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The change resulted in an additional 4,450 employers being able to use the service, allowing up to 328,000 additional employees to receive an increased level of support.
A year after this announcement, Canada Life has reviewed this investment and is delighted to report on its success.
Canada Life’s Early Intervention Service helps to address the problems of long term workplace absence by intervening at the very early stages, for example, after two weeks of continuous absence for someone off with stress, or four weeks in the case of back pain.
The service focusses on supporting employees, and their employers, as they return to work, through the skills of Canada Life’s in-house rehabilitation team.
The team members are regionally based, medically trained rehabilitation consultants, all with more than 5 year’s post-registration experience.
Previously, organisations were required to have an annual premium of over £300,000 before they could take advantage of this service.
However, Canada Life extended the service as part of its ongoing commitment to reduce long term sickness absence and offer maintainable Group Income Protection pricing.
EIS is now an integral part of the Canada Life proposition for all GIP clients.
The success of this service is evidenced by the fact that on average 47 per cent of EIS referrals result in a return to work which means fewer claims are then made. This reduction in claim incidence helps to maintain sustainable premium levels.
Paul Avis, Marketing Director of Canada Life Group Insurance, comments: “As well as providing a financial benefit, we believe that we have a responsibility to support employers and our EIS approach clearly has benefits for all concerned.
“For employers it may help to mitigate occupational and statutory sick pay and maintain appropriate premium levels for their Group Income Protection (GIP) cover.
“It also assists with organisations’ requirement to comply with the Equality Act (2010). Having a clear action plan and return to work progamme ensures employees remain engaged with the workplace, as prolonged non-contact with changing workplaces can create fears when considering a return.
“The request to every adviser and employer with a Canada Life GIP product is use this service as much as you can as there are so many upsides to doing so. In the ORC Survey 2014, 100 per cent of advisers rated Canada Life as good or excellent in the overall management of GIP claims and I believe EIS plays a huge part in helping us achieve this phenomenal result.”
Ian Ranger, Head of Claims Management Services Operations: “EIS is, in my view, one of the jewels in our crown; at no additional cost, it is a part of our proposition that I feel more employers should be tapping into.
“The benefits are clear in that EIS helps reduce claim incidence, thereby helping employers maintain sustainable premium levels. Think of it like this: our medically trained, experienced and regionally based Rehabilitation Consultants provide a vocational rehabilitation programme at no additional cost to the employer - so why wouldn’t you use EIS?
“It is clearly a great way to keeping business continuity intact. The service is easy to use: employers or advisers simply telephone 0117 916 4100 to talk directly with a Senior Rehabilitation Consultant, who is then able to contact the absent employee with a view to discussing how they can help.
“Our Rehabilitation Consultants can provide support with absence related to subjective causes such as work related stress, depression and mental health which, in our experience, are the most challenging situations for employers and line manager to resolve.
“Calling early ensures employers make the most of a service available in supporting employees returning to work. EIS is a key factor in our Group Income Protection proposition.”
