Engage Health Group

Author: engage

  • Engage International Receives Industry Recognition

    Engage International Receives Industry Recognition

    Engage Health Group’s global insurance broking arm, Engage International, is very proud that it has been chosen as one of the Best Corporate International Advisers at the prestigious Health & Protection Awards 2021. The winners will be revealed at the gala dinner in London on 14th October. UK Health & Protection Awards since 1998 is the celebration of excellence in professional standards and innovation shown by intermediaries and providers across private medical insurance, wellbeing and financial protection.

    Engage International was shortlisted for the Best Corporate International Advisor Category with their professional guidance and first-class client care delivered for a small international client, Timber Trading Agency International. The customer had an increasingly anxious workforce in India, UK, Lebanon and Ghana due to the growing pressure of the COVID-19 outbreak. Engage helped with the implementation of the employee assistance program, the communication of coverage changes plus with a COVID-19 emergency evacuation plan across four time zones and some of the lowest quality healthcare in the world, all in partnership with their business partner Bupa Global. (Read full case study).  Ian Abbott, director at Engage International commented: “We are committed to providing our clients with expert advice and we are truly honoured to be recognised for our work by the industry.”

    Ian Abbott joined the company in 2018 with focus around expanding Engage Health Group’s existing international client base. The international business at Engage has grown in recent years due to the increase in businesses looking to hire internationally as remoting working becomes more common, alongside the team’s expertise in international health insurance and the broader international benefits market. Ian Abbott continued, “With our unique and growing network of international partners in over 50 countries worldwide, we are now in a very strong position to help our international clients to streamline their employee benefits across their global footprint.”

    While globalisation is driving international growth, the standards of healthcare provision fluctuate significantly around the world and when we combine that with a complex regulatory landscape, strict visa and tax requirements, language barriers, covid pressure, unfamiliar surroundings and different healthcare systems to navigate through, it makes sense for global organisations to look out for external help from industry experts like Engage International when it comes to the protection of an internationally mobile workforce.

    ABOUT:
    Engage Health Group is a UK based health insurance broker and employee benefits consultancy, offering expert, impartial advice to both individual and business clients with access to all insurance providers in the UK and in the global market. Engage Health Group has a dedicated International division, Engage International, with over 23 years of combined expertise working with multinational businesses to review, source and manage their International Employee Benefits, which can include:

  • Aviva Launches Mental Health Toolkit for Line Managers

    Aviva Launches Mental Health Toolkit for Line Managers

    Insurance provider Aviva have gone the extra mile in their wellbeing services with the launch of a mental health toolkit available for line managers in 2021! The toolkit includes a range of bite-sized video training modules, developed by CBT clinics, alongside a Wellbeing Library with downloadable information and accessible guidance.

    Designed for Group Protection clients managing their workplace wellbeing

    Aviva ensured it would be available across all 3 product lines: Group Life, Group Income Protection, and Group Critical Illness.

    Both the Aviva Mental Health Toolkit and the Wellbeing Library help managers spot changes to increase the occurrence of early intervention. In short, this support provides managers with the confidence they need to carry out difficult conversations with employees and create a positive wellbeing environment.

    So, let’s dive into what Aviva has produced!

    Aviva Line Manager Toolkit for Mental Health – new in 2021

    • 7 bite-sized video training modules & downloads
    • Learn how to spot warning signs of poor mental wellbeing
    • Adaptable to physical and remote working environments
    • Examples scenarios
    • Easily accessible at all times & can revisit

    The 7 modules of the Aviva Mental Health Toolkit include: 

    1. Mental Health in Workplace: helping line managers identify employee behaviours / implement early intervention
    2. Changing Behaviour: teaching how to spot early warning signs of poor mental wellbeing – both physically and remotely
    3. Difficult Conversations: how line managers can feel more confident in supportive conversations with employees
    4. How to Respond to a Crisis Situation: content to help line managers identify a crisis, increasing their confidence in response & taking effective action – crisis contact car with information on who to alert and guidance
    5. Adapting and Adjusting in the Workplace: guidance on the reasonable adjustments that are needed to support employees to stay and return to work
    6. Looking after yourself: how to recognise and respond to your own mental health needs
    7. Signposting: understand the difference between signposting and giving advice – knowing what available support is already in place both externally and in the workplace

    Aviva’s Wellbeing Library: 

