Brokers are discovering a growing appetite among employer customers for voluntary products to be included in benefits packages for employees.

The 2015 Aflac Workforces Report identified a significant increase in voluntary products being offered by brokers. According to the survey, the trend within employer sponsored plans is to view "major medical insurance is merely a foundation — a foundation that's more effective when it's supplemented by employer-sponsored policies such as life and disability insurance and, going a step further, by voluntary insurance options that help pay bills major medical insurance was never intended to cover."

The survey yielded the following information based on responses to questions about voluntary benefits:

• Thirty-nine percent of companies offered voluntary options in 2014, which is up from 26 percent in 2012;

• 64 percent see a growing need for voluntary insurance today compared to years past;

• 58 percent plan to increase the amount of revenue from voluntary benefits at their firms over the next 12 months — up 9 percent increase over 2014 and 14 percent compared to 2013.

"The outlook was just as bright when brokers were asked to project the success of voluntary benefit sales," Aflac reported. "Nearly half, 45 percent, believe the proportion will increase over the next year … an increase of 18 percent compared to 2014."