If you are a business owner, no matter the size, you have likely experienced the stress and confusion of building an employee benefits package. You know how crucial an employee benefits package is to attracting and retaining employees. Trying to balancing caring for your employees and your budget can bring on overwhelming pressure.
With the rise of health care costs, utilizing voluntary benefits will allow you to enhance your benefits package, differentiate yourself from the competition, and increase employee satisfaction without putting a massive dent in your budget.
Voluntary benefits are coverages and products that are 100 percent employee-paid, offered through an employer, solicited and enrolled through a carrier or enrollment firm, and paid through automatic payroll deductions. They allow employers to provide benefits that are attractive to employees and are an elective purchase.
Some common voluntary benefits include:
- Life insurance/AD&D
- Disability income insurance
- Long-term care insurance
- Dental/Vision insurance
- Accident insurance
- HSA’s and HRA’s
- Cancer insurance
- Critical illness insurance
- Prepaid legal services
- Pet health insurance
- Identity theft insurance
Employers aren’t the only ones receiving a huge advantage from voluntary benefits. It is important to stress to your employees that purchasing coverage through their employer via voluntary benefits helps them save time and money, too!
Employee insurance options are all conveniently located in one place and often come with lower premiums than any individual policies they would have bought themselves. Voluntary benefits also reduce wasted coverage by allowing employees to choose from a wide array of benefits and select the option that best suits their needs. The enrollment and payment methods for voluntary benefits are also incredibly convenient. There are numerous support resources included with voluntary benefits. Having open communication with your employees will allow you, as the employer, to personalize each package and get a deeper understanding of your employees and their needs.
When selecting which voluntary benefit products to offer, it is essential to consider your overall employee benefit objectives. You also want to make sure that the voluntary benefit products you offer don’t duplicate coverage that you are already providing. Additionally, you want to identify what is important to your employees. The success of any voluntary benefits program is affirmed by two things: your commitment to the success of the enrollment and the employee’s sense that this is about meeting their needs.
To learn more about the advantages of Voluntary Benefits, call our Salisbury or Easton Avery Hall Benefits offices, today!