CARMEL,
Ind., March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/
-- Optavise, a one-stop-shop for employee benefits programs,
combining products, technology, and expert guidance, today released
a new report, The 2023 Benefits Broker: Rising Healthcare Costs and
Increasing Competition Set the Tone. The seventh annual report
found brokers are adding innovative products and services due to
various market forces, which include rising healthcare costs (81%),
competition from other brokers (50%), and increased demand for
price transparency (48%).
As employers refocus on recruiting and retention while juggling
inflationary pressures and rising healthcare costs, they are
relying even more heavily on their brokers for help identifying
meaningful and cost-effective products and services. In fact, 83%
of brokers reported that clients rely on them to contain healthcare
costs and 60% of brokers reported that employers rely on them to
identify products and programs to meet evolving employee needs.
New benefits offerings focus on financial
concerns
Sixty-four percent of brokers saw an increase in
clients adding voluntary benefits, up from 58% in 2021. The top
three most added benefits remained the same from 2022: accident
insurance (71%), critical illness (68%), and hospital indemnity
(39%). Employees and employers seem to be increasingly focused on
income protection: respondents reported that interest in disability
almost doubled (from 18% to 34%) and life insurance tripled (30%
combined for group and whole life, up from 10%), while pet
insurance (19%, down from 28%), ID theft (13%, down from 20%) and
legal protection (11%, down from 20%) all saw declines as compared
to the 2022 survey.
"Employers continue to broaden their standard offerings with
voluntary coverage to remain competitive, fill the gap with their
benefits package, and provide an additional source of financial
stability for the employees," says Kim
Buckey, vice president of client services at Optavise. "Some
of these programs cater to underserved employee groups and those
with specific health conditions, including programs focused on
LGBTQ+ employees, fertility, or chronic condition management
support."
Communication remains critical
Beyond creating
comprehensive and attractive benefits packages, employers are
tapping brokers to communicate benefits information to employees.
Ninety-three percent of brokers reported seeing moderate to high
demand for help with benefits communications materials, and 66%
agreed that offering communication services brings a lot of value
to their business. To accommodate today's increasingly hybrid
workforce, brokers are offering support both in-person (75%, up
from 54% in 2022) and virtually (65%, up from 56% in 2022).
Seventy-seven percent of brokers are also providing materials to
help educate employees about their benefits options year-round (up
from 59% last year).
"As employers add more programs, employee demographics and
worksites shift, and inflation becomes more of a concern, brokers
have a major opportunity to teach employees how to make more
cost-conscious, informed decisions when it comes to choosing and
using their benefits," Buckey noted.
Lessening HR teams' burden through benefits
technology/administration
Employers rely on their benefits
administration partner to help assure compliance, contain costs,
and personalize the employee experience. Finding the right fit
appears to be problematic: 56% of brokers said they recommend
benefits administration partners to clients annually (compared to
48% in 2022) with the biggest challenges to implementing the
proposed timeline (70%), complex file feeds (58%), and the
availability of on-going support (65%) and administrative training
(59%--almost double the response from the 2022 survey). When asked
about the top three features clients want in their benefits
administration system, brokers said ease of use (75%),
API/third-party integration (47%), and single sign-on (41%).
"Employers are truly looking for a system that will make their
lives easier," said Buckey. "As HR teams continue to feel the
effects of the Great Resignation, they need a benefits
administration platform that provides high-touch, expert service to
improve productivity and simplify the benefits experience for both
HR teams and their employees."
To learn more about how brokers are assessing clients' benefits
offerings, identifying alternate products and services to manage
costs, and managing compliance and reporting, download the report
here.
Methodology
Optavise surveyed more than 100 U.S. based
health insurance brokers, representing the top 20 largest insurance
brokerage firms on three main areas: their current service
offerings, which services deliver the most business value, and how
their models are likely to evolve to help them compete in the
coming year. Participating brokers work for a mix of mid to
large-sized clients: 78% said they have 20 or fewer clients with
more than 500 employees, while 14% said they have more than 20
clients with 1,000+ employees. The survey was conducted from
November 2022 to January 2023.
For more information, visit Optavise.com.
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SOURCE CNO Financial Group