Schools staff absence insurance

If a member of staff is unable to work, there can be unexpected costs. Supply cover can be an unforeseen expense for long periods and often isn’t budgeted for. Having an insurance policy is like having a safety net. Staff absence insurance helps to protect you from these unplanned expenses by paying you a benefit, allowing you to budget more accurately.

The School Safe and School Assist policies have the option to include maternity, paternity and adoption leave cover. The Essential and A+ maternity options provide different levels of cover so that you can choose the right option level of cover for your school.

The School Assist policy provides protection for:

• Sickness and accident*

• Bereavement

• Compassionate leave

• Phased returns to work

• Jury service

• Suspension

• Long Covid

• Religious observance days

• Training days

• Pregnancy related illness until 20 weeks before the expected due date. Stress cover and maternity/paternity cover can also be added to our School Assist policy if you require either of them.

*conditions that caused an absence of 5 continuous days or more in the 12 months prior to cover starting are excluded.

In addition to all the benefits of the School Assist policy, our School Safe policy also covers:

• Pre-existing conditions

• Pre-planned operations

• Pregnancy related illness cover up to 28 days before the expected due date

• Enhanced suspension cover

Every case is different so please contact us to chat through your circumstances with a member of our team.

Yes. You can cover staff such as administrative staff, support staff and caretakers. Simply choose the staff categories you want to be covered. Part-time staff can also be covered, with the benefit proportionate to the hours worked.

All claims are handled by our in house claims department. You will be given your own claims handler who will be able to answer any questions you have. Remember, you need to make us aware of an absence within 30 days from the end of the month in which the absence occurs for a valid claim.

The sooner you make your claim, the sooner we'll be able to pay you. We’ve made it easy for you to log a claim with a number of ways to contact us. For more information on the claims process you can visit our client portal, phone or email us. 

If there are staff changes, it’s important to let us know as soon as possible so that your policy is kept up to date – this helps us to pay your claims promptly. Making a staff change is easy and can be done at any time. Simply contact our team or login to our portal.

Some of the key exclusions include:

• Any absence due to any accidental bodily injury (however, these can be considered upon request), sickness or stress commencing prior to the policy start day, unless the Insured Person has returned to work from that absence for a period of 20 consecutive working days

• Inset days, special leave days or holiday periods (including statutory bank holidays)

• Claims due to or consequent upon treatment or surgery which is not medically necessary to sustain or maintain quality of life

Please check your policy wording for full details of policy conditions, exclusions and limitations.

Counselling services - The hub includes a superior counselling model that comprises of up to eight face-to-face sessions, per issue, per year. Staff will have access to counselling services delivered in the most convenient way for them, whether that be face-to-face, by telephone or online.

Virtual GP service – Enabling employees to receive advice, reassurance and, where appropriate, medication when they need it the most. Video and phone consultations are available 24/7 and can be booked online within minutes, at a suitable time and day. Prescriptions can be issued for collection from a local pharmacy or delivered to any UK address. Dependants are also eligible – parents can book appointments on behalf of their children and must also attend the consultation.

EAP & Online Resources – Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, our Employee Assist Programme is a confidential service providing practical information and guidance for personal and work-related issues. Qualified professionals can help with legal matters, health & wellbeing, money and debt issues, critical incidents, and managerial support. The hub also contains resources on a wide range of mental health and wellbeing topics.

Face to face health checks - A health check service enables staff to maintain or improve their health. We can arrange for a qualified health technician to visit your school to perform a quick body health check. Taking around 10 minutes to complete, each staff member will receive detailed results and a full explanation of what they mean, enabling them to understand their body better, improve their health and make a difference in lifestyle choices.

The health check includes looking at:

• Body fat check (%)

• Height to weight ratio

• BMI check

• Fat mass (%)

• Blood pressure test

• Metabolic age

• Visceral fat (%)

• Body water (%)

• 24-hour confidential helpline access – Providing a range of support, including health and lifestyle, legal, medical, home life, work life and financial information.

Services provided by the Health and Wellbeing Hub are non-regulated.

Accessing support when you need it

• 24/7, 365-day, freephone, confidential helpline

• Online Web Access

Physiotherapy

Insured staff may be able to benefit from physiotherapy sessions to help them return to work sooner in the event of certain musculoskeletal claims. Following a claim assessment and validation, they could receive an initial consultation and up to three physiotherapy sessions from one of a national network of over 300 physiotherapists.

Services provided by the Health and Wellbeing Hub are non-regulated.

We offer a solution that gives schools and trusts real control over staff absence costs, while protecting against unexpected overspend. With the absence budget protection policy, you set aside a fund for staff absence and if your costs go beyond that, you’ve got a financial safety net in place. It’s a flexible way to manage your budget, with confidence and peace of mind.

Advantages of absence budget protection:

• Lower premium costs than ‘traditional’ staff absence insurance or mutual funds.

• Protection against unexpected high levels of absence.

• Schools retain control over their staff absence budget, keeping money within schools.

• If absence claims are lower than the retained layer, the school can reinvest the remaining money.