The Advantages of Group Voluntary
Insurance & Employee Benefit Plans
Group voluntary insurance and voluntary employee benefit programs allow an employer the option of providing a
total benefits package or supplementing an existing package for their employees at no additional costs to the employer.
A wide array of traditional coverages are available on a voluntary
| A total of 42 percent of compensation goes to benefits, according to the Society of Human Resource Management 2004 Benefit Survey. Out of that 42 percent, 22 percent are comprised of voluntary benefits, while the remaining 20 percent are mandatory benefits. |
A wide array of traditional coverages are available on a voluntary basis, including long-term care, life, disability, dental, vision and prescription, just to name a few.
Through a voluntary plan, premiums can be deducted directly from an employee’s paycheck (payroll deducted) on a payroll cycle of the employer’s choosing (weekly, biweekly or monthly).
Below are just a few of the advantages an employer will realize by offering
a voluntary insurance and employee benefit plan to their employees:
1) Reduce rising benefit costs to the employer:
With the rising cost ofhealth insurance and other coverages a voluntary benefit plan can help
to reduce overhead caused by sky-rocketing premiums. The employer does not pay for
voluntary benefit program premiums - the employee does. If an employee wishes
to select a certain voluntary benefit, the cost of the premium is deducted out of their paycheck.
Numerous coverages can be added to an existing plan to help reduce costs such as critical illness protection, health savings accounts (HSAs), disability and many more.
Another distinct
cost saving mechanism offered by group voluntary products is that by utilizing
the purchasing power of your group, the employees get
access to benefits at low group rates (not at individual rates).
2)Simplify payments with payroll deduction:
Payroll deducted plans allow for simplified premium payment since payments
are automatically taken out of an employees paycheck. There are no direct
bills sent to the employee.
Voluntary plans also allow the employee the option of paying small installment payments for their coverage (premiums can be deducted on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis), thereby allowing the employee to better administer their funds.
Employees
can inquire about coverages through their agent or directly with the
carrier, thereby reducing the administrative costs
and inconvenience
to the employer.
