One of the main challenges facing schools when searching for staff absence insurance is understanding exactly what is and isn't included in various provider’s policies. It is not uncommon for insures to exaggerate the level of cover they offer by making benefits only accessible at the discretion of the insurer. This is just a marketing gimmick to make themselves stand out from the crowd. This ploy leaves schools bewildered when they try to access a service they were led to believe was included, only to find out it either isn't included at all or is only available at the insurer’s discretion, with no right to appeal.

A prominent example of this in the staff absence insurance market today relates to the inclusion of health and wellbeing services. We have introduced health and wellbeing services to our policy to ensure that all our schools’ staff have accessible support as and when they need it. Our clients are welcome to use all our medical and wellbeing services at no extra cost and unlike other providers’ in the market, this is not at our discretion. Occupational health assessments are unlimited and can be requested directly by the school. If counselling, stress coaching or physiotherapy is required then our health and wellbeing administrators, APL Health will provide the individual with it at no additional cost. 

When choosing your provider, always request a specimen policy. Thoroughly reading and checking a specimen policy will allow you to fully understand what is and isn’t included. We believe insurance should be open, honest and transparent. Therefore, we always provide specimen policies to schools looking for dependable and financially stable insurance. Be cautious of any provider who will not send you a specimen policy, the chances are their policy is not as comprehensive as their marketing literature suggests.

Within all lines of insurance, a provider’s services become redundant without the support of a financially stable and committed underwriter.  It is not uncommon for companies (particularly those operating within the education sector) to be unexpectedly left without the backing of an underwriter. We acknowledge the importance of providing financial stable and dependable insurance to our customers. As a consequence, we are the only staff absence provider to offer policies from an ‘AA-’ rated insurer. *  When choosing your provider, be sure to check the rating of their insurer.  A poor rating may hinder the provider’s ability to continue insuring its customers and successfully pay their claims.