Aflac Now Offers Group Voluntary Benefits

BY: AFLAC
November 21, 2011

Aflac now offers group voluntary benefits, including Critical Illness, Supplemental Hospital Indemnity, Accident, Short-Term Disability, Whole Life, Term Life, and Dental.

How relevant are group voluntary benefits these days? Today, more Americans are taking a "front seat" when it comes to driving their insurance decisions. As a result, voluntary benefits, once considered a nontraditional and "nice to have" option, are now more in demand by employees and employers alike.

Employers are beginning to recognize that, in making voluntary insurance benefit plans available to their employees; they can enhance their core plan offerings, while satisfying employees' demands for more insurance options and increased control over the ways they help protect their income and financial safety.

Employers also like the fact that such benefits can be offered at no direct cost to themselves. In fact, employers actually receive rewards, in the form of more satisfied, less anxious, and better-protected workers. For example, the 2011 Aflac WorkForces Report found that 59 percent of employees said that a company's benefits package is extremely/very influential in its ability to attract and retain talented employees.

The study also found significant differences in the mindsets and attitudes of employees who have applied for voluntary insurance benefits, compared to those whose employers don't offer such benefits. For example, 62 percent of employees enrolled in voluntary insurance benefit plans report that, "My current benefits package meets my family needs," while only 45 percent of employees whose employers don't offer voluntary benefits agreed with that statement. In addition, 57 percent of the former reported that, "I am extremely/very satisfied with my benefits package," while only 41 percent of the latter agreed with that statement.

Employers have a number of options when introducing group voluntary benefit plans. For example, they can incorporate them into their existing packages, including integrating them as complements to their existing employer-paid benefits, restructuring current employer-paid benefits to include employee buy-in options, or replacing some employer-paid benefits with voluntary insurance plans.