The future opportunity for student loan and telehealth programs offered on a voluntary basis is mixed.

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (February 7, 2019)

According to Eastbridge’s Non-Traditional Voluntary Products: A Closer Look at Telehealth and Student Loan Products Spotlight™ Report, most telehealth and student loan programs offered at the worksite are employer-funded. However, with considerable interest from brokers, employers and carriers to better understand the opportunity these programs have as an employee-pay-all offering, this report seeks to assess many facets of these programs to inform their ultimate voluntary potential. Following are a few key findings:

• While most providers do not have specific voluntary market strategies today, they are open to partnership potential with voluntary carriers, specifically around opportunities to imbed or package their offerings within voluntary insurance products.
• Providers are open to working with all market sizes, but most prefer larger cases.
• A broad array of marketing material and support is available from providers – print, digital, templated content for platforms, social media, videos and webinars.

The biggest challenge noted by the non-traditional providers in expanding their offerings is a lack of employer, broker and employee awareness of the value these products provide, as they are relatively new to the benefits landscape.

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