Five Compelling Reasons to Offer Voluntary Auto and Home Insurance

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It's no secret that budgets are lean in this economy. Employers estimate an average increase in health care costs of 8.9 percent for 2011*, which means employees may feel the pinch with higher out-of-pocket costs. Since benefits are linked to attracting, retaining and motivating top-performing employees, HR professionals in the health care industry are continually faced with the challenge of identifying ways to make their benefits packages more attractive without increasing costs.

To help offset rising health care costs and continue to provide an attractive benefits package, a growing number of health care employers are turning to voluntary auto and home insurance benefits, and for good reason. Here are five compelling reasons why hospitals and health care systems are leveraging the advantages of voluntary auto and home insurance benefits plans.

1. Broad appeal of employer-sponsored auto and home insurance. Most employees drive a car and own a home. Considering auto insurance is a legal necessity in most states and home insurance is required by mortgage lenders, it's easy to see why employer-sponsored auto and home insurance is a benefit that's both appealing and relevant to the majority of the employee population. With premiums 100 percent employee-paid, no minimum participation requirements and availability to part-time and hourly employees, it's a viable no-cost benefit solution that's generating a lot of interest in the forward-thinking health care industry.
   
2. Money-saving opportunity for employees and their families. Voluntary auto and home insurance benefits typically offer special program savings. With insurance shopping on the rise, hospitals and health care organizations can provide employees with economical program rates for auto, home and renters insurance that are probably lower than what employees can get on their own. "Since we decided to offer this program a few years ago, many employees have commented that they have saved significant amounts by moving their auto and homeowners policies to Travelers through our group insurance partnership program," said Debby Patrick, Vice President of Human Resources at the Lehigh Valley Health Network. "We are so pleased to be able to offer such a valuable benefit to our employees and the positive feedback we have received has exceeded our expectations."
   
3. Year-round enrollment. Unlike most benefits, there's no designated enrollment period with voluntary auto and home insurance programs. Life events, such as buying a new car or home, getting married or receiving a rate increase, can trigger shopping and purchasing a new policy. As a result, effective and renewal dates vary from person to person. Regardless of when an employee's auto or home insurance policy is up for renewal, employees can call their insurance provider and get a free, no-obligation quote in minutes from licensed insurance consultants and easily enroll in the voluntary auto and home benefits program. It's all taken care of by the provider so there's no added workload for health care benefits managers.
   
   For those who prefer to do their research online, auto and home insurance providers offer online resources with real-time quote and enrollment services in addition to coverage information to help employees make informed decisions. A link is easily added to the hospital's or health care system's intranet site or employee portal.
   
4. Carriers coordinate and fund communications. Of course, it's essential to clearly communicate the availability of the auto and home insurance program, the advantages it offers employees, and how to request quotes and enroll. Most often, auto and home insurance providers have proven marketing programs and educational materials that are readily available. An experienced provider will identify all available communications vehicles and put together a benefit communications plan tailored to meet specific needs.
   
   An integrated awareness campaign can consist of pre- and post-implementation articles, posters, emails, ads and tent cards to name a few. However, the most effective communication method is the enrollment kit, which is mailed directly to the employee's home. It's effective because deciding on something as important as auto and home insurance is often made jointly with a spouse or significant other in the household. While it may seem costly and time consuming, a good provider will administer and pay for all auto and home insurance program promotions. Considering that employees who are aware of the benefit are twice as likely to participate, it's important to keep the program relevant with ongoing communications.
   
   It's also advantageous to feature voluntary auto and home insurance benefits on the hospital's public website. This enhances the attractiveness of the entire benefits package to job seekers.
   
5. Portability. A growing number of hospitals report policy portability is an important feature of voluntary auto and home benefits for their employees. Employees can keep the benefit upon separation of employment, thus increasing the perceived value. Employees will lose the convenience of payroll deduction; however, many carriers offer alternate payment options, such as automatic electronic funds transfer, credit card, phone and online payments.

When you can strengthen benefits programs without affecting your budget, adding voluntary auto and home insurance programs seems to make good business sense. After all, you really can't go wrong helping employees save money on necessary household expenses, especially when there's no impact on your budget and workload.

Wayne Tryon is an ASHHRA member and the business development director for the Travelers Affinity Auto & Home Program specializing in the health care industry. He has primary accountability for working with hospitals and health care networks to develop and execute voluntary auto and home insurance benefits. He has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and has achieved the designations of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU). Travelers is also an Associate Member of AHA. To learn more about offering voluntary auto and home insurance benefits, visit www.travelers.com/affinity and contact Wayne Tryon at 800.328.2189, ext. 79831.

*National Business Group on Health