Group income protection - employer information
Group Income Protection can help to create a well-rounded benefits package and provides much needed financial support for employees who are unable to work for a prolonged period due to illness or injury. It helps with managing the impact of absence on the workplace and can also help with the recruitment and retention of staff.
Zurich Group Income Protection allows you to pay your employees a percentage of continued income if illness or injury prevent them from working for a prolonged period.
Why choose Zurich Corporate Risk for Group Income Protection?
With our Group Income Protection you'll have the option to tailor your cover to meet the needs of your business, your employees and your budget.
You and your employees will also have access to our specialist rehabilitation team – qualified, medical professionals who can support employees whether ill at work (presenteeism) or from the early stages of their absence, and throughout their recovery and return to work.
Our rehabilitation services include:
- Mental health support, from fully qualified, registered mental health nurses
- Our rehab access clinic, giving your HR personnel exclusive access to our rehabilitation consultants, e.g. to discuss issues such as when to engage occupational health services
- Presenteeism and early intervention support
- Return-to-work planning
- A cancer support service
- Free online workshops for HR and people managers, as well as separate workshops for your employees
As a Group Income Protection customer, your employees will also have access to a range of additional support services, including an employee assistance programme, Virtual GP and Second Medical Opinion services.
Zurich Group Income Protection - key features and benefits
- Cover available for employees aged 16 to 69
- Covers up to 80% of an employee’s salary, up to the policy terminating age
- Can provide cover for an employer's pensions and national insurance contributions
- You can choose when income replacement will start: either 8, 13, 26, 28, 41 or 52 weeks
- Limited benefit period - option for the benefit to be paid for a limited period of 2, 3, 4, or 5 years
- You can choose to provide a lump sum payable at the end of the limited benefit payment period. The lump sum can be up to four times an employee’s salary (a maximum of £1,600,000 applies)
- You can choose if benefits will increase annually during a claim to protect against inflation
- Can be paid direct to an employee who has left an employment, subject to certain criteria
Flexible benefits
Our flexible benefits proposition gives you the flexibility to design your benefits and choose the minimum level of cover. This can help you manage the cost of your employee benefits package, whilst giving your employees the flexibility to choose from the options you provide.
What difference can Group Income Protection make?
The video below provides a simple example of the difference between having cover in place and not having cover, and what this can mean for your employees.
Here's how our rehabilitation team have helped
In the videos below, Sue and Caroline explain their experience with illness and how our rehabilitation team supported them during their recovery and return to work.
Long Covid - Sue’s story
Cancer - Caroline’s story
Making a Group Income Protection claim
- Fast, paperless claims - A quick call or email is all it takes to notify us of a claim
- Simple claims process - Each claim is assigned a dedicated and experienced case manager - your single point of contact, from claim submission to resolution
- eSignatures - We use eSignatures throughout the claims journey, significantly speeding up the claims process
- Speedy claims process - When it comes to claims, it's important to act quickly. That's why we aim to process all claims activity as quickly as possible, often within 48 hours.
Use the link below to find out how to make a claim and how the process works.
Additional support services available with Zurich Group Income Protection
For our Group Income Protection customers, we offer access to a range of additional support services.
Employee assistance programme
Our Employee Assistance Programme, provided by Health Assured, gives you and your employees access to structured counselling support, as well as expert, confidential advice, practical support and compassionate guidance 24/7.
Virtual GP
With our 24/7 Virtual GP service (ZGP24) provided by HealthHero, your employees and their dependants can get advice, reassurance and (where appropriate) diagnosis from an experienced GP whenever they need it.
Second Medical Opinion
A Second Medical Opinion service offers your employees access to a medical specialist for peace of mind about a diagnosis. They can ask questions about proposed treatment or about a condition or discuss if alternative treatment options are available.
Mental wellbeing app
Thrive is a clinically effective mental wellbeing app that screens for anxiety and depression using NHS-approved assessments. Employees can get support and guidance to manage a range of stresses, from bereavement, to work-related issues or difficulty sleeping.
Zurich Cancer Support service
Our in-house Cancer Support service ensures those affected by cancer receive tailored guidance and a bespoke support plan. Our nurses are here to offer essential advice, support and guidance at a difficult time.
Eldercare support
Our eldercare support, provided by Podplan, is an online service providing support and information for those caring for an elderly relative, or planning for the future. Employees have access to a range of resources to help navigate the complex world of eldercare.
Precision CancerCare
Our Precision CancerCare service, provided by Further, offers fast access to a customised treatment plan based on the specific type and cause of cancer, using the latest tumour profiling technology.
Worldwide health and security information
Crisis24 Horizon is a mobile and online service helping to keep employees safe at home and abroad. It provides up-to-the-minute health and security information on 200 destinations worldwide.
Suicide prevention support
Our ‘Raise the alarm’ suicide prevention support toolkit can help anyone prepare for a situation where they might be faced with someone reporting active suicidal thoughts. This includes a responder checklist for anyone dealing with an immediate threat of suicide.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses
You can access a free, accredited, two-day MHFA course, or a half-day refresher course.
Online health and wellbeing workshops
You have access to a calendar of workshops covering some of the most relevant health and wellbeing topics affecting businesses today.
Online workshops for your employees
Your employees have access to their own calendar of workshops, covering a wide range of common health and wellbeing conditions, as well as overviews about our additional support services, such as the Employee Assistance Programme, Virtual GP and eldercare support.
Funding trees and supporting communities
Zurich is helping to fund Trees for the Future’s planting and restoration projects in Africa.
Over two years from January 2024, Zurich’s funding will enable the planting of more than one million trees across Mali and Senegal in West Africa, helping to restore land which has suffered from degradation or resource depletion.
The projects we support help to train farmers to adopt more sustainable and regenerative practices, empower women, restore degraded land, and support the local families who depend on it.