U.S. workers are increasingly taking part in non-traditional voluntary insurance products offered through their employers.
A new report by Eastbridge Consulting Group, which serves the insurance and financial services industry, finds that 41 percent of U.S. employees now own at least one voluntary product.
Ownership has risen particularly fast among small firms with 10-100 employees. Among such firms, 51 percent of employees have at least one voluntary product, up from 37 percent in 2013.
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Eastbridge described the development of the voluntary market among small employers in a similar report two years ago. Until recently, such insurance products were typically only offered by large employers. At the time, a survey showed that employees with access to voluntary options expressed higher satisfaction with their insurance than those who didn't.
Unsurprisingly, dental insurance is the most popular voluntary product. Traditionally offered within a set package of health benefits, dental and vision insurance are increasingly offered separately by employers seeking to cut costs. Sixteen percent of employees surveyed reported opting for a voluntary dental plan. Next in line were voluntary vision and accident insurance, which both attracted 14 percent of workers.
But it looks like increasing concerns about hackers may soon make identity theft insurance the most common voluntary product. In 2015, 12 percent of respondents said they'd purchased some type of identity theft insurance, up from 3 percent two years ago.
Other voluntary products that are less popular include pet insurance, legal insurance, hospital indemnity, life and disability insurance and critical illness insurance. A recent report showed tremendous growth in sales of critical illness insurance, which is largely aimed at cancer treatment.
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