Market Trends

Insurance for businesses and their employees can be confusing. Changes in state and insurance laws can leave employers puzzled as to what they must do to protect their companies and their people.

One of the many new terms employers are hearing these days is Consumer Driven Benefits. This term refers to the growing trend in which employers and employees are becoming more efficient in how they look at insurance coverage. Due to continuing increases in the cost of health insurance, employers are moving to higher co-pays and/or higher deductibles to try to contain costs for themselves and their employees. By increasing co-pays even slightly, they can save thousands in premiums. The consumer/employee then has the responsibility to be more conscientious about their health care – for example, not running to the ER for a cold; instead, trying other options, such as over the counter remedies or going to the doctor's office during normal business hours.

This doesn’t mean employers are trying to "stiff" their employees. Instead, they’re trying to make them consumers of benefits, putting them more in control of their health. As part of this trend to help consumers take more responsibility for their families; health and general well-being, all carriers are now offering healthy choice benefits such as reimbursement for gym memberships or kids sports. Many employers are implementing wellness programs into their companies to keep their employees healthy, compared to the old days when many companies had an infirmary on the premises to treat their workers AFTER they got sick.

We advise our clients to implement voluntary benefits as well to round out their benefits packages. This helps recruit and retain quality employees without breaking the bank. After all, there are only so many benefit dollars to go around and the days of employers being able to cover 100% of health insurance and offer 100% of ancillary coverages such as disability and life insurance are long gone. People still need to cover their paychecks through a disability, and offering payroll deduction as a means to pay their premiums is a great plus. Also, offering life insurance through the workplace with premiums automatically deducted from employees’ paychecks is another added value to the employee.

For further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact:

Mary Ellen Root (978)534-3005 maryellen@solidbenefitsgroup.com

Tom Peralta (978)534-3166 tom@solidbenefitsgroup.com