Should you offer international employee benefits to expat staff?

Why do you need to offer international employee benefits to your expat staff abroad?

Today, a solid benefit package can help you not only attract but also retain the right talent for your international business. It should encompass access to high-quality healthcare and offer financial peace of mind, with protection plans that secure the future for employees and their loved ones, should anything unfortunate happen.

Reasons to offer international employee benefits to your expat staff include:

1. Support systems and perks, including great international employee benefits, can help motivate expats to take the plunge and maximise the chance of a successful placement
2. Expat employees who are satisfied with their benefits package are more likely to be loyal to their employers and engaged with their organisations
3. Six out of ten employees claim that a comprehensive employee benefits package is a key factor when they look and apply for a job

What are international employee benefits?

Employee benefits are anything offered to staff above and beyond their salary. They may be perks or products like health insurance, life insurance and income protection. Benefits are key to engaging employees, helping staff stay healthy, reducing absenteeism and increasing job satisfaction.

What makes a good employee benefits package for your company?

For many international companies operating in countries where healthcare is expensive, providing international health insurance is hugely valuable. Health insurance is also the most popular benefit with employees, making it of great value in attracting the best staff.

And it’s even more valuable if you can package up your international health insurance offering with other protection benefits, such as life cover and income protection insurance, making sure employees feel confident they have a financial safety net if something goes wrong.

How can you as an employer improve the health and wellbeing offering to expat staff?

For international companies particularly, and those with remote and mobile workers, providing the right benefits is a powerful way of attracting and keeping talent. Benefits can also act as an incentive for companies looking to relocate staff overseas, reassuring employees that they’ll be looked after in their new home.

International health insurance ensures employees can access high-quality healthcare while they’re living and working away from home. But some plans go beyond this, offering additional wellbeing benefits like:

• Cancer care: Should an employee receive a cancer diagnosis, it’s good to have a plan that covers them for the entire spectrum of cancer care, beginning with genetic testing, including all treatment courses such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and even post-recovery counselling
• Medical evacuation: In the rare event an employee is unable to receive urgent medical care in their country of residence, a medical evacuation can be arranged to transport them to either their country of origin, or a neighbouring country where they can receive treatment
• Pregnancy & Maternity cover: No expat should have to choose between their career and starting a family, which is why William Russell offers pregnancy and maternity cover in some of our plans. This supports with routine procedures from pre-natal tests to post-natal support
• Mental health support: Mental health is a huge consideration for many businesses as it has the potential to improve quality of life for employees and productivity for the business. With this in mind, William Russell offers mental health cover in some of our plans, so you can help employees access the support they need, when they need it

How do you as an employer make sure your expat employees are covered?

Look out for group packages that will cover all your expat employees. We offer group international health insurance, life insurance and income protection insurance to groups of almost any size.

Available to businesses with three or more employees, we will help you tailor the right level of cover to suit the needs of your business and your employees.

Irrespective of your group size, with William Russell you will always receive personal service from our dedicated account management team. We don’t have call-centres, so you and your employees will get straight through to a human being who understands your policy. Our range of health and protection plans are designed exclusively for expats and international businesses.

Has the COVID-10 pandemic changed employee benefits offering?

COVID-19 has seriously disrupted the global economy and impacted all our lives. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the importance of comprehensive international employee healthcare insurance.

While work support schemes such as furlough in the UK have helped to protect employees who have been unable to work because of the pandemic, these schemes are subject to local government regulations, making them less dependable than independently procured insurance schemes such as flexible income protection.

Furthermore, the debilitating long-term effects of COVID-19 have impacted many individuals – our health insurance is there to support employees who find themselves suddenly taken ill as well as those who need long-term support to aid their recovery.

International employee benefits cover the surest way to ensure your business is able to protect its employees, now and in the future.

How have employee benefits helped support the wellbeing of expats during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Another impact of the pandemic has been the impact on employees’ mental health. The psychological impact of lockdown has been felt by everyone, but for those employees living overseas it has the potential to have been even more acute. Our research found that almost two-fifths (38%) of expatriates said their mental health declined during the pandemic.

William Russell’s Bronze, Silver and Gold international health plans include mental health support for expats. This offers up to a maximum of US$100,000/£66,600/€75,000 (with our Gold plan) of lifetime support and treatment for mental health and psychiatric disorders, including up to 10 out-patient consultations per period of cover, subject to the 12 month waiting period.

This support has proven invaluable to many organisations around the world, especially those that have seen employees placed in lockdown in foreign countries. See our Feefo reviews.

Find out how we can support your business

The allure of a new life in an exciting new country and culture can quickly fade if your employees and their families aren’t helped to really feel at home. Sure, you can organise their move, help secure school places and introduce them to their local expat community, but ensuring your employees feel as safe abroad as they do at home can be what really helps them settle in for the long-term, or maybe even forever.

• International health insurance is the most popular employee benefit and, in some territories, essential to ensure good quality of life
• Our plans cover your employees and their families in case of illness, accident, or loss of income
• Optional extras can be added at your discretion to create bespoke plans that work your business and your employees
• William Russell’s plans cover your expatriate employees anywhere and everywhere within their designated area of cover

Our health, life and income plans can be taken as stand-alone or as a combined benefit package. All plans provide global cover and are fully portable. Learn more about our business plans or request a quote or a callback from our expert business team.