Voluntary Benefits In 2022

Two recent studies reveal the kinds of benefit programs uppermost on employees’ minds:

• The five fastest-growing benefits for 2022 and beyond are identity theft, hospital indemnity, pet insurance, critical illness and group legal, according to Willis Towers Watson’s Emerging Trends in Health Care Survey.
• DirectPath, a benefits education, enrollment and health care transparency firm, believes 2022 will be a big year for contagious disease riders; critical illness plans; hospital indemnity plans; expanded employee assistance programs (EAPs); and increased mental health support.

What these and other studies show is that employees are increasingly turning to employers for health and other solutions and that employees have diverse needs.

Here is more about some of the most popular voluntary benefits mentioned in these and other recent studies and surveys:

• Hospital indemnity: Also known as critical care insurance, these plans help pay for certain unexpected medical expenses. Hospital indemnity insurance is added to a health plan and pays the employee a predetermined dollar amount each day they are in the hospital.
• Pet insurance: Pet adoptions increased dramatically during the pandemic, and pet care can be expensive. The American Pet Products Association reports that pet owners spent $103.6 billion on pets in 2020, compared to $90.5 billion in 2018. Like health insurance for people, pet insurance helps cover the cost of care if a member’s pet becomes ill or injured. Some plans also provide reimbursement for vaccinations, heartworm testing, and spaying/neutering.
• Critical illness: This type of health care insurance pays a lump sum if the member is diagnosed with a severe illness, although the types of covered illnesses are specified and have their own limits.
• Identity theft protection: Identity theft is one of the top three fraud complaints. The Federal Trade Commission reported a 2,920% increase in the annual

reporting of identity theft cases. Identity theft protection services monitor credit reports, financial information, social security numbers and public records for a member.

Job applicants are placing greater emphasis these days on the quality of benefits they will get when considering a new position. If any of these voluntary benefits sound like a good fit for your company, talk to your broker about your options.

Copyright © 2020 Smarts Publishing