    • Accessible through the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app / Wellbeing Library online via a shared link
    • Guides, tools, tips
    • Categorised modules e.g., Financial Module: articles covering budgeting, how to avoid financial scams, how to build up money
    • Support on different issues incl. relationships, money, work, mental and physical health conditions

    “Supportive line management is a critical part of an employee’s satisfaction at work and managers are often either the first port of call within the workplace or the first to notice changes at the outset of an employee’s declining mental health.”
    – Sophie Money, group protection wellbeing manager Aviva

    As an insurance provider, Aviva aims to target as many employees as possible, to establish inclusivity in their offers. The Aviva Line Manager Toolkit works for any type of organisation – those without internal resources and those already with a dedicated HR/wellbeing department. The mental health toolkit can be adapted to fit any organisation’s style and needs!

    Engage Health Group is a UK based health insurance broker and employee benefits consultancy, offering expert, impartial advice to business clients. With access to all insurance providers in the UK and in the global market and with no allegiance to any, we compare the best insurance companies for you and secure the best possible premiums. Contact us at Engage Health Group for our free no-obligation advice.

    Further reading: Your guide to Mental Health First Aid in the workplace

  • The Obesity Crisis under the Spotlight in the Middle of the Pandemic | The BUPA Global Webinar

    The Obesity Crisis under the Spotlight in the Middle of the Pandemic | The BUPA Global Webinar

    As the Covid pandemic evolves it has made a major impact from mental health, flexible working, development of vaccinations, state of healthcare to human rights issues. But it has also raised serious questions about the growing percentage of the population with obesity, and its threat to global health and the economy.

    Today, more than 800 million people live with obesity worldwide and this number is predicted to rise. By 2030 it is forecast that half of the global population will be overweight and this was the major topic at the Bupa Global Webinar; When Two Pandemics Collide: Covid and Obesity held on 07/09/2021.

     

    The worldwide prevalence of obesity nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016, and is set to continue

    % of world population living with obesity
    4% in 1975 16 % in 2016 50% predicted by 2030

     

     

    What is the connection between obesity and covid-19? 

    Dr Petra Simic, Medical Director at Bupa Global and UK explained that doctors started to realise early during the Covid-pandemic that people are not affected equally by the virus: more hospitalization, ventilation and death incidents were recorded for male’s over 60 years, within certain ethnic groups, suffering from diabetic problems, immunosuppression and having obesity. This was an interesting finding as doctors would have usually expected people with respiratory diseases to be worse affected by Covid-19, but this isn’t the case. Obesity is now looked at as an independent single risk factor. Actually, Covid-19 death rates are 10 times higher in countries where more than half the population is classed as overweight (World Obesity Forum).

    Dr Petra Simic mentioned that half of the Covid patients in intensive care units have some sort of blood clot. So, Covid-19 (a prothrombotic disease) and obesity (a prothrombotic condition) coming together is not a good combination. Furthermore, evidence reveals that Covid targets the same organs that suffer from obesity, either directly or indirectly: heart, guts, liver, kidney, pancreas, brain.

    Obesity could also affect the ability for a good immune response to vaccination, hence it is currently being studied as to whether the vaccination is less effective among people with obesity.

    Overall, there is sufficient evidence that people with obesity have a greater risk of death or hospitalisation with Covid-19. The Covid pandemic highlighted how obesity leads to the development of other serious illnesses, adding a huge pressure on the health services around the world.

    Obesity: Result of lifestyle choices or a disease?

    Obesity is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat measured by BMI (Body Mass Index) that can occur at any age to both men and women. While the social perception or stigma still focuses on size and diet, it is recognised amongst more and more health professionals that obesity is actually a chronic disease.

    It is a medical condition that results from a variety of factors:

    Genetics

    People who are genetically predisposed to obesity will be more likely to struggle with obesity. Recent studies confirmed that genetic influences are more dominant than environmental factors. For example, identical twins are more likely to have similar weight even if they are brought up in a different environment; females in South Africa or the Afro-American community in the USA tend to be more obese.

    The genes you inherit from your parents have a major effect on your metabolism, how you store and burn fats and how your body regulates your appetite. We need to understand how the gut communicates the sense of feeling full and hunger to the brain, there are 1000’s of hormones involved in these complex interactions!

    High calory intake – a sense of hunger is a powerful biological drive. There are lots of severely obese patients who cannot shake the feeling of hunger, making their body believe it desperately needs to react. In the same way that when we have pain in our body, the only thing we can think about is how to resolve that pain.

