Voluntary benefits

Semantics are supremely important in making or breaking certain lines of insurance.

As you consider offering more value-added benefits to your employee population, I encourage you to think about seriously offering long-term care insurance. As many of us are seeing our parents and other family members live well into their 80s and 90s, it's more and more likely that the elderly people in our lives will at some point need long-term care services. It's the rare and fortunate elderly person who continues to live independently in his or her own home without home care services.

With tuition costs on the rise, employees looking for ways to pay for their children's college education can save with 529 plans.

What will the successful post-reform 21st century agency look like? EBA contributor Nelson Griswold predicts what will set you apart from the herd.

While employers have increasingly adopted CDHPs as a lower cost option, employees have been slower to embrace them. A recent study reveals one stat likely to increase participation, writes BeAdvised contributor Doug Mantz.

Last month, a statement from McKinsey Consulting declared that "social innovators are bringing bold new approaches to the difficult problems that plague the world. The next disruptive force in social innovation will involve a new, more rigorous approach that funnels resources to where they can do the most good."

Semantics are supremely important in making or breaking certain lines of insurance.

With serious concerns about medical commission cuts and maintaining top-line revenues, 58% of brokers and consultants are embracing two specific initiatives EBA contributor Nelson Griswold explains in the December issue.

Following the Eastbridge Consulting Group report earlier this year that showed a decrease in voluntary benefits sales during 2010, it has been refreshing to see that, according to recent insurance carriers' annual surveys, employees' interest remains strong.

How do we continue to satisfy the benefits needs of employees and meet our business objectives? The answer is actually right in front of us explains Tinker Kelly in today’s BeAdvised.

Although many companies continue to tighten their financial belts, when it comes to voluntary benefits, employers are much more employee focused, as opposed to cost driven. Seventy-five percent of employers say their top reason for offering voluntary benefits is to expand the benefits options available to their employees, with 42% offering voluntary benefits to fulfill an employee need, and 30% offering them at their employees’ request, according to a study released yesterday by Prudential.

Everyday services that help strike a better work-life balance have become an increasingly valuable part of the benefits package - even if employees are the ones who pick up the tab. But what is the best way to deliver this assistance to the workplace to ensure satisfaction and boost program utilization?

We know that HR directors, benefits managers and C-suite executives are horribly frustrated with employee benefits - not simply with the high cost of the medical, but perhaps most with their lack of control over the process.

For executives and other high net worth individuals, an emerging voluntary benefit addition is survivorship life insurance - an area benefits professionals may want to explore when crafting executive benefits packages.

Executives, business owners and other high net worth individuals are actively looking for ways to preserve their estates, not only for their family members, but also for charitable organizations.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I stood a mere three feet away from the mentalist Alain Nu, who lightly pinched the handle of the heavy, solid spoon between his thumb and fingertip. As I watched in amazement, the curved handle of the spoon . . . slowly began to . . . bend! . . . and it continued to bend . . . without Nu touching it.

Since 2008, Mass Metal in Lawrence, Kan., has helped individuals buy, hold and sell gold and silver through its online service, SilverSaver. Now the company is offering SilverSaver as a voluntary benefit program.

According to a LIMRA report released late last summer, "Voluntary Worksite Benefits: Penetration and Market Potential," almost one-third of all employers are considering offering new voluntary benefits to replace existing benefits that are paid entirely or in part by the employer.

Despite their "constantly wired" reputation, Generation Y employees don't use online resources such as forums or blogs to access voluntary benefits information any more than other workers do, according to new research. And they're significantly more likely than other workers to turn to a family member or friend for information.

The group legal plan is growing. 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.