A paycheck is no longer enough: Employee health becomes a new business currency

A salary no longer tells the whole story of a job. Increasingly, employees are looking at what comes with the monthly payment: supplementary health insurance, life and accident cover, additional pension savings, faster diagnosis, preventive examinations and psychological support.

The shift reflects pressures that companies can no longer treat as someone else’s problem. Public healthcare systems face long waiting lists, the population is aging and treatment costs are rising. Employers cannot replace public healthcare, but they can help workers reach information, diagnostics and services sooner. That may reduce the risk that a health problem turns into a long absence, lost productivity or an exit from the labor market.

Nataša Hajdinjak, chief executive of PRVA Personal Insurance, said insurance should be understood as more than a friendly human-resources benefit. It is becoming part of companies’ wider personnel, financial and organizational strategies, as well as a form of social security for employees.

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Personal responsibility and understanding the rights under an insurance contract are the foundation of real financial security and a reflection of responsibility toward ourselves and those closest to us.

“Personal responsibility and understanding the rights under an insurance contract are the foundation of real financial security and a reflection of responsibility toward ourselves and those closest to us,” Hajdinjak said. She also argued that insurers must move beyond simply selling policies. “Insurers must not be merely sellers of products. They must become partners, or even companions to people, who build trust, offer transparent solutions and give back to the community.”

For employers, the value of insurance depends on whether workers understand and can use it. The article presents benefits as most effective when they form part of a deliberate personnel strategy, regular communication and prevention. Salary remains the foundation of employment, but protection against health, life and accident risks, along with extra pension savings, is becoming increasingly important.

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Insurers must not be merely sellers of products. They must become partners, or even companions to people, who build trust, offer transparent solutions and give back to the community.