Natalie JenkinsonDigital Marketing Manager

04/07/2022

7 mins

Musculoskeletal problems were behind a whopping 19.7% of the 141.4 million UK working days lost to sickness in 2018. Problems such as back pain are therefore the second-biggest reason workers take time off sick.

These figures don’t even include those suffering and still going to work, powering through the pain.

It’s a problem many of us will unfortunately be familiar with. Even if you haven’t suffered from the dreaded dodgy back and needed time off work, these statistics show you’re fairly likely to develop a similar problem in the future.

Yet despite this, the NHS isn’t always well-resourced for dealing with back pain. Waiting lists for physiotherapy can be long. Meanwhile, similar treatments, such as osteopathy, aren’t generally offered on the NHS at all.

Bridging The Physiotherapy Gap

While you can seek treatment privately and pay out of pocket, not everyone can afford to. Recognising this, as well as the sickness burden back pain causes, many insurers offering policies such as Income Protection have introduced physiotherapy as one of the additional benefits for their policyholders.

Insurers provide these FREE alongside protection policies. As well as physiotherapy, they often include:

Digital GP appointments
Counselling sessions
Second medical opinion service
Health MOTs.

Mutual Benefits from British Friendly

One such example is British Friendly’s Mutual Benefits Service, which is free with a British Friendly Income Protection policy.

You get 100 health support points per year, which you’re free to ‘spend’ however you like on health-related benefits.

Thanks to a partnership with British Friendly, the advisers here at Drewberry have access to the Mutual Benefits suite of services.

Here’s how Josh Martin, Mike Barrow and Sam Barr-Worsfold benefited from British Friendly’s physiotherapy service.

Using the Physiotherapy Service

Josh Martin Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry

About 18 months ago now, I started having issues with my shoulder and upper back. It was very uncomfortable and quite painful at work.

I couldn’t sit in one position for too long and needed to get up and move around the office frequently to shake off the pain. That’s why I contacted British Friendly’s Mutual Benefits team.

Josh Martin
Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry

Josh’s Experience

Josh got in touch with British Friendly on the member services number. He explained that he was a member and had access to the Mutual Benefits services and the British Friendly team took it from there.

Within a couple of days, he had a physio appointment arranged near Drewberry’s Brighton office, so he was able to slot it into his working day.

For Josh, the first session involved a discussion of his problems and an examination. The physiotherapist then went through some exercises with him to do at home and provided some sports massage.

After three sessions and working his new exercises into his daily life, Josh felt much better.

Michael Barrow, Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry

To be honest, I’ve probably had poor posture my entire adult life. While I go the gym regularly to keep fit, I’ve always been aware that I perhaps don’t sit or stand correctly. This does cause some mild pain.

I thought the British Friendly physiotherapy service would be a great way to nip the issue in the bud before I got any older and it got worse.

Mike Barrow
Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry

Mike’s Experience

Just as with Josh, Mike called the Mutual Benefits team at British Friendly. However, you can also book online or via the app.

Once British Friendly had confirmed Mike’s eligibility, they looked for a physiotherapist in his local area. He was able to choose which one would be best for him.

Mike felt better after two sessions. This involved a discussion of his issues, some pointers for improving his overall posture and some exercises to strengthen muscles involved in supporting his back.

Each session cost 30 health points, leaving Mike with 40 points still to spend that year if he needed further help

Sam Barr Worsfold, Financial Planner at Drewberry

Similarly to Mike, my problem was probably more centred around poor posture than anything else, although a gym injury did exacerbate the issue.

I thought it was best to get the problem sorted out sooner rather than later, so I decided to give British Friendly a call.

Sam Barr-Worsfold
Financial Planner at Drewberry

Sam’s Experience

Sam saw two physios in the end and had a number of sessions to get his problem in check. The physiotherapist actually went back to British Friendly and requested authorisation for more sessions with Sam, which British Friendly granted.

This ensured Sam was feeling much better before the physiotherapists discharged him.

Why Additional Benefits Matter

Additional benefits support clients in many different ways without them having to make a claim.

As well as providing assistance beyond the core benefit, these services aim to keep policyholders well and in work, preventing them from having to make a claim in the first place.

We always highlight these extras to our clients as a real, tangible benefit to having the policy beyond the core insurance.

However, they’re still relatively underused. Insurers provide them for a reason — to catch smaller issues early before they become full blown problems requiring time off work — so it makes sense to use them.

After all, you’re entitled to them!

Who Are Drewberry?

Our goal is simple: to improve our clients’ financial wellbeing.

We help our clients take control of their finances by building lasting relationships that support them to make informed decisions.

We provide financial advice to individuals and businesses throughout the UK. Whether it’s setting up personal insurance to protect your lifestyle, managing your pensions, investments and other assets or setting up employee benefits for a company, we’re here to help.