As open enrollment season approaches, most companies are looking to enhance their benefits packages without breaking the bank. Voluntary benefits offer an excellent solution, providing added value to employees, at little to no cost for employers. Among these offerings, AFLAC stands out as the most requested employee benefit, delivering products that resonate with employees and their bank accounts.

Why Voluntary Benefits Matter

Voluntary benefits, like those offered by AFLAC, Guardian , Sun Life, and many others, can significantly improve your company’s benefits package without straining your budget. These supplemental insurance options allow employees to customize their coverage based on individual needs, filling gaps in traditional health insurance plans.

Key advantages of offering voluntary benefits include:

Increased employee satisfaction and retention
Improved ability to attract top talent
Enhanced financial security for employees
Minimal administrative burden for employers
No direct costs to the company

While AFLAC has earned a reputation as the #1 provider of voluntary insurance in the United States, most voluntary policies offer quick cash benefits- paid directly to policyholders, helping cover expenses that major medical insurance doesn’t. This unique approach has made voluntary benefits the most requested employee benefit, with features that resonate strongly with workers:

Fast claims processing, often within one day
Cash benefits paid directly to policyholders
Coverage that travels with employees even if they change jobs
A wide range of policy options to suit diverse needs

Easy Implementation, Big Impact

Adding voluntary benefits to your offerings is a straightforward process that can yield significant returns in employee satisfaction and loyalty. The enrollment process is typically digitally, through your benefits portal – and the programs CorpStrat offers are best in class.

As you prepare for open enrollment, consider the power of voluntary benefits to enhance your benefits package. With minimal effort and expense, you can provide your employees with valuable financial protection and peace of mind, setting your company apart as an employer of choice. Ask your CorpStrat representative about voluntary benefits for your team.

CorpStrat analyzes multiple survey data, such as the annual Kaiser Foundation Survey of Employee Benefits, alongside other industry intel reports, to provide clients with a holistic view of market trends.

This allows companies to benchmark their offerings against similar-sized businesses in their industry, ensuring competitiveness in attracting and retaining talent.

For example, using insights from the KFF survey, CorpStrat works closely with clients to design benefits plans.

We consider factors such as:

– Premium costs (average annual premiums were $8,435 for single coverage and $23,968 for family coverage in 2023)

– Employee contributions (workers contributed an average of 17% for single coverage and 29% for family coverage)

– Popular plan types (PPOs covered 47% of workers, followed by HDHP/SOs at 29%.

CorpStrat helps clients develop cost-sharing approaches that balance affordability for employees with the company’s financial objectives.

For example, employers might consider that:

– 90% of workers with single coverage have a general annual deductible

– The average deductible for single coverage is $1,735

– 31% of covered workers have a general annual deductible of $2,000 or more for single coverage.

Trend Analysis and Innovation – CorpStrat analyzes multi-year data to identify emerging trends, such as:

– The growing importance of telemedicine (91% of large employers covered telemedicine services in their largest health plan)

– The prevalence of wellness programs (62% of small firms and 80% of large firms offered at least one wellness program)[1]

Compliance Guidance – With its understanding of industry benchmarks and regulatory requirements, CorpStrat ensures that clients’ benefits packages meet market standards and comply with relevant laws such as affordability requirements of the ACA.

Communication Support – CorpStrat assists clients in effectively communicating the value of their benefits packages to employees, contextualizing the company’s offerings within broader market trends.

Ongoing Optimization – The firm provides continuous support, regularly reviewing and adjusting benefits strategies based on the latest survey data and client feedback. This ensures that benefit offerings remain optimized and aligned with both employee needs and company objectives.

By leveraging these industry tools and its expertise, CorpStrat empowers clients to make informed decisions about their benefits strategies, creating competitive, cost-effective packages that support employee well-being and contribute to overall business success.

Citations:

https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2023-summary-of-findings/

The majority of US employers will be getting a very thick package in their inboxes from their insurance company in the next 60 to 90 days. Included in this is their plan renewal for their benefits, which may include potentially a rate adjustment, as well as plan benefit changes – some of which are mandated by law, and some of which are a function of an evolving landscape of benefit plans and design structures.

What to do?

If you’re an employer and you deliver benefits to your team, which by and large includes nearly all businesses, especially those mandated by law to provide at 50 lives, this is a critical time for you to review both the opportunity to renew your existing plans, and/ or consider the opportunities that the insurance market might bear, as there are many choices, plans, benefits, and programs.

At CorpStrat, the process starts with a strategy call with your Account Manager, and an understanding of how your benefit programs play into your recruitment and retention planning – and also understanding the specific nuances, health care concerns, and cash flows that dictate what you offer and how.

Your call might involve benchmarking, a review or your culture, workers preferences, surveying employee opinion on benefit choices, and understanding the cost sharing structure that you currently offer to your team – which can drive net costs to you as an employer.

Once an understanding of your goals is achieved, our team reviews the marketplace, as well as your current offering and makes a recommendation for the coming plan year. Our experienced and veteran advisors are live humans, no call centers!

Open enrollment typically is done with digital engagement tools and employees get time to select plans and cost sharing and most companies offer voluntary plans as well.

If you or someone on your team would like CorpStrat guidance, leadership, and direction or you know of a company that could benefit our services, please reach out.

The highest compliment we can get is a referral from our existing clients!

Note that insurance companies are overwhelmed at this time of year too, so the sooner you get a planning and strategy done, the better your outcomes will be.

Remember, CorpStrat is one of the states leading providers of employee benefits, and we get paid directly from insurance carriers. There’s no additional charge for our services. Why not work with advisors, not call centers? Call or email us.