    So, diagnosis is not easy and more studies are needed to get a full understanding of this complex disease. 

    Environmental factors

    These are the cultural and social habits in your country or within your family. For example, what type of lunch is provided by your school, what type of dinner is cooked regularly at home, what the education and health system in your country teaches you, whether there is an easy access to a gym, what sort of foods are available in your local supermarkets, or what food labelling regulations apply in your country.

    In short, your physical activity, exercise choices and diet will play a part in developing extra weight. It is very important to mention that psychological factors such as stress, anxiety and mental health issues also have a huge emphasis on this.

    When we talk about obesity, it is imperative that we look at the roots of the problem instead of taking a bias opinion that the individual didn’t take care of her/his health.

    The double challenge with obesity

    The major issue with obesity is that it increases the risk of other diseases and health problems. These can range from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, certain type of cancers, high blood pressure, digestive problems, elevated cholesterol to osteoarthritis. Obesity is also the most important modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

    Overall, there are more than 200 identified diseases that are likely to be caused by or contributed to, obesity, which is a frightening fact. From this, we can draw a conclusion that obesity likely to be the main driver of mortality in the world at present.

    Why is obesity not taken more seriously?

    The main reason is the world of bias and stigma around obesity. Early prevention and intervention is not part of the general GP practise or conversation. It is not currently a priority of the healthcare service. Johanna Ralston, CEO at World Obesity Federation highlighted that healthcare professionals don’t get training on this in medical school, not even later at primary care level, which is sadly the case in many countries. There is an element of unconscious bias amongst health professionals as well.

    The truth is that people are not comfortable with talking openly about their body index with their GP as they feel ashamed. By the time the patient and GP have a conversation about it, they have often already developed high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels.

    Stigma and bias are different in different parts of the world. For example, in China, excess weight is a sign of wealth and westernisation, highlighting the influence of cultural factors.

    Another reason as to why there is a slow uptake in treating obesity seriously worldwide is the complexity of the disease – the cause factors and correlations were not clearly understood for many years. Dr Philip Schauer, Director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre commented: It is easier to fall back on some of the stereotypes than dealing with a systematic issue when there isn’t a single answer or solution.

    What is the cost of obesity?

    There are successful treatments today that are working effectively with enough evidence to show that even modest weight loss leads to significant health improvement. These treatments include lifestyle changes, behaviour modifications, dietary consultations up to hormone treatments, medications and surgery. The cost of regular preventative health checks and the cost of early interventions are minimal compared to the cost of treating potentially serious health problems for many years to come.

    For severe obesity, gastric band surgery is an effective option that should be made more accessible to people. The surgery now only involves a one-night treatment in hospital which is very safe and common. The vast majority of the weight loss is maintained for many decades, proving the effectiveness of this operation. Recent studies show that mortality risk was decreased by 50% for those who had surgery compared to those who didn’t and kept their weight.

    The capital cost of this operation is much lower than the overall long term cost implications of dealing with diabetes, cancer, heart or kidney conditions, just a few to mention.

    As more and more people become obese, the costs of obesity and obesity-related diseases are increasing. As per the WHO, the total cost of high BMI to health services globally is almost $1 trillion, over 13% of all healthcare expenditure.

    This is why the state has a self-interest in revolutionising the care service around obesity in addition to their social responsibility of saving the lives of their citizens.

    The role of health insurance providers to tackle the obesity crisis

    Health insurance providers also have an important role to play in tackling obesity by offering related products to their customers. One of the reasons why obesity is slowly picked up by the insurance providers is that there isn’t a comprehensive government strategy and there is a myth in the understanding whether it is a preventative product, a chronic disease, wellbeing or a self-care product. There is also a level of bias as well.

    In general, treatments for obesity are not covered by private medical insurance in the Business Health Insurance UK market. Having said that, Vitality does offer weight-loss surgeries (gastric banding, gastric bypass, gastric sleeve) under lifestyle and corrective surgical procedures where it is clinically necessary and meets eligibility criteria. In the International Health Insurance marketplace, a small number of insurers do provide cover for obesity surgery, when members are over a certain BMI and are clinically referred for treatment.

    On a broader level, insurance providers have a huge responsibility to increase awareness around the global obesity crisis, to raise the profile of successful weight loss interventions and treatments as well supporting people more early on in their obesity healthcare journey. There is also a significant commercial advantage to them by helping to highlight the issue and actively encourage preventative strategies.

