He explains: "EAP providers offer early intervention support and counselling, but EAPs are often poorly communicated to staff, so people may be unaware of the support available to them.
"Employees typically have greater awareness of PMI cover, if only because the benefit attracts a tax liability for them, but PMI may not always cover mental health conditions, depending on the benefits selected by their employer.
"Where it does, it would typically require a GP referral before a claim could be approved, which can create a barrier to access when GP appointments are difficult to obtain, and mental health conditions can come on suddenly."
However, Mr Hill believes this is starting to change, citing "developments in the PMI space that are bridging that gap, by extending benefits to include more accessible, earlier stage support services and treatments, which were traditionally associated with EAPs."
Assessing group claims
The benefit of early intervention and good support services are significant, as Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Group Risk Development (Grid), points out.
She comments: "In terms of group income protection, while diagnosis is obviously important, the key factor considered in assessing a claim is whether or not (and how) it prevents someone from undertaking the day-to-day activities of their job.
"Through early intervention, case management and practical support, group income protection providers work with and support the employee, line manager and the business to help people back to work (through reasonable adjustments, mediation, role redesign etc), well before a claim payment even becomes due."
According to data from Grid's 2018 claims survey, published in April this year, both the cover itself and the benefits attached to it have helped many people, including a significant proportion of people with mental health problems.
The claims survey shows:
- 2,989 people were helped back to work in 2017 with active early intervention support from a group risk insurer.
- This represents 33 per cent of all claims submitted.
- Of the 2,989 employees who benefitted from some form of intervention, 52 per cent had help to overcome mental illness.
So it is not just about writing cover but also communicating what that cover might entail for both corporate and individual clients, and making sure that, at point of sale, the client knows what sort of support and payout they could reasonably expect with the cover they are buying.
The individual market
To ensure clients - whether corporate or individual - are given the best possible policies, with the best possible support for themselves or their employees, an adviser has to do some thorough investigations.
Sometimes this is harder with individual clients, many of whom might not like to discuss 'personal' health issues with their financial advisers, or perhaps the individual just can't think of any particular issue during the initial meeting with an adviser.
