This article was originally published at Pakistan Observer
In Feb 2022, SECP registered 2,349 companies raising the total number of registered companies to 163,333, this is a whopping 20% increase in number compared to the same time last year. The top 3 sectors that took the lead include real estate, technology and trading.
Among these companies, most of the companies fall under small and medium enterprises, which employ the majority workforce of the country. However, unlike, large corporations, most of these small and medium-sized businesses are unable to offer their employees health and medical benefits due to complexities in the process and affordability.
There are three main issues that small businesses face when buying group health insurance. First, they could be smaller than the minimum group size that insurers prefer. So, most insurers will not even offer them group cover. Second, SMEs do not have the negotiating power to get good terms for themselves. Even if they wanted to, most SMEs might not know how to approach and discuss their insurance with insurers. Third, SMEs might have little leverage with insurers to process claims that might fall in a grey area. Lastly, there is a lot of friction in the process as it takes around eight weeks for a company to purchase a policy from the time they decide to get health coverage to begin.
Realizing this problem and simplifying health insurance, Smartbenefits was launched with a mission to simplify group healthcare. This mission began 2 years ago under Smartchoice to serve businesses with health insurance for their employees with comprehensive benefits at affordable pricing and transparent claims.
In the last two years, Smartbenefits has covered 16000+ lives of employees and their families for more than 200 companies across Pakistan… Smartbenefits solves many of the challenges SMEs face when looking for employee health insurance. After all, these SMEs form the backbone of our economy and protecting their skilled employees and their families is absolutely necessary.
According to Sibtain Jiwani, CEO and Founder Smartbenefits, “I strongly believe it is the responsibility of every employer to look after the well-being of their employees. It’s no longer about compensation but rather more about actions, culture and care. By sponsoring health insurance for employees and their dependents you can make employees feel valued. At Smartbenefits we are enabling businesses to launch employee benefits by offering an affordable health insurance plan backed by top insurers.”
How is Smartbenefits transforming Group Health Insurance?
Smartbenefits offers an improved customer experience by creating touchpoints during the life cycle of the insurance cover. Its proprietary technology makes the entire experience from pricing, customer onboarding, claims and renewals simple and hassle-free.
Companies buying employee health covers for the first time are overwhelmed by the amount of information they have to interpret such as coverages, limits, sub-limits and exclusions. Smartbenefits takes away that hassle by offering a side by side comparison of multiple insurance plans along with trained Benefits Specialists to walk you through the process and advise you based on the needs of the company (depending on the sector they operate in and employee base).
Partnering with the top insurance companies of Pakistan, Smartbenefits offers tailor-made insurance plans even for a company as small as 5 team members starting from as low as Rs. 4,000 per employee per annum. Depending on the type of plan you opt for, an all-inclusive health policy can be availed including hospitalisation, maternity and pre-existing disease coverage without any waiting period.
By bringing innovation to insurance, Smartbenefits self-service portal enables businesses to offer health care coverage from Day-1 when the employee joins the organisation with transparent billing and policy administration. With a dedicated claim assistance desk, employees can always reach their team of experts who can assist with claims be it hospitalization, daycare surgeries, specialized test or reimbursement of expenses before and after hospitalization.
Employees of Smartbenefits clients also get access to a Whatsapp based “Smartbot” that answers basic FAQs when it comes to health insurance. It helps in determining what’s covered and what’s not without talking to a human and also helps in locating the nearest panel hospital for treatment based on the employee’s location.
Clients of Smartbenefits have reported a boost in overall motivation and productivity of the employees after the introduction of health benefits in their organization. Employee retention rates have increased and it has also become easier to attract better talent according to several clients that were surveyed. With all-inclusive health insurance, employees have access to quality health care. They can work with peace of mind, knowing their medical costs are well-covered. Healthier employees are more productive, engaged, and focused, all of which are important to propel the growth of any business.
The startup aims to remove all the hassle associated with every step of the health and life insurance journey and make it simple and transparent for a layman.
If you want to explore better health benefits for your employees, their dependant you can checkout Smartbenefits at www.smartbenefits.pk.
