Insurance benefits seen as useful tool for attracting, retaining employees

Limra estimates 86 million employees could have access to new insurance benefits within 2 years.

As companies grapple with holding onto their workers amid the Great Resignation, a recent Limra survey of private companies shows insurance benefits are one approach employers are thinking of using to keep current workers at their desks and attract new ones.

Sixty percent of the businesses Limra surveyed, all of which had 10 or more employees, said they were thinking of adding new insurance products to their benefits lineup in the next two years, with 33% describing themselves as “somewhat likely” to add an insurance benefit and 27% saying they were very likely to do so.

The trend was most pronounced among large companies, 82% of which are considering adding new insurance benefits, versus 69% of midsize companies and 59% of small businesses, with 10 to 99 workers.

Limra calculates that if all the companies follow through on their interest in additional insurance benefits, roughly 784,000 will add an insurance benefit, reaching more than 86 million workers.

Limra noted that currently, more than 80% of private firms that have 10 or more employees offer at least one insurance benefit to their workers. The benefits that are most commonly offered include medical, dental, life insurance, vision and short-term disability.

Employers considering new benefits most frequently cited both short- and long-term disability coverage and vision care.

[More: Annuity sales smash records in final Q2 count: Limra]