Employee ownership of at least one voluntary product increased to 41 percent, according to Eastbridge’s latest report on employee attitudes towards benefits.

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (November 19, 2015)

This reflects a three percent increase over 2013 ownership and appears to be due to a large increase in ownership in the 10–100 sized employers. Ownership among employees in this category increased from 37 percent in 2013 to 51 percent in the most recent study. Eastbridge’s Spotlight™ Report, MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint, examines the needs, wants and expectations of one of the key stakeholders in the voluntary market—the employee. It provides important information that carriers can use to understand and improve their employee value proposition.

The study also found that non-traditional products are gaining ownership rates with employees. These include legal plans, pet insurance and identity protection coverage. ID theft ownership rates in particular increased significantly from just three percent to 12 percent. Dental insurance is the most commonly owned voluntary product with 16 percent of those surveyed owning a voluntary dental product. This is followed closely by both vision and accident insurance at 14 percent each.

The report addresses such topics as:

• The types of benefits (voluntary and employer-paid) employees currently own
• Employee interest in purchasing products they do not currently own on a voluntary basis
• The reasons employees purchase voluntary products
• The ways employees are introduced to and educated about benefits and how employees prefer to learn about voluntary
• How employees prefer to enroll in voluntary benefits

The study also compares the current results to those in past MarketVision™ studies.

 

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving insurance and financial services organizations in the United States and Canada.