Under the wave of health care reform requirements, the benefits arena continues to evolve. For this reason, its an ideal time to connect with employers to help them understand and adjust their benefits approach as needed.
The challenge: Connecting with millennial employees
During this time of change, some employers are considering shifting the cost of what traditionally have been employer-paid ancillary benefits including long-term disability insurance to employees as a voluntary offering. Many employers have realized cost savings from this tactic, as it allows them to offer additional products and services to their employees at little or no expense.
Although your customers may be placing a greater emphasis on voluntary plans, their millennial employees often are unaware of the reasons to elect coverage. If this younger employee base doesnt understand voluntary options, it could result in lower enrollment and hurt your clients financially.
Harnessing millennials demand for information
A benefits offering is only as strong as its enrollment strategy. For millennials in particular, a benefits approach that includes voluntary benefits should be backed by a strong educational campaign and supported through online enrollment.
Serve as a consultant to your customers by recommending innovative tools and tactics to boost enrollment among this subset of employees.
1. Education: Provide it online for millennials. Millennial employees want information at their fingertips. Using online tools is one way to inform them of the need for coverage, which can, in turn, encourage enrollment.
Insurance carriers and industry groups offer educational resources that demonstrate the value of coverage. Direct your customers to online tools, such as the Council for Disability Awareness
2. Enrollment: Go paperless. Once millennial employees are aware of the need for disability insurance, suggest that your customers go a step further to drive enrollment by implementing paperless enrollment.
Online enrollment provides millennials with a go-to benefits resource that can help simplify the process. Websites for online enrollment can be customized to include your clients benefits, in addition to features that help millennials learn the basics of how their unique policies work.
Also consider explaining how online enrollment can benefit your customers. Paperless enrollment can streamline documentation and enables easy updates to benefits profiles reducing the amount of time that your clients have to spend sending updates to carriers.
Attracting and retaining millennial talent
As market forces impact employee benefits, you can strive to add value by recommending that your clients adjust their benefits offerings to attract and retain top millennial talent. These tactics can increase participation among millennial employees and help your clients meet their goals to reduce health- and benefits-related costs.
Daily, second vice president of clinical and vocational services, oversees the clinical and return-to-work staff and works closely with The Standards medical director, physician staff and consultants.
About The Standard
The Standard is a marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. and subsidiaries. Insurance products are offered by Standard Insurance Company of Portland, Ore. in all states except New
York, where insurance products are offered by The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York of White Plains, N.Y. Product features and availability vary by state and company, and are solely
the responsibility of each subsidiary. Each company is solely responsible for its own financial condition. Standard Insurance Company is licensed to solicit insurance business in all states except New York. The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York is licensed to solicit insurance business in only the state of New York.
