The number of people calling a healthcare helpline with stress related problems has gone up by over forty percent. Bupa, who run the service, also say that three times more people are worried about the chance of being made redundant. Experts are concerned that the overall mental health of the country is declining and are encouraging employers to help their workers during the difficult financial situation. Businesses could end up losing out in the long run if the problems get so bad that staff have to take time off sick. A corporate private medical insurance policy could provide the help and services that staff need to help them through their stress and worries if the company is unable to give a professional standard of counselling that some of their workers might need.


Sickness causes businesses across the country to lose millions of pounds every year and productivity falls – which is the last thing bosses need during the credit crunch. A cash plan private medical insurance policy is a cost effective way to provide access to top quality medical services for employees to get them back to work in a shorter amount of time and reduce the chance that they will have to take time off in the first place. This means money could be saved in the long term. Forty four percent of people who received face to face counselling services and advice said that it meant they didn’t have to take any time off work in a study carried out by Bupa. Figures also show that it led to a forty eight percent increase in productivity. Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, told Health Insurance and Protection Magazine, “We must learn from the mistakes of past recessions where people lost their job, their confidence and their self esteem leaving them unable to return to the workforce.”

Employers are being warned that increasing numbers of workers will have chronic diseases and conditions over the next twenty years. The number of people with diabetes and respiratory conditions are expected to rise by over seven percent by 2030. The figures have been published in a report called ‘Healthy Work’, following research carried out by BUPA alongside the Work Foundation, the Oxford Health Alliance and RAND Europe. It’s bad news for companies as productivity levels could fall so they are being advised to take steps to help themselves. One thing they could do is take out a private medical insurance policy.


The main factors that will cause the problem are obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking. A private medical insurance policy will help a company’s workforce combat these issues firstly by making them aware that they have a problem. A lot of people are conscious about their weight, but many don’t realise that they are actually classed as obese or even morbidly obese. This can be discovered in a general health check that can be received in a private healthcare centre. Similarly, a lot of people do not realise the effect that their drinking can have on their health until it is too late. Advice on changing lifestyle, including help on giving up smoking as well can also be given by the services made available to a company’s staff through corporate private medical insurance. All these health problems can lead to very serious conditions in the long run and will affect businesses in the future, but this can all be prevented if action is taken now.