A market in motion

Workforces increasingly include expatriates, local nationals, consultants, fixed-term employees and people employed through an Employer of Record (EOR). At the same time, employers are thinking more broadly about what protection should achieve when someone becomes unable to work.

For employers with mixed or international workforces, rigid eligibility rules can quickly become a barrier

The conversation is moving beyond simply paying a claim. Early intervention, rehabilitation and sustainable return to work are becoming a more important part of how disability protection is judged.

That shift came through clearly as Trawick International worked through the terms of its new Life and Disability facility, underwritten by a major European carrier. The discussion went beyond price and headline benefit levels, focusing on questions such as eligibility for expatriates, local nationals, consultants and fixed-term employees, how cover could be structured across different employee groups and geographies, and what support was available when someone was absent from work.

Where standard solutions fall short

One of the clearest themes was eligibility. For employers with mixed or international workforces, rigid eligibility rules can quickly become a barrier. As coverholder for, and on behalf of, many insurers, Trawick can bind cover through an EOR, subject to a minimum of 20 contracted hours a week being worked by the insured for the immediate prior three months from inception and thereafter.

Cover can also be written on a 100% expatriate population without a membership proportion limit, subject to sanctions screening and to local admitted requirements in the territories concerned and the insurer’s licensing framework.

The structure of the cover can flex too. Group Life, Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) and Long-Term Disability (LTD) can be written individually rather than requiring Life to be placed first, with schemes available from three employees. Long-Term Disability (LTD) is commonly written with a 26-week deferred period, with benefits typically payable for up to five years. Our standard free cover limit is US$500,000, although this can be flexed depending on the scheme. Cover is generally available for schemes with 10 or more employees, or where the minimum premium is $5,000.

For brokers and partners, that creates more room to structure cover around the workforce in front of them, rather than trying to fit the workforce around the product.

Flexibility in action

But flexibility is not only about eligibility or scheme design. It also matters when life becomes more complicated.

Employers increasingly recognise that illness or disability should not simply become a transaction between a claim being submitted and a benefit being paid.

The Disability cover includes intervention through return-to-work planning which, where consent is granted, involves the employee, employer and treating clinician. That can include phased return, adjusted duties and workplace adjustments where appropriate.

An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and telemedicine support are also provided alongside the offering as options to add value to the insured benefits, helping employees access support earlier.

That flexibility also extends to how schemes are structured and managed, from different benefit levels and international billing arrangements to medical underwriting, with standard underwriting decisions targeted within five working days of receiving a clean and complete application.

The focus is on making the cover work in practice, not simply on paper.

Opening up new possibilities

For brokers and partners, the point is a practical one.

Not every requirement can be accommodated, but complexity should not automatically close down the conversation.

Sometimes the better route is to look again at eligibility, benefit structure, underwriting and support, and consider where greater flexibility can make the difference.

That can create more scope to support employers whose workforce structures, geographies or benefit needs no longer fit neatly within a standard approach.

The real test is whether the protection works for the workforce in front of you.

To discuss a client or scheme, contact [email protected].