As the UK continues its lockdown (At the time of writing, coronavirus cases throughout the country reaching over 250,000), businesses from all different industries are starting to feel its impact, many workers having to adjust the way they work, or stop working altogether.
While the pandemic’s health concerns are distressing enough, the effect it has had on the working world, and subsequently peoples’ income, could also have a considerable impact on mental health and well-being.
This has been a struggle, particularly for those who are self-employed, having to navigate the various government support schemes in order to stay financially afloat.
In response to the struggles the self-employed are facing at the moment, health insurance specialist Equipsme have begun offering free health insurance plans to freelancers and sole traders. This fee-free deal runs until the 1st August, and offers the self-employed a range of different support to help them maintain their well-being.
The new plans (Solo and Solo Plus) offer those who are self-employed access to online GP appointments, any time, day or night, in addition to health checks, remote physiotherapy consultations, and, when lockdown measures ease, access to healthcare in person through private hospitals.
All of this can help not only to safeguard the physical health of those who are self-employed, but also to alleviate any stresses and concerns about their health, which may have been causing subsequent strains on their mental well-being.
Additionally Equipsme are also offering free counselling services for the self-employed via a stress support line, helping those struggling with their mental health through this difficult time.
Founder of Equipsme Matthew Reed has made the following comments on the new plans: ‘If you are self-employed you know that the health of your business relies on your physical and mental health. Now that’s more important than ever. We know people are avoiding appointments to find out what is wrong with them, which risks issues that could be sorted quickly becoming far more serious or even chronic.
‘We also know how tough it is at the moment to be self-employed. We hope that providing professional counselling and medical advice from now until what we expect will be the peak of the pandemic will go a small way to offering support.’
At the moment insurance is not exactly winning the hearts and minds of businesses. This is a genuine offer and I assure self-employed business owners that they can access this on day 1, use it and cancel it by the end of July.’
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Image credit: Freepik
Dennis Relojo-Howell is the founder of Psychreg. He interviews people within psychology, mental health, and well-being on his YouTube channel, The DRH Show.
