Argus Insurance Ltd. is continuing its push to sign up employers to the Island's first insurance led wellness programme with plans to mail out an information packet by the end of this week. The goal is to have companies that have health insurance with Argus online with the programme by this summer.

While most wellness programmes in the United States are organised by individual companies for their own employees, Argus launched its free worksite wellness programme last month as the long-term answer for keeping employees well and slowing down increasing healthcare premiums and claims.

Cindy Campbell, executive vice president group insurance for the company, is not only promoting the plan which offers businesses information and motivation to encourage individuals to achieve optimal health.

She is living it too having now committed herself to a daily exercise regime every morning at 5.30.

She told members of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday that with health insurance premiums rising at over three times inflation, Argus sees wellness programmes as the key way to absorb the cost of escalating bills of poor health by encouraging a lifestyle of regular exercise and balanced nutrition as well as programmes that incorporate stress management and the elimination or reduction of various detrimental behaviours.

"Physical health of our employees is forever tied to the health of our balance sheet," she said pointing to statistics from DuPont, which, after implementing a health promotion programme, saw the days lost due to employee illness drop by 14 percent. Another a multi-site intervention programme in the US which involved a police force, chemical company and banking firm showed that weekly participation in supervised exercise reduced use of sick leave by an average of 4.8 days per person in the year after the programme was introduced.

"Most employers pay 50 percent at a minimum of the health insurance dollar.

"If you have a lot of sick employees your health premiums are going to go up it costs you money financially and It is your business how healthy your employees are," she said.

As a country, Bermuda spent almost $376 million last year on health care expenses. While Argus is working to manage the costs of treatment, the new programme provides clients with all the necessary resources to improve the health and wellness of their employees.

The insurer has partnered with two companies, WellSource Inc, a company that specialises in extensive health profiling applications and Selfhelpworks which offers internationally respected lifestyle management programmes that help people lose weight, stop smoking, give up alcohol and achieve a sound work-life balance.

Employers interested in the programme will also have access to the insurance company's new wellness co-ordinator Catherine Burns who can guide them on implementation and offer advice.