    What can employers do to help their overweight or obese employees?

    Having a happy and healthy workforce means a greater chance of employers achieving their business goals, so more businesses have started to offer a broad range of benefits. For example, health insurance, employee assistance programmes, health cash plans, flexible working & wellness programmes for their staff.

    Over the last few years, there has been a huge rise in mental health awareness, training and support offered by employers. There has also been a growing push for supporting women with their menopause at work. It is hoped that obesity will follow the same path as these two in the coming years and become an area of real focus. Employers can do a lot to support their staff with regards to raising awareness on obesity and being proactive to avoid their employees developing the disease.

    Such proactive activities could include;

    • Obesity awareness training
    • virtual consultations with a specialist doctor
    • accommodating the right working environment
    • dietician advice
    • basic health checks for BMI, diabetes, glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart rate as a preventative measure
    • gym membership discounts and organised sport activities
    • free fruits for lunch
    • vending machines with health options

    Contact Engage Health Group to discuss how your business can support your employees’ wellbeing. We are happy to give you free, no-obligation advice.

    Summary

    With over 2 billion people being overweight and with almost 0.8 billion being obese today, it touches every society on Earth. Obesity is a disease in itself and also one of the key risk factors for developing other diseases, consequently claiming many lives today, and it is expected to rise.

    There is a need for a global shift in how we think about, and approach, obesity. The health industry needs to treat it like cancer or strokes, moving the stigmas of obesity away from lifestyle choices. There needs to be necessary funding for early intervention, education and treatments, also a coordinated global response driven by the healthcare system.

    Johanna Ralston, CEO at World Obesity Federation commented on obesity as “the next big issue driving mortality” or Dr Philip Schauer, Director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at the Pennington Biomedical Research Institute “the other pandemic”. With these comments, the alarm bells should be raised for all businesses, states, insurance providers and individuals.

    The top 5 benefits of corporate wellness programs

  • Engage Health Group Provides Employee Benefits Tehnology to over 220 Martlets Employees | A Customer Success Story

    Engage Health Group Provides Employee Benefits Tehnology to over 220 Martlets Employees | A Customer Success Story

    A new digital approach to employee benefits

     

    The world of employee benefits has changed dramatically over the past 10-15 years, and with attitudes to employee care improving at pace, we have been honoured to work with many leading businesses across the UK to inject some innovation and expansion into their employee benefits provision.  Most recently, this has included Martlets Hospice ltd.

    Martlets is a local well-known charity that provides terminally ill people in Brighton and Hove, and the surrounding areas, with the very best care and support. Opening in 1997, the charity itself has now supported over 25,000 people in a range of ways such as care in their own homes, via pain relief within the hospice itself, physio, counselling and to respite care.

    With such a difficult 18 months in the charity sector and some exceptionally challenging times for staff, Martlets were keen to explore ways they could develop their own employee benefits, and provide a more digital approach at the same time.

    Engage has been working with Martlets for several years, managing their Health Cash Plan, and more recently, helping to improve their Group Life Assurance coverage.  It was from here that Engage suggested taking the next step and exploring a new digital approach to employee benefits.

    So, this summer saw the launch of Martlets own employee benefits platform, “My Benefits” which was designed and implemented by Engage via their technology brand, Engage Connect. The purpose of the platform is to house Martlets existing core employee benefits (Health Cash Plan and Group Life), but also offer a range of other value-add services for staff to access.

     

    Engage Connect employee benefits platform offers tangible advantages

     

    1. Employees are enrolled into a Health Cash Plan via the new platform, and can elect to increase their cover and add partners to the policy.  They can easily view the costs and benefits associated with the different plan levels, as well as clearly seeing a cost breakdown of their employer contributions, versus any amount they are paying themselves.
    2. For the Group Life, employees can quickly see the level of cover they have, access important terms and conditions of the policy, and download their Expression of Wish forms, which are then stored with the People Services team at Martlets.
    3. The employee benefits platform also contains information of other relevant services which Martlets make available to their teams, including local counselling services and cycle to work schemes.

    Anna Kingston Royce, People Services Lead for Martlets, commented

     “Introducing this platform has given us the space to showcase all our employee benefits in one place, which allows colleagues to understand the value of their total reward package.  It was straightforward to set up, and makes it easier for colleagues to find information and make changes to any of their benefits.  Engage were very responsive to any queries we had and ensured the process ran smoothly.”

