A survey conducted by Seesam Insurance reveals that, regardless of gender and age, people consider dental care and as high as possible indemnity therefor to constitute the most important part of their employer’s health insurance plan, while almost one in four employees aged 18–24 sees a need for a higher limit for psychological counselling.

Employer-provided health insurance has become a crucial part of the incentive plan, which employees prefer even to reimbursement of sports expenses and a reduced workload. While there is a tendency to cut back on employee benefits when times are tough, the number of companies taking out health insurance is on the rise, irrespective of the economic situation.

“If by the end of 2020, when health insurance was launched as a product, Seesam’s product portfolio included 930 insured people, then four years later the number has already increased to more than 7,000. Other insurance undertakings have also seen constant growth numbers therein. The average loss notices we receive each month remain at around 1,600 euros, while the highest indemnities amount to 5,000 euros. The largest payment we have made this year so far also remains at around 5,000 euros, the reason being indemnification of surgery and inpatient fees,” commented Marit Raag, Health Insurance Product Manager at Seesam, on health insurance statistics.

Dental care taking priority over mental health

A recent survey conducted by Seesam shows that last year insured employees made the most use of family medicine and specialised medical services, followed by dental care and vaccinations at the employer’s expense.

“Although the survey revealed that as many as one in three people in Estonia cites mental health problems as a cause of work stress, only 7% of the insured people who responded used the opportunity of psychological counselling. Thereby, women and employees aged 18–24 were significantly more likely to consult a specialist with their mental health problems,” Raag said.

According to the insurer, very many employers are aware of mental health issues and the limited availability of help due to long waiting lists and the high price of the service, which means that today almost no plans without psychological service coverage are taken out in Seesam.

“If a young person is stuck in life or feels a need to talk to someone about a life issue, they will gladly visit a specialist without any false shame. For them, taking care of their mental health is equal to working out and taking care of their physical body. Older people, and especially men, think they can solve problems themselves,” Raag stated.

Men want health checks, women new glasses

Survey respondents were also asked about their satisfaction with the health insurance plan chosen by their employer. More than half of the respondents admitted their dissatisfaction. 41% of the respondents would like their plan to also include dental care, while almost as many felt that the indemnity for dental care was too low. However, as many as 38% of the respondents aged 18–24 felt that the limit for psychological counselling was insufficient.

“Even though Estonian men are constantly accused of not taking care of their health and rarely going to the doctor, men were the ones who wanted the limits for prophylactic health checks to be higher and also considered the availability of dental care as part of the health insurance plan more important than others. Women, on the other hand, wanted new glasses and an increase in the existing indemnity for dental care at the employer’s expense,” Raag pointed out, and advised employers to ask for their employees’ wishes before compiling an insurance plan and to choose the best possible covers on the basis thereof.

The survey also looked at the wishes of the employees to whom the employer does not yet provide health insurance. One in ten would like to visit a dentist, 38% would like to use rehabilitation options and 33% would like to undergo preventive health checks.