Employers use medical insurance 'to retain staff'

British businesses are seeing the benefits of providing their employees with private medical insurance and are increasingly using it as a way of recruiting and retaining "the best quality staff".

Jonathan French, a spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said employers recognise the benefits of private medical cover and the need to help staff recover from illness and injury quickly.

"It's an important thing for them from a productivity point of view and that, of course, has knock-on benefits to the overall productivity of the economy," he explained.

He added that the standard of healthcare offered by the private sector is generally perceived to be of better quality than the care provided by the NHS.

"There are also particular add-ons that people can get in the private sector; like individual rooms," he continued.

Figures from Bupa reveal that private medical insurance sales for the first quarter of this year were up 20 per cent on the same period in 2007.