Standard Life Healthcare launches mix and match product for SMEs

Standard Life Healthcare has launched a modular private healthcare and wellbeing product for the SME market.

Businesses with up to 250 employees can take up bespoke ‘mix and match’ healthcare plans offering different levels and types of cover to separate segments of the workforce.

Each employee can have a different benefits package built around one or more of four main modules: core healthcare, dental cover, health cash plan and travel cover. It is the first time that separate travel and dental insurance packages have been made available from the private medical insurer.

If employers choose to offer core healthcare, then they can add a range of additional modules to the core cover such as out-patient treatment; psychiatric treatment and alternative therapies.

Other benefits that can be included when putting together the bespoke package are, a GP consultation line; nurse helpline; health screening and an employee assistance programme. Companies can also decide to extend some of the preventative benefits to cover the whole company, as well as two possible levels of occupational health.

Mike Hall, chief executive of Standard Life Healthcare, said: “Our research with small business owners identified that today’s small and growing businesses are looking for a flexible approach to providing healthcare support for their employees.

“Fifty-Seven per cent of those questioned were specifically looking for packages where modules can be tailored to suit their company.”