Voluntary benefits

Advisers who excel in the vision field do the best job of making the connection between vision and medical plans, some experts say. Shannon Enders, a founding partner at Lakeshore Employee Benefits in Norton Shores, Mich., says when he brings the idea of connecting vision and health data to clients’ attention, “they quickly become very interested.”

Commentary: Columnist Nelson Griswold discusses why sophisticated employee benefit advisers are increasingly discussing self-funding of the health plan with mid-size employers.

Selecting the right partners, learning from colleagues and understanding the needs of each client will help agents who are new to this space.

No longer hiding on an intranet or mentioned in a one-off meeting, voluntary benefits are making a big impact on private exchanges, especially as high deductible plans increase and employees self-select into lower coverage.

The Workplace Benefits Association recently announced it’s honoring Bonnie Brazzell, vice president of Eastbridge Consulting Group, who is being inducted into the Worksite Marketing Hall of Fame.

Commentary: The question about self-service benefits enrollment needs to shift from “Should we do it?” to “What do we need to do to ensure the experience is engaging, satisfying and effective?”

Among the latest inductees to the Worksite Marketing Hall of Fame is Chris Martin, president of Combined Worksite Solutions. The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals for their contributions to the voluntary employee benefits industry.

The Workplace Benefits Association has inducted Rob J. Thurston, president of HR Consulting Group (HRCG), into the Worksite Marketing Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals for their contributions to the voluntary employee benefits industry.

Vision and dental benefits can be harnessed to play a larger role in employee health than the sum of their parts.

Many employees are unaware of the causes of disability leave and about gaps in their coverage, and a DI advocate inside the firm can help educate individuals about these common misconceptions.

Applying the lens of behavioral economics to benefits choices helps employers understand why employees choose or don’t choose certain voluntary benefits.

While small employers may understand the benefits of long-term disability insurance to their workforce, many have misconceptions about its cost and may underestimate the desire employees have for this coverage.

More brokers are inquiring about the product these days, and industry experts anticipate recent growth to continue as awareness spreads.

Benefit advisers can be a ‘vital’ resource for low-income earners who, according to new research, need better understanding of and engagement with their employers’ benefit offerings.

If done poorly, the introduction of voluntary benefits can lead to a frustrated workforce that doesn’t have the right insurance.

Achieving better enrollment rates for voluntary benefits depends on high-quality, relevant data.

Data suggest a strong correlation between an employee’s overall sense of confidence in the future and the benefits they participate in at work – particularly non-medical benefits such as life insurance, accident insurance and critical illness insurance.

Brokers need to change the conversations they are having with clients away from the Affordable Care Act and toward other topics, including voluntary, since little will change with the law until the next presidential inauguration, a carrier rep says.

Most disabilities, on average, can keep an employee out of work for roughly three months, and yet, only about a quarter of employees say they currently have disability insurance.

Multiple signs point to growth in voluntary benefits sales, but employers would like to see a change in how their employees sign up for the benefit, according to new LIMRA data, released Tuesday.