The “Oz” of employee benefits.
Don’t worry, even those of us in the insurance industry get these terms mixed up. The likelihood is most practices offer these benefits, and haven’t reviewed them in some time. We explain them here:
- Supplemental – the term originated for policies that would complement the major medical insurance, but today most agents call them “voluntary.”
- Voluntary – the most popular term today. This is any benefit where the employee pays 100% of the cost. The employer typically payroll deducts and pays the invoice.
- Ancillary - these are typically designed as more “core” products such as dental, vision, life, and disability. These can be paid 100% by the employer, share in the cost, or make it completely voluntary.
A case study:
We recently met with a practice in central PA who offers voluntary benefits, and when reviewing the benefits closely we found the following:
- They can’t remember the last time they saw their agent. They can’t even recall their name.
- More then 10 employees work at this company. Only 3 have policies. The rest never had the chance to learn about or purchase a policy.
- Policies are from 2005, and have never been reviewed or updated since.
This happens ALL THE TIME, and it drives us crazy. We are here to help! If you offer supplemental, voluntary, and/or ancillary and the above applies to you (no agent, old policies, employees haven’t been able to enroll) then please reach out to us. We will offer you a no cost consultation, and recommend ways to increase benefits, reduce cost, and streamline communication to your employees.