This topic represents an opportunity to activate the broker’s advisory role more strongly, as the broker understands market conditions, insurers’ terms and the practical consequences of different benefit contracting models.
Since the introduction of voluntary health insurance as an employee benefit in Serbia, it has become essential to be well informed about how each element of this benefit functions and how it affects the employee at the moment when medical support is most needed, as well as the employer throughout all stages of the employment relationship.
Voluntary health insurance in Serbia should represent genuine employer support for employees in situations where their physical or mental capacity is limited and where fast and reliable healthcare services are of particular importance.
At the core of this benefit are insurers and their rules, including the way coverage is defined, communication with clinics is organised, and claims are processed and paid accurately and efficiently.
Importantly, voluntary health insurance may be interrupted when moving to another employer if not properly continued.
Continuity is essential
For employees, this often becomes relevant unexpectedly at a time when dealing with insurance terms is the least of their concerns.
If a particular medical condition arises during the insurance period, it may be treated through outpatient care and, where necessary, inpatient treatment. Outpatient treatment may continue for years, during which an employee may change employer due to better working conditions, a different business environment, additional benefits, or precisely because of the availability of voluntary health insurance.
However, for this benefit to retain its full value with the new company, the insurance must continue without interruption in relation to the previous policy.
Only in that case can the employee rely on continuous insurance support for the treatment of an existing condition, both in outpatient and inpatient settings, where pre-existing medical conditions are excluded from coverage.
Probationary periods
In practice, due to an insufficient understanding of the importance of continuity, employers and HR teams often establish internal rules for the use of benefits without aligning them with insurers’ rules.
The most common example is the probationary period, during which the start of certain benefits, including voluntary health insurance, is deferred. This creates a break in insurance, which may have significant consequences for the ability to use coverage in full.
After such a break, the employee is treated under the new policy as a newly insured person, meaning that medical conditions which arose during the previous insurance period may be considered pre-existing conditions and excluded from inpatient treatment and, in some cases, from outpatient treatment as well.
Importance for employers
If an employer, through its internal rules, interrupts the continuity of insurance or the continuity of certain coverage elements, the benefit loses part of its real value precisely for those employees who need it most.
In doing so, the employer may also lose the opportunity to attract higher-quality candidates, particularly those who have already had a more developed level of benefits, broader coverage or better protection with previous employers, which often accompanies more demanding or better-positioned roles.
Although this is not a rule, it may be concluded that a break in continuity reduces the employer’s competitiveness in the labour market.
Conversely, by preserving continuity, the employer strengthens its attractiveness, increases employee loyalty and provides employees with genuine, uninterrupted support at the moments when they need it most.
Importance for brokers
This topic represents an opportunity to activate the broker’s advisory role more strongly, as the broker understands market conditions, insurers’ terms and the practical consequences of different benefit contracting models.
Through such a role, the broker can influence the reorganisation and alignment of the employer’s internal rules with insurance rules, whereby levelling those rules ultimately benefits the employer most — through a stronger benefit, greater competitiveness and more reliable support for employees.
Ranka Barjaktarević
International Affairs and Personal Insurance Manager
T +381 60 0254 821
