The National Bank of Ukraine has signed a corporate voluntary health insurance agreement with Alfa Insurance PJSC.

This insurance company won a competitive bidding process announced by the NBU in the spring of 2016. The following three insurance companies submitted notices of intent to participate in the  competitive bidding process: Alfa Insurance, Providna and Kraina. Alfa Insurance has offered the lowest medical insurance rates.

The three-year corporate voluntary health insurance agreement entered into force on 1 August 2016. 

The terms of the agreement provide for the following:

• the corporate voluntary health insurance plan  covers up to 3,000 employees;
• the  health insurance premium paid by the NBU per employee amounts to UAH 3,300 for a full year coverage (half the average health insurance premium under similar corporate health insurance programs);
• the insurance coverage amount (the total amount payable by the insurance company for covered medical expenses in the event of a medical emergency) is UAH 100,000 per person per year.
• insured medical services are mostly provided by state-run hospitals and privately-owned hospitals; 
• this corporate health insurance plan provides  equal health insurance benefits and  insurance coverage to all NBU employees ( grade of insurance “Classic” regardless of the job position they hold).  

Health insurance is voluntary, meaning that NBU employees apply to join the  health insurance scheme voluntarily and pay an income and a military tax.  NBU employees may upgrade their health insurance policies at their own expense. Currently, nearly 1.500 NBU employees have  joined the  health insurance scheme.

A voluntary health insurance plan is part of the benefit package offered to employees. The NBU strives to employ  top-quality professionals to its staff. The voluntary health insurance scheme is no longer a competitive advantage in today’s labor market  as most employers in the market segment where we compete for employees provide their employees with health insurance benefits. With a health insurance policy, employees have a round-the-clock access to medical services, which enables them to enjoy flexibility and save time.   In addition, given the number of employees covered by health insurance, the NBU’s annual expenses on the maintenance of health and recreational institutions located in Kyiv were 30% higher than the costs of providing health insurance to all employees working  in all Ukrainian regions,’ said Director of the NBU Personnel Department Mr Roman Borysenko.

In accordance with its transformation strategy, the NBU got rid of its health and recreational centers last year. All the medical equipment was donated to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to be used to treat military servicemen. The removal of  the  NBU employees from the Civil Service system deprived them of access to medical services provided by hospitals forming part of the network run by the State Management of Affairs.