Specialty Benefits and Planning for the Unexpected
Zach Micklea
| 3 min read
Be prepared. It’s not just the Scouts’ motto, but it also applies to business. You never know what is going to happen in the future, so it’s best to expect the unexpected. Especially when it comes to the well-being of your employees. Employees need their employer to tie together resources so if they ever have a critical illness or accident, they do not have to worry about how or if they can pay for care and recovery. Every company has its own philosophy about how to share risk with employees while still meeting their needs. Your health care plan covers medical costs if your employee is sick or in an accident, but what about costs? Specialty benefits can help when paired with a medical plan to extend your employees’ coverage and protect finances. Some examples include:
- A disability plan. Long- and short-term disability coverage covers an employee in case they can’t work because of a medical issue. If the employee cannot earn his or her typical paycheck, the plan replaces some of their income to help with living expenses.
- Accident insurance. Accident and hospital recovery coverage can help an employee recover from additional, unplanned expenses following an accident and/or hospital stay. These costs include out-of-pocket medical expenses, as well as housekeeping, childcare and transportation costs incurred during the employee’s recovery period.
- Critical illness insurance. Critical illness coverage financially compensates an employee when they face critical illness and can also compensate them in the event they have a third-party insurance that doesn’t have one of the critical illness options as a covered benefit. The product pays based off the plan chosen and what illnesses are outlined and works well with high deductible medical plans or simply as extra financial coverage in the event of a critical illness.
- Life insurance. Life insurance can protect the financial future of an employee’s loved ones if something happens to them, helping pay for things like personal debts, medical bills and even funeral expenses.
The market, company needs, economic environments and employee needs all change over time. It is important to be financially cost-conscious while being a good steward of your employee needs. Review your strategy and develop your philosophy to address any pieces needed to complete your benefits puzzle. Do not forget to communicate your strategy. It is important to put it into perspective, so your employees know what to expect, that you care about them and why they need to share in the risk. Learn more about retaining top talent by providing financial and emotional protection through specialty benefits in this Blue Cross® Virtual Well-Being webinar hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan specialty benefits expert Richard Vaccarella. You can also sign up for future employer-focused and general interest webinars here, where you’ll also find past sessions and resources. To decide if these benefits could be right for you, take a look at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Specialty Benefits page. If you need more information or want to get started adding specialty benefits to your business, contact us here. Related:
- Connecting the Dots: A Full Health Approach to Integrated Care
- The Problem of Vaping at Work
- Encourage Employees to Establish Good Oral Health Habits
Photo credit: anchiy
