As premiums and healthcare costs continue to rise, employers have increasingly turned to Voluntary Benefits to enhance the traditional benefit offering. Voluntary benefits are sometimes referred to as worksite benefits and are additional insurance products, plans or programs which an employee can purchase through their employer, through pre-taxed payroll deductions, at a discounted group rate, to augment their employer-paid benefits. They are easy to administer with little or no cost to the employer, and surveys consistently show that employees who have access to voluntary benefits experience higher job satisfaction and overall sense of well-being.
Employees can pick and choose from a wide range of the popular voluntary benefits.
Click the toggles below for brief benefit descriptions.
Term Life Insurance
Term Life
Life insurance that does not build cash value, however, it will pay a set amount to the named beneficiary upon the death of insured within the stated term. Some policies may also make payments upon terminal or critical illness.
Dental and Vision Plans
Dental Plans
Regular dental exams help employees stay healthier and more productive in the work place. Simple routine visits to the dentist, which are usually covered 100% by insurers, help to detect serious underlying conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. The National Association of Dental Plans and the Centers for Disease Control have performed studies that show that employees with Dental Insurance plans have better attitudes and are less likely to suffer from depression, a common condition in today’s fast-paced world.
Dental Plans offer a variety of diagnostic, preventative care and corrective services including cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings, root canals, orthodontia for children, and emergency care while traveling.
Vision Plans
Similar to dental policies, vision plans are inexpensive and save money on routine exams, eyeglass frames and lenses, contacts, and even discounts on procedures like LASIK. Monitoring your eye health with regular exams also helps to prevent serious eye diseases like glaucoma and cataracts and also helps to detect early stages of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Accident Insurance
Accident Insurance
Accidents can happen anytime and Accident insurance helps to protect employees from financial hardship due to a great deal of medical and out-of-pocket expenses that follow accidental injuries. Emergency treatment, hospital stays, medical exams, transportation and lodging needs are just a few of the expenses that accident insurance can help cover. Some policies can even pay benefits in as little as one day, based on time of claim submission.
Disability Insurance
Disability Insurance
National surveys have shown that Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability remain of high importance for most employees. Savvy employers attract and retain top talent by offering both STD and LTD insurance as part of the employer paid benefit package or as a voluntary (worksite) benefit. Here’s how Disability plans typically work.
Short Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), STD generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a two-week waiting period and will continue to pay the employee until he/she recovers or maxes out the benefits–usually anywhere between one month to two years, depending on the policy.
Long Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), LTD generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a 90-day waiting period, although it could be much longer depending on the policy, but will continue to pay the employee far longer than STD–for a few years, up to age 65, or even for life.
Critical Care
Critical Illness Plans
Surviving critical illnesses is becoming increasingly common with the advances in modern medical technology. This special type of coverage can help reduce the personal financial impact of the cost of fighting the disease and keeping up with everyday bills through that process.
Some key features:
If you have a health insurance plan and/or disability insurance, a Critical Illness Plan will provide benefits in addition to your other coverage.
-Lump-sum cash benefit paid directly to you.
-You decide how best to spend your payment.
-No network restrictions.
-Benefit level choices to fit your needs and budget.
-Simple plan options for your needs and budget.
Final Expense
Final Expense
Final expense insurance is designed to help protect your loved ones from the financial burden of funeral costs related to your passing. Unlike life insurance, final expense policies have a much lower face value because they are intended to only cover costs related to a person’s final expenses. Therefore, these policies can often be purchased at low or reasonable premiums.
Here are some of the features of final expense policies:
-Premiums do not increase, ever
-As long as make you premium payment, policies will remain effective
-Guaranteed death benefit
-Some policies can be written similar to whole life policies, meaning they may earn dividends
Identity Shield
Identity Shield
This type of coverage gives employees access to identity theft professionals and information/tips on how to monitor, identify and protect themselves from stolen identity, and/or if needed, help to restore identity.
Legal Shield
Legal Shield
This type of coverage provides employees with unlimited legal assistance for any legal needs they may have from top law firms. Employees can choose to add family/dependents to plan as well.