One of the perks for working for a particular employer is health insurance provision. For instance, in the UK many companies now offer its employees Bupa or some other similar scheme. In other countries there will be similar employee benefits.

However this could be under threat.

A report by a global service company specialising in health care – Towers Watson – recently published a report which said that insurance costs to employers had risen dramatically over the past two years and further rise of 10.5% is expected this coming year.

Worldwide the biggest increase expected to hit will be Latin American countries at 13.7% followed by North America (11.6%), Middle East (10.3%), and the Asia Pacific region (10.2%) with Europe closely following at 9.1%.

The report also makes the point that there will be “little relief…in sight, with the vast majority of respondents expecting higher medical costs over the next five years.”

The Towers Watson report also compares those counties which are described as emerging economies and those nations which are established. It says the rate of increase in advanced economies will be slightly slower (9.3%) than developing economies (11.8%).

With countries such as the UK who are going through tough economic times, companies that lose staff will also have a reduced payout, but this will inevitably be swallowed up by insurance increases the company still has to pay.

The question therefore is whether businesses are able to continue offering health insurance ‘perks’ to its staff in the coming years. Individuals may be asked to contribute.