    Some of the additional services which are made available via Engage are as follows;

    Discounted Cancer Screening for the 6 most prevalent cancers, most of which can be self-administered at home.

    Discounted Allergy Testing for adults and children, again, is available to be self-administered at home before being sent to the lab for analysis.

    Discounted Allergy Testing for adults and children, again, is available to be self-administered at home before being sent to the lab for analysis.

     

    A new affordable way into digital benefits & positive employee experience

     

    The online employee benefits platform itself is a great way for employers to organise their benefits and store them in one central place for employees to access. Often, employee benefits can be decompartmentalised, with different internal stakeholders managing them, and with employees unsure what’s on offer and importantly, how to access or amend them.

    Traditionally, employee benefits platform technology has been reserved for large corporates, where cost wasn’t a significant consideration.  The SME market has always been underserved in this space, but now, as more and more employees expect to consume benefits in a digital/online way, the market is changing.

    Engage Connect employee benefits platform aims to provide employers with an affordable way into digital benefits, where previously the costs would have been too prohibitive to consider. Employees can access the platform anywhere and anytime allowing them to make smarter decisions at their convenience and increase their benefits participation.

    Engage Health Group is an independent Employee Benefits Consultancy, partnering with all insurers and service providers across health insurance, cash plan, group risk and more, we can act as your one-stop-shop for broker and technology solutions.  This means the broadest level of consultancy, support and experience for our customers, and the lowest possible costs!

    If you would like to talk about taking your employee benefits digital, please do make contact and we can happily arrange a demo!

     

  • CASE STUDY – Managing Expat Risk with a Medical Evacuation Plan

    CASE STUDY – Managing Expat Risk with a Medical Evacuation Plan

    How to support expats posted to developing nations in a critical medical incident

    A case study in partnership with Timber Trading Agency International

    The number of medium to high-risk countries where expatriates work is constantly growing due to rapid globalisation. This is a promising fact, but the actual employees could be exposed to different variety of risks from natural disasters, diseases to kidnapping. When expats live abroad they can suddenly fall ill or catch a virus and may require a medical emergency evacuation by air ambulance. The fact is that multinational businesses need to prepare for the worst.

    About the case study:

    In this study we look at a small international company (Timber Trading Agency International) with staff in India, UK, Lebanon and Ghana and get a detailed insight into how they responded to an increasingly anxious workforce and how they implemented a comprehensive employee support program. This aimed at protecting their international employees in the case of a medical emergency, particularly due to the growing pressure of the COVID-19 outbreak, both in terms of the increased risk of infection and the pressure on local healthcare systems

    Thanks to Engage’s guidance, the client was able to quickly communicate coverage changes, rollout enhanced benefits, and promote and support new technology to overcome emerging issues. Furthermore, they implemented a COVID-19 emergency evacuation plan across an employee base spanning 4,700 miles, four time zones and some of the lowest quality healthcare in the world, to support a particularly vulnerable employee based in rural Ghana.

    Eva Maguire, The General Manager of Timber Trading explained “Engage Health Group have been very helpful with our members, many of whom are based in third world countries. They have solved the problems raised regarding the COVID pandemic especially relating to evacuation if needed.”

    Download the full case study to learn what your business needs to consider in terms of expatriates support in a critical medical incident:

    >>>>  Engage International Case Study – Managing Expat Risk with a Medical Evacuation Plan <<<<

    The case study covers three sections:

    1. Identifying the need for an urgent Employee Assistance Programme
    2. Critical support & risk planning when the covid-19 pandemic hit Africa
    3. Driving tech solutions to help Timber Trading’s expat support all around the world
  • Reveal the Impact of COVID on Expat Mental Health (New William Russell Data)

    Reveal the Impact of COVID on Expat Mental Health (New William Russell Data)

    The William Russell study on expats mental health and support

    The pandemic has arrived at the doorstep of many of us on every continent and brought fear, worry and stress to our daily lives. With the upward trend in mental health awareness, more and more employers are working hard to assist employees in managing mental health conditions. But what about people who live and work abroad (expats mental health)?  Is it easier or harder for expat employees to deal with the uncertainty of the pandemic? William Russell (a leading medical international insurance provider) has just released some interesting data on how COVID-19 has affected the mental health of expats. Unfortunately, 38% of them feel that their mental health has deteriorated during the covid-19 pandemic.
    In this blog we look at:

     

    Has the pandemic affected expat mental health in 2021?

