Corporate Medical Insurance: How Ukrainian Companies Are Transforming Employee Care
In times of crisis, most companies tend to cut costs, often ignoring those items that may seem secondary to their core activities. However, saving on social programs, particularly on corporate medical insurance (VHI), can turn out to be a strategic mistake. Precisely in challenging market conditions, such tools become decisive for attracting and retaining talent, forming a stable team, and maintaining brand reputation.
Having quality medical insurance in the benefits package opens up additional recruitment opportunities for companies during a staff shortage. According to a survey by the insurance company UNIVERSALNA, conducted among 250 enterprises of various industries and regions, 6 out of 10 candidates pay special attention to medical insurance when considering a job offer. 75% of respondents believe that having medical insurance in the benefits package provides a significant advantage during hiring. The more competitive the market, the more tangible this advantage is for the employer.
Medical Insurance as a Tool for Staff Retention
Quality VHI becomes a factor for employee retention and a means of encouraging key categories of personnel, especially when a company applies differentiation of packages. HR professionals cite key retention factors such as a healthy environment, recognition, flexibility, opportunities for growth, strong relationships with management, and a competitive benefits package. Medical insurance, along with monetary compensation, fulfills one of the basic needs security of life and health.
The text emphasizes: “If salary provides for a person’s basic physiological needs housing, food, etc., according to Maslow’s pyramid, then medical insurance covers the second tier of needs security! Medical insurance means safety for life and health, peace of mind in case of unforeseen health problems.”
Motivation and Efficiency: How VHI Influences the Company
Medical insurance in the hands of HR becomes an effective tool for additional motivation. VHI programs are flexible and versatile: companies can create individual insurance packages for different staff categories. For example, packages can be ranked according to position or work experience, which stimulates professional growth and loyalty.
VHI also contributes to reducing periods of employee incapacity after the introduction of medical insurance, the average duration of incapacity is reduced by up to 35%. At the same time, the work with sick leave documentation becomes systematized, and the number of fraudulent sick leaves decreases. Employers can verify the validity of sick leaves through the insurer.
Prevention, Employee Health, and Direct Economic Effect
In the context of seasonal epidemics and disease outbreaks, it is important to minimize “staff losses.” “The best tool has become medical insurance, as insurance companies with a broad network of partner medical institutions and extensive experience in organizing preventive measures provide staff vaccination as quickly, economically, and effectively as possible.” After implementing preventive measures, employee illness rates during peak periods decrease to 30-40%, confirming the program’s effectiveness.
The cost of corporate VHI is no longer prohibitive. The minimum insurance program for a team of 100-150 people, which covers emergency care, inpatient, and outpatient treatment, costs the employer a few hundred hryvnias per month per employee. If needed, the package can be expanded to include treatment in expensive clinics or diagnosis and treatment of critical illnesses.
“The content of the insurance program and its cost is built like a constructor, where each block is a separate service, and the product can be adapted to the needs of your staff and budget.”
New Challenges: Cancer and the Role of Prevention
In recent years, the number of cancer cases has been increasing due to stress, war, and neglect of early diagnostics. Programs that cover diagnosis and long-term treatment of critical illnesses are in growing demand. “Such an expansion of basic insurance conditions is the most popular among most employers because, according to Maslow’s pyramid of needs, if classic medical insurance covers the second most important level (security), then this product provides protection for the most essential need life.”
Corporate medical insurance is no longer a luxury it has become a standard of employee care and an important factor of company competitiveness. It ensures basic safety, helps attract and retain qualified employees, reduces the level of incapacity, and mitigates business risks during difficult periods. In times of crisis, investing in the team’s health is not an expense, but a strategically justified step that brings real business benefits.
About the Author
