With annual enrollment in full swing, employers must break through the noise to ensure their employees sign up for the appropriate coverage for the coming year. Employees, however, still find enrolling in their benefits overwhelming, leaving many to simply roll over their coverage from the last year.
During this time, brokers and advisers play a pivotal role in helping employees overcome information overload. Here are some tips to share with your customers.
- Encourage employees to have a meaningful conversation
Before we make decisions big or small, people's tendency is to seek out information and advice from trusted sources. Sometimes that means reading online reviews, and other times it is asking a trusted friend, family member, or even coworker about their experiences. Enrollment should not be any different.
In fact, market research has shown that while key life events provide impetus for employees to reconsider their benefits choices, actual changes are often made after an employee speaks to someone they know who has had a relevant experience. That is why employers should encourage their workforce to not only read through the benefits information provided, but also take time to seek advice from those they trust most.
- Dream big
MetLife's 16th annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS) found that more than half of full-time workers (52 percent) live paycheck-to-paycheck. Even more surprising is that for people making $100,000 or less annually, 44 percent could not come up with $400 in an emergency, according to the Federal Reserve.
Putting benefits in the context of goals can help employees better connect their enrollment choices in a given year to their personal lives in the near and long-term as they are likely to face various obstacles along the way to reaching the goals they have outlined.
Even diligent savers can be faced with an unexpected health care-related expense that can knock them off track financially. In fact, medical expenses are the number one source of personal bankruptcy filings in the U.S., according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Put simply, most individuals cannot afford even the most minor of unexpected health care-related expenses. Therefore, signing up for benefits such as accident insurance or disability insurance plays an integral role in helping employees mitigate financial obstacles that could prevent them from achieving their goals.
- Uncover savings
Employees often have ways to save during enrollment they are not aware of. Discounts on auto, home and renter's insurance are frequently offered by employers, yet employees rarely take advantage of these perks.
There are also many instances when employees need legal advice, from purchasing a home to creating a will. A legal plan is a terrific resource, as it offers a vetted network of attorneys around the country and could mean significant financial savings for these common situations.
With unemployment at record lows and top talent in high demand, employers need to continue to encourage workers to think beyond just medical insurance during their enrollment period as part of their attraction and retention strategies.
- Get the most out of your coverage
As health care costs continue to rise and high-deductible plans continue to grow in popularity, more employers are offering supplementary coverage to their employees. These benefits, which include critical illness and hospital indemnity plans, among others, are offered at a low cost through employers. Yet, many employees don't fully understand or utilize the benefits they enrolled in and are paying for.
As a result, many employees unwittingly leave valuable benefits on the table. Connected benefits experiences offered by many insurance carriers help to cross-check employees' coverage across products so that when a claim is filed for one policy, they are notified about the benefits that they may be entitled to from other qualifying coverage.
Enrollment tends to be daunting for employees, and according to the EBTS, only 43 percent of employees believe their employer understands their personal financial pressures. Despite significant investment in technology and communication, employers still struggle to break through and engage with employees around benefit offerings.
Voluntary benefits such as disability insurance, life insurance, critical illness, hospital indemnity and legal plans provide financial cover and peace of mind for employees, so they can go into 2019 confident in their abilities to stay on track towards their short- and long-term financial goals.
Meredith Ryan-Reid is the senior vice president, Head of Distribution Development & Benefits Delivery, Group Benefits, at MetLife.
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