Research from The Health Insurance Group has revealed a significant number of companies are not providing dependants with the same access to health and protection benefits as they do for their employees that work abroad. The data collected by the company suggests only 66 per cent of organisations provide dependants with access to the same cover as overseas employees, leaving dependants in a third of organisations having to fund their own cover. This lack of support could leave them under-insured, and cause families stress at a time when they are already coping with the challenge of adjusting to life in a new country.
Working overseas is an exciting prospect, a chance to discover new customs and cul-tures, and gain invaluable work experience. While it’s a fantastic opportunity for employ-ees, for those that have dependants, there is a lot more to think about: their decision to work overseas affects the whole family. It is not always easy for partners and children to build a new life, and while the employee has the support of their work colleagues and a new role to throw themselves into, dependants can often feel isolated, away from familiar surroundings, friends and extended family. Settling into a new routine, new home or new school is a challenge and can be extremely stressful – affecting health and wellbeing.
The inability of families to adjust to living overseas is one of the most-cited reasons for international assignments failing. Given the important role that families play in the suc-cess of an overseas placement, it’s important for organisations to do more to provide the relevant support.
The survey shows that 20 per cent of employers do offer dependants some support, but this isn’t funded by the employer, leaving employees to find and pay for cover them-selves. This can be a lot more expensive for an individual to buy directly, and they may not get round to buying anything, leaving them without any cover.
A total of 15 per cent of organisations fail to provide dependants with any help or guid-ance at all when it comes to health and protection insurance. The problem here is that without access to specialist advice and guidance, employees won’t know what they should buy for their families and what level of cover they need, and may well buy cover that’s inadequate.
Each country has its own unique health system, rules and regulations; and different ele-ments of cover will be required according to what these are. Depending on the location, arrangements for evacuation or repatriation may also need to form part of the cover. While 8 per cent of employers do provide help with finding schools and relocating, this is not enough. With so many elements to consider when buying overseas health and pro-tection, this lack of support leaves employees and their families vulnerable, and poten-tially underinsured.
Providing health cover for both employees and their dependants may not be as expen-sive as some employers imagine. The fact that 62 per cent of SMEs do offer this support shows that it’s not an option only for larger organisations. For example, bespoke plans are available that offer different levels of support for employees and dependants so com-panies of all sizes can find cover that works for them. It is often possible to get free cover for children too. If companies do want to leave it to their employees to arrange, at the very least they should provide access to expert advice to ensure the cover purchased is ap-propriate and comprehensive enough.
“Moving a family overseas is a huge decision for any employee to take,” Sarah Dennis, head of international for The Health Insurance Group said: “This move is far more likely to succeed if the health and wellbeing of everyone is supported. As every country has dif-ferent rules and regulations, employers need to seek advice from experts to ensure their employees and their dependants are properly supported.
“As businesses are increasingly looking to expand overseas, this is only likely to become more important, and those employers that look after dependants as well as staff will be the winners.”
