Employee Benefits - Do More Without Spending More?

Many businesses are in the same boat today - trying to figure out the paradox between doing more with less. The arena of employee benefits is no different. Try suggesting to a small business owner the prospect of expanding his/her benefits package for their employees in today's economic climate and you're likely to get booted right out the door. Well, there is some daylight on this particular topic and the answer seems to be in a very hot trend right now in area of employee benefits and that is - Voluntary Benefits. If I were to ask you if you would like to expand your companies benefit offering without it costing you one more dime, you'd probably think I was trying to pull a fast one. Well, this is one "to good to be true" proposition that really is legit. The voluntary benefit market is one marked with very low-costs, low maintenance, very little administration and high pays high dividends on employee morale. You see, with the current climate of higher deductibles, co-pays and less coverage for existing health insurance plans, the voluntary benefit market is a welcomed sight. Disability and Hospital Confinement policies help with covering higher deductibles that employees have to pay. They also help with unanticipated expenses for extended hospital stays or long periods of being unable to work like groceries, transportation and child care expenses.

There are a full range of voluntary benefits that can be 100% employee paid such as dental, vision, limited-medical benefit plans, disability, cancer and critical illness policies, life insurance, accident and hospital confinement plans. That best part is, many of the plans are portable for the employee. That's right they can keep the coverage no matter where they go. Here's just a small sampling of some of these voluntary benefits:

1. Disability Insurance – An individual supplemental short-term
   disability income product that replaces a portion of income if
   someone becomes disabled due to a covered accident or
   covered sickness. There are plans that cover on and off-job or
   off-job accidents/sicknesses and a wide choice of benefit
   periods and elimination periods. This product features total
   and partial disability, portability, worldwide coverage and
   waiver of premium.
2. Accident Care/Public Sector Accident Care –
   A composite-rated, guaranteed renewable accident
   product that provides indemnity benefits for on and off-the-
   job, or off-job only accidents. Stand alone coverage
   for employee, spouse and dependent child may be
   purchased. Features include the same benefits for
   employee, spouse and dependent child; worldwide
   coverage and portability. Optional riders, such as disability,
   are available.
3. Cancer – An individual specified-disease product that
   pays a cancer screening benefit for specified screening
   tests. Upon diagnosis of cancer, provides benefits for
   treatments and resulting costs that individuals may
   require to care for their cancer.
   
4. Critical Illness – An individual specified-disease product
   that can help individuals pay out-of-pocket expenses
   associated with home health care, caregivers they may
   require for home, automobile modifications, mortgage
   payments, utility bills, other everyday living expenses and
   travel costs to and from treatment centers.

For more information about adding voluntary benefits to your existing benefits package, or even if you don't have a benefits package, email me at bknauss@employeemployersolutions.com or visit my website at http://www.employeemployersolutions.com/