2019 Benefit Trends Report: Comprehensive coverage and education are top priorities

Benefits are a fast-evolving business, and findings from Empyrean’s 2019 Benefit Trends Report demonstrate that this evolution continues as quickly as ever.

Among this year’s findings: employers are focused on delivering coverage choice in addition to managing costs, offering competitive and comprehensive options that expand beyond the basics, and helping families make the most of their benefit packages by leveraging the right tools, technology solutions, and services to educate and engage their employees.

The report looks at a host of employee benefit trends and analyzes data across a wide variety of Empyrean clients. As benefits increase in complexity and the workforce becomes more diverse, organizations can expect these growing employee (and consumer) demands to make an even bigger impact on how businesses attract and retain top talent – as well as companies’ bottom-line expectations.

Below is just a small selection of findings from the report. For more, download your free copy of the full report here.

• PPOs and HDHPs remain the most popular health care coverage options. 97% of employers offer at least one of these two types of health insurance plans, and 64% of employers offer both.
• Of employers offering HDHPs, only 8% utilize a full-replacement (HDHP-only) strategy. This is down from 14% in 2018 – suggesting employers are looking to offer coverage choice over pure cost-savings.
• 78% of employers offer voluntary benefits to their employees. Voluntary benefits include accident coverage, critical illness coverage, and pet insurance.
• Over one-third of organizations have decision support tools available to employees during open enrollment. The most popular decision support tool is the recommendation engine. Decision support is emerging as a critical resource that empowers employees to identify the benefit plans that are right for them and their families.

Among this year’s trends are indications that education, benefit technology, interconnectivity, and a holistic, people-centric approach are critical to driving benefits success. Want to know how your benefits strategy compares? Download your free copy of the 2019 Benefit Trends Report now.

You’ll discover how human resource leaders are navigating today’s evolving benefits landscape, adapting to new challenges and demands, and making employee benefits work for their business.

As you read, we’d love to get your thoughts. Feel free to contact us with questions or comments at info@goempyrean.com.