance for only their key employees and allow others to join by making contributions.  

If you are an employee and you’re unaware of whether your workplace has group insurance or of what the details of the policy are, it is definitely worth looking into: group insurance will almost always be cheaper than an individual policy, and you may be entitled to benefits you would not otherwise receive. You may also find you have the opportunity to choose from several different schemes provided in your employer’s group plan: for instance you might be able to upgrade from a basic plan to one providing more comprehensive cover at a cost. When you have established what your options are, you can do some research and decide which one suits your personal circumstances best.   

Checking your insurance details  

Some workplaces are more proactive than others and will host information sessions from their insurance provider about what they offer. However, if you’re not sure whether your workplace has group insurance, or you don’t know the details of your group insurance policy, or how to join, a good place to start is with your boss, your company's intranet site or your union representative.  

We also encourage businesses to partner with Quashed: via Quashed for Employers. This makes it easy for employees to view and access their insurance benefits that are provided by employers alongside all their own personal insurances. All the other features on the Quashed platform is also available to the user.

What are some of the benefits of group insurance for employees?  

Aside from gaining an insurance policy at low or no cost, a major perk of group health insurance policies available through your workplace is that they often cover pre-existing conditions (broadly defined as conditions and related problems that existed before your policy began), such as heart conditions. Individual policies usually do not provide cover for these problems, unless you are willing to invest in an expensive plan: you might end up receiving financial support for ongoing issues through your workplace policy that would otherwise have been out of reach.  

Depending on the insurance provider your employer has, you might also find health and wellbeing programmes become available to you to help you live a healthy and more balanced lifestyle.  

Something employees need to look into, however, is what happens to your insurance once you leave your employment: many policies can be continued privately if the person pays a higher premium. As with any insurance policy it is important to do your homework and read the fine print.  

Why should employers offer group insurance?  

Offering health and health-related, life or income protection insurance to employees can be a great morale booster, showing that you are willing to help your employees’ families in times of need.  There are a wide range of policies out there tailored to both small and larger businesses, including group policies aimed at supporting staff, and policies geared towards helping your business continue if a key person is unable to continue working.  

When it comes to day-to-day life at work, one practical benefit of offering health insurance schemes to your employees is that they offer people an incentive to seek prompt medical treatment for themselves and their families without worrying about the cost, leading to a healthier workplace and less sick leave.  

Although some professions and trades are more high risk than others, demanding work of any kind – including office jobs- can also lead to employees not taking care of their physical and mental health and wellbeing. Burnout is a major source of workplace turnover, and supporting your employees to live a healthy and balanced life will hopefully help you hang on to them longer!  

Further information 

If you’d like to know more about some of the different insurance policies that are on offer in group deals, such as health, life, income protection, trauma and total permanent disability insurance, take a look at Quashed’s guide on these types of insurance and what they cover.   

If you are an employer and want advice on which insurance scheme would be best for you and your employees - or if you are an employee seeking advice on group or individual insurance policies - you can also book a video call with an adviser through Quashed to discuss your particular needs.

Read more here to find out how Xero has partnered with Quashed to empower their employees' financial wellbeing on our platform!