Voluntary

More employers are slashing budgets, which often equals cutting benefits. No more 401(k) matching, a high-deductible health plan becomes the only option, and money gets tight and employees see it and feel it. Enter the group legal plan. It doesn’t cancel out employees’ sticker shock over an HDHP, but it does mean that at a relatively low cost, an employee can see an attorney at, say, $15.95 a month.

Almost half of employers surveyed in July by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company say they plan to add voluntary benefits to their plans within the next year.

For many employees faced with the prospect of having to save for rising healthcare costs and for retirement, it's important to understand that it doesn't necessarily have to be an either/or decision.

Although both fixed indemnity and expense incurred limited medical plans continue to be impacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, fixed indemnity plans are weathering the storm relatively intact, while the expense incurred structure has taken a beating, experts say. Fixed-indemnity plans do not have to comply with PPACA regulations because they do not mimic major medical insurance policies as expense incurred plans do.

The traditional model of the benefits brokerage is terminal and on life support. As I talk with brokers and consult with agencies across the U.S., there's a growing desperation as they realize that "carrying quotes" isn't enough anymore. Even modifying the plan design and then shopping the medical for the lowest quotes no longer will get - or keep - the account.

An online cartoon is changing the way employees think about voluntary benefits.

When individuals are faced with too many options they become paralyzed and don’t make the best decisions -- even when it comes to 401(k) options, according to a new study.

MetLife survey pinpoints disconnect between what employers believe and what employees want when it comes to voluntary benefits.

The mid-size market is a bright spot for voluntary sales in an otherwise stagnant economy, according to LIMRA research.

Voluntary home and auto benefits are an increasingly important part of many brokers' product arrays - and revenue streams.