‘Long Covid’ is the term given to long term symptoms of Covid-19. While initial scientific studies into the disease suggested its duration was relatively short, more recent research suggests a small portion of people infected will suffer from symptoms over a much longer period.
According to a September study by researchers at King's College London, one in 20 people is ill for at least eight weeks, and one in 50 people is ill for longer than 12 weeks.
For employers, this presents a potential risk of delays before staff can return to work following illness related to Covid-19. There’s good news however, as some insurers have started to launch ‘long Covid’ early intervention services.
Two of the key insurer provisions so far are below:
Aviva:
...have stated that they’re here to help your Group Income Protection clients and their insured employees return to work; offering a new COVID-19 Work Support Service.
The service can allow early intervention to provide help before the situation worsens and support employees unable to work at full capacity, as well as offering numerous other benefits. The service will be provided by Working To Wellbeing, a specialist in supporting employees returning to work after long term illness.
Legal and General:
...have also launched a Long Covid Intervention Package for employees experiencing fatigue and associated symptoms following Covid-19.
The package, delivered by Vitality360, includes therapy assessment and rehabilitation time, medical advice and bespoke treatments (plus more) to support employees as they return to work.
Next steps for business owners:
CLEAR’s dedicated employee benefits team have deep experience in supporting business owners in protecting themselves from the risks of long term absenteeism, and in supporting employee health and wellbeing.
Discuss with us today how we have helped business owners to get their employees back to full confidence and ultimately back to work - learn more about insurance packages related to long Covid, by contacting our employee benefits specialist, Nick Skipper.
