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Protection for your team should the unthinkable happen

Health and Insurance Benefits: Cover That Means Something When It Matters Most

Most employees do not think about what would happen if they became seriously ill or needed time away from work due to ill health. While employers hope these situations never arise, having appropriate health and income protection benefits in place can provide valuable support when they do.

My Groups’ health benefits can help employees manage everyday healthcare costs and provide support in the event of serious illness. Employers can build a protection package that reflects the needs of their workforce, from a basic healthcare plan through to a more comprehensive offering.

Why do protection benefits matter to employees and employers?

Salary and everyday benefits help employees understand the value of their employment. Protection benefits can demonstrate an employer’s commitment to supporting employees when unexpected health issues arise.

That support can become particularly important when an employee experiences a serious illness or is unable to work due to injury. Depending on the cover selected, health insurance benefits may provide financial and practical support during challenging periods.

My Group provides the employee experience and connects employees with the appropriate service. Any regulated advice is provided by an FCA-authorised company within My Group or an appropriately authorised third-party provider.

Protection benefits support recruitment and retention

In a competitive hiring market, protection benefits are increasingly part of what candidates compare when evaluating offers.

Critical illness cover and health cash plans are benefits that employees notice and value, particularly as they get older or take on more financial responsibility. Offering them can help demonstrate an employer’s commitment to supporting employee wellbeing.

The spectrum runs from everyday to serious

A health cash plan that covers the cost of an eye test or a physio appointment is felt every year. A hospital cash plan that provides a payment during a stay is noticed when it happens.

Critical illness cover is there for the moments nobody plans for. Providing these benefits can show employees that their wellbeing is taken seriously.

What health and protection benefits are available?

The following services can be made available individually or as part of a broader protection package, depending on the needs of your organisation.

Discounted Health and Wellbeing Services

Employees get access to discounted rates on a range of everyday health and wellbeing services, including physiotherapy, optical care and skincare treatments.

These are costs that employees manage routinely but often put off when budgets are tight. Making them more affordable is a tangible, visible benefit that employees notice regularly, not just when something serious happens.

Health Cash Plan

A health cash plan is an affordable form of health insurance that provides employees with refunds and payments towards everyday medical expenses, including dental treatment, eye tests, physiotherapy, and other routine healthcare costs.

Employees make a claim when they incur an eligible expense and receive money back, making it one of the most tangible and frequently used protection benefits available.

Health cash plans are popular with employees because the benefit is felt regularly and the value is immediately clear. They’re also relatively straightforward for employers to administer and communicate.

Hospital Cash Plans

Hospital cash plans provide employees with a cash benefit for hospital stays and appointments and, depending on the plan selected, may also include accidental death insurance and funeral cover.

When an employee is admitted to hospital, the financial pressure of being away from work often compounds the stress of the situation itself. A hospital plan provides a direct payment that employees can use however they need to, giving them one less thing to worry about at a difficult time.

Critical Illness Cover

Critical illness cover can pay a tax-free lump sum if an employee is diagnosed with a specified covered condition. Covered conditions commonly include cancer, heart attacks and strokes.

Unlike income protection, which may provide ongoing income replacement, critical illness cover provides a lump-sum payment following a valid claim. Employees may use the payment in a variety of ways, for example to help meet treatment-related costs, reduce debts or make practical adjustments following a serious illness.

For employers, critical illness cover can help demonstrate a commitment to employee wellbeing beyond day-to-day benefits and can form part of a broader financial protection package.

Guidance and support in choosing the right protection

Protection benefits involve financial and regulatory considerations that are worth understanding before making decisions. My Group can help employers navigate the options, and for organisations that want structured guidance, financial consultants are available to deliver on-site and webinar-based workshops to help both employers and employees understand the protection benefits available to them.

For employees who need a guided route into regulated financial advice, a human referral pathway is available, connecting them with the right specialist support so they don’t have to navigate it alone.

As with all financial products, the tax treatment of protection benefits varies depending on the product and how it is structured. We’d always recommend taking specific advice from a qualified financial adviser or accountant on your particular situation.

Want to give your people the security of knowing they’re covered?

We can talk through the protection benefits that would make the most sense for your workforce and help you put together a package that fits your organisation, whether you’re starting with a health cash plan or looking at a more comprehensive protection offering.

Talk to us about protecting your team

Frequently Asked Questions

A health cash plan is a type of insurance that reimburses employees for everyday healthcare costs such as dental treatment, eye tests and physiotherapy. Employees pay for their treatment and then claim back a set amount from the plan. It’s one of the most widely used employee protection benefits because the value is visible and felt regularly, not just in the event of something serious.

A hospital cash plan provides employees with a cash payment for hospital stays and certain medical appointments. The payment is made directly to the employee and can be used however they choose, helping to cover the additional costs that often arise during a period of hospitalisation, from travel to loss of earnings during recovery.

The tax treatment of protection benefits varies depending on the product. Critical illness cover premiums are typically treated as a taxable benefit in kind for the employee, though the lump sum payout is usually tax-free. Health cash plan premiums are also generally treated as a taxable benefit. We’d recommend taking specific advice from a qualified financial adviser or accountant on your situation.

Yes. My Group provides access to discounted rates on a range of everyday health and wellbeing services, including physiotherapy, optical care and skincare treatments. These sit alongside the broader protection products and help make routine healthcare more affordable for employees on a day-to-day basis.

The right combination of protection benefits depends on the make-up of your workforce and what you already have in place. My Group can help you work through the options and, where structured financial guidance is needed, financial consultants are available to make referrals into qualified advisers who can support both employers and employees in understanding the choices available to them.P.

Regulatory Disclosure

My Group provides the employee experience and connects employees with the appropriate service. Any regulated advice is provided by an FCA-authorised company within My Group or an appropriately authorised third-party provider.

Health and Protection benefits are arranged and administered by My Health Xtras Ltd, registered in England and Wales (11742197) and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 833700).

Gee 7 Wealth Management Limited is registered in England and Wales (1047306) and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 455935).

Details can be checked on the Financial Services Register.

Registered office: 2 Charlesworth Court, Knights Way, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury. SY1 3AB.