    38% of the 1,184 expatriates surveyed in five countries (Australia, Hong Kong, UAE, UK, USA) by William Russell confirmed that they had noticed a decline in their mental health in the last 18 months. On the contrary, 23% of the respondents felt that their mental health had improved during the pandemic.
    One explanation for the mixed response is that expats who are already settled in the new environment were less affected by the uncertainty and social restrictions brought up by the pandemic, and may have enjoyed the flexibility of home working. Sadly, many of the international workers were badly hit by the changes.

    What can cause mental illness in expats?

    There are many reasons, but the most common factors are:

    1. Being homesick – Living abroad could be exciting, but after a certain amount of time, they will miss their family and friends. They will feel isolated and they can even worry that they will be forgotten.
    2. Adopting to the new climate, culture, religion and language – This could cause stress on a daily basis for employees living abroad.
    3. Isolation from support bubble – In case of a crisis, such as the covid pandemic, they are isolated from their support networks such as family and friends – there is nobody to offload their anxiety, fear or stress face to face.

    When the expats were asked whether they would prefer to be at home during covid-19 pandemic, over 44% agreed and 15% strongly agreed, so more than half of the people living & working abroad would have preferred to be in their home country during the hard times of the pandemic. Only 33% of them disagreed with this.
    Having said that, 53% of the expatriates said that living and working abroad actually had a positive effect on their mental health in general, which is excellent news. But what about the rest? One in five said that their international working experience had a negative impact on their mental health, and 4% felt to say that it was “significantly negative”.

    Worldwide mental health support for expat employees

    If you are in your home country, you have easy access to call your GP or a specialised helpline, or talk to your immediate support bubble about your emotional and physical wellbeing. However, when you are abroad, it is a totally different ball game because of the language and cultural barrier and the potential cost for reaching out for professional help. No surprise then, that in the William Russell study 22% of the surveyed expats said they were “sceptical”, 46% “uncertain” and 11% “unsatisfied” about the quality of the professional health support available for them. This is an alarming rate and something employers need to take on board with regards to their benefits strategy for international employment.

    Covid impact on expats relationships with families and friends

    In the study, 24% of the expats confirmed that during the pandemic their relationship with their loved ones started to show difficulties and tensions. No doubt these situations are magnified in the mental health of an individual who already feels lonely and isolated abroad. Having said that, 18% said that their relationship with people in their home countries had improved in the last 18 months following the start of pandemic. Occasionally crises bring family and friends closer to each other. The good news is that only 9% of the expats said that their relationships with other people became broken, the majority managed to make friends with locals and sustain friendships.
    This data shows that the COVID crisis did bring some friends and families together, but many expatriates did suffer a particularly rough time.

    What is the mental health cover for international expats?

    Employers can offer support to their employees with their mental health via an International Employee Assistance Programme (link to our website). Global EAP providers often have an international footprint themselves as well as having a global network of counselling services to be able to offer face to face support to employees anywhere in the world. The friendly, professional call centres they operate are also able to handle calls in multiple languages and have a deep understanding of cultural differences that are an important consideration in addressing personal and work issues. Promotional materials and documentation are also available for these expats to use.

    Expat mental health covered by International Private Medical Insurance?

    Medical Insurance for companies with global employees, generally offers a strong level of cover for both in and outpatient mental health treatment. With some International Health Insurance providers, it is built into the core product as standard, while others offer an optional or variable level of cover. We would always recommend these benefits are included, if budget allows, as not only is it a valuable benefit to employees in crisis, but mental health issues are one of the biggest reasons for expatriate assignment failure. Most Global Medical Insurance providers now also include an International EAP built into their offering as standard, avoiding the need for purchasing a separate, stand alone service.

    Why prevention key to expat mental health?

    Mental health is a growing area of particular focus for both expats and employers with expat populations alike. There are several studies that show that mental health is one of the greatest causes of sickness and it also affects the productivity of employees. Early intervention is key to reducing absence, therefore many Global Employee Assistance Providers will aim to be very visible with employee and intervene within the first week, prompting early discussion and support, and facilitating a quicker return to work.
    There is plenty of evidence suggesting that factors that delay or prevent mental illness treatment include low levels of knowledge regarding mental illness and prejudice and discrimination against people with mental illness. However, given the right focus by employers, with the right support, benefits package, training and focus, this can be avoided.

    Contact Engage Health Group to discuss the best International Medical Insurance and International EAP options for your employees working abroad. We are happy to give you free, no-obligation advice.