We've written several articles about the change that has occurred in benefit managers' attitudes toward the types of coverages that are suitable for their employees. Twenty years ago, benefit managers only offered those products that most/all of the employees wanted and needed.
Today, with voluntary benefits being an integral part of an employer's benefit package, the mindset is “if some of my employees want this, why not offer it?” The result is a much more robust package of benefits—especially voluntary benefits.
While brokers have become comfortable with most traditional plans, pet insurance, identity theft coverage, legal plans and employee purchase programs also are becoming increasingly common in benefit packages.
Employee ownership of these products is still low but this isn't surprising since many of these products have only recently begun to be accepted as employee benefits. Employee purchase programs are among the most popular, with 13 percent of employees owning the product through work. Next is legal plans, with 8 percent of employees owning the product through work; identity protection at 3 percent and pet insurance at 1 percent.
Perhaps more importantly, employees express interest in buying these types of plans. The interest levels are very similar regardless of whether the employee currently owns any voluntary products or not. (See the sidebar at right.)
As a result, many brokers have added these products to their voluntary portfolio, but many have still not made the leap. The broker that tends to specialize in voluntary or worksite products has been adding these products at a somewhat faster rate than benefit brokers.
Brokers who have not yet added these coverages need to rethink the role these coverages can play. They might provide an offensive weapon that can open new discussions with employers and enhance revenue, as well as a defensive weapon to compete with the brokers that do offer them.
If you haven't yet made the leap, it's time to take another look.
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