One compelling reason to participate in a wellness plan
Originally posted by Dan Cook on July 16, 2015 on benefitspro.com.
In the midst of questions about the effectiveness of wellness programs, one advocate for such programs says the results of a recent survey show that wellness initiatives greatly reduce the risk that a person's chronic condition will go undiagnosed.
The group, HealthMine, a consumer health engagement company, polled 750 people enrolled in wellness programs and found that 28 percent of participants had been diagnosed with a chronic condition in the past two years. Almost half of those (46 percent) had received their diagnosis through the wellness program, suggesting that they may have gone much longer without treatment had the program not been available.
HealthMine described the findings as particularly salient with regards to some of the most pressing American health concerns, noting that a third of those who suffer from diabetes are unaware of it. The solution, suggests HealthMine, is to expand the availability of wellness programs as well as to increase the number of health tests that allow people to better understand their health vulnerabilities.
A separate poll that HealthMine conducted of 1,200 consumers found 74 percent support the use of genetic tests in wellness programs to help consumers identify health risks.
Moreover, most of the survey respondents signaled they would take part in various health screenings if they were offered by their employer.
The survey nevertheless showed far greater resistance to certain health screenings than to others. Nearly three-quarters said they would be up to do a screening for vision or blood pressure, and 69 percent said they would do a cholesterol screening. But only 58 percent said they would do a cancer screening, 54 percent said they would do a BMI screening and only 41 percent said they were up for a skin analyzer.
HealthMine CEO Bryce Williams said these surveys suggest that only when consumers are aware of their own health conditions will wellness programs meet their full potential.
"To succeed, wellness programs must enable people to learn their key health facts, and connect individuals to their personal clinical data anytime, anywhere,” he said. “When consumers and plans are empowered with knowledge, wellness programs can make recommendations meaningful to individuals, and help to prevent and manage chronic disease."
A past study suggested that while companies do typically hope that wellness programs can help them keep down health care costs, their top motivation for doing the programs is to improve the health of their employees.
Study Shows Impact of Generational Differences in the Workforce
Originally posted by Jennifer Busick on April 3, 2015 on safetydailyadvisor.com.
“This is the most comprehensive quantitative study performed on generations in the workforce,” says Warren Wright, vice president of LifeCourse Associates. Wright adds, “We now know what engages different generations.”
The study included Millennials (age 30 and under), Generation X (ages 31 to 51), and Boomers (ages 52 to 69) who are employed full-time. The survey was conducted through a nationally representative online panel of 1,250 respondents, and was tested again on 4,986 insurance industry employees 2 months later.
Key Findings
- Generations matter. Nearly three-quarters of respondents agreed, not only that there are important generational differences but also that they “sometimes” or “often” pose challenges in the workplace.
- Millennials crave mentorship. Nearly a third of Millennials “strongly” agreed that they want to work for an organization that provides an excellent mentoring program, far more than any other generation. Millennials also experience the largest gap between what they have and what they want when it comes to mentoring.
- Millennials want a social workplace. An overwhelming 68 percent of Millennials agreed that they like to socialize informally and make new friends while at work, about 10 points higher than any other generation.
- Millennials want to contribute. Nearly two-thirds of Millennials agreed that they like their employer “to contribute to social and ethical causes” that they think are important, vs. barely half of Boomers and older Gen Xers.
- Millennials and Xers want cutting-edge technology. High shares of both Millennials and Gen Xers “strongly agree” that they “like to work with state-of-the-art technology,” while Boomers rate this as significantly less important. Millennials rate their employers’ performance in this area the lowest.
- Boomers are mission-focused. Fully 56 percent of older Boomers and 50 percent of younger Boomers “strongly agree” that they want to be “100 percent dedicated to my organization’s mission.” That number declines sharply for older Gen Xers and continues to decline through Millennials, in a remarkable 19-point generational spread.
The report is part of LifeCourse’s new Generational Workforce Audit, a customized research tool to diagnose how generational engagement affects an organization’s bottom line. For more information, visit www.lifecourse.com.
Why It Matters
- Every generation in your workforce needs to be trained to work safely.
- Since the generations grew up in different eras, you must use a variety of different training methods to reach every generation effectively.
- Make full use of a blended learning approach to ensure that employees of all ages can learn to work safely.
Most Consumers Value Integrated Benefits for Time and Cost Savings
Originally posted December 11, 2014 on Insurance Broadcasting
Whether it’s dental insurance or the smartphone, consumers want products that offer simplification and savings. In a new survey, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield asked Americans what products make their lives easier and the findings revealed that integrated products and services are highly valued – for example, the smartphone (74 percent), printer/copier/scanner (64 percent) and the toaster oven (36 percent). And, when it comes to insurance, consumers overwhelmingly (81 percent) said it would be extremely helpful to trust the same carrier to provide their dental, vision and health coverage.
“We’re meeting the needs of both employer and employee by providing affordable and comprehensive coverage benefits, which helps save time and money every step of the way.”
So, what specifically are consumers looking for when it comes to selecting an insurance plan? Survey respondents said a range of factors are important to consider, but they most frequently point to cost as being an extremely important aspect (67 percent), followed by comprehensiveness of coverage (61 percent), customer service (60 percent) and ease of use (58 percent). Additionally, 86 percent would expect to save time, save money or receive improved care if they had the same carrier integrate dental with their vision and medical benefits.
In the current health care environment, employers are looking for products that offer their employees exceptional valuei. The good news is that simpler processes, vast networks and deep discounts offered by multiline carriers like Anthem can provide employers and employees with the exceptional value they are seeking.
“For example, we offer a vast choice of dental benefits that employees want, along with large, reliable provider networks that make it easy and affordable for consumers to maintain good oral health,” said Erin Hoeflinger, President of Anthem in Ohio. “We’ve built strong relationships with the dentists in our network and we have negotiated rates, which saves members on average 25 to 32 percent on their covered dental services.”
In addition to seeing a cost savings, consumers can expect to save time when they select a multiline carrier. Half of the consumers surveyed (50 percent) say that figuring out costs is the most time consuming aspect of health management. Two-in-five also say it’s time-consuming to find health care providers that accept their insurance (41 percent) and to get their doctors to talk with each other to coordinate care (39 percent).
“With all of the advantages available to consumers and employers who get their benefits from a multiline carrier, there’s no reason to settle for the inefficiencies of having multiple benefit providers," said Hoeflinger. “We’re meeting the needs of both employer and employee by providing affordable and comprehensive coverage benefits, which helps save time and money every step of the way.”
This report presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted among 1,005 adults, 503 men and 502 women 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States. Interviewing for this ORC International CARAVAN® Survey was completed on July 10-13, 2014. 605 interviews were from the landline sample and 400 interviews from the cell phone sample.
The margin of error for the total sample is ±3.0 percent at the 95% confidence level. This means that if we were to replicate the study, we would expect to get the same results within 3.0 percentage points 95 times out of 100.
Better understanding of benefits helps both employee and employer
According to new research from Unum, a recent survey of more than 1,500 employees shows only half of U.S. employees would rate their employer as excellent or very good. Even less than that, the 47% who were offered benefits by their employer, rated the actual benefits as excellent or very good — some of the lowest ratings for benefits the Unum has seen in recent years.
The data points to a lack of employees getting information needed on the benefits being offered. Only 33% of those surveyed who were asked to review benefits in the prior year rated the benefits education they received as excellent or very good — a drop from 2012 and reversal of the upward trend since 2009.
“Offering employees effective benefits education can contribute to satisfaction with their employer,” says Bill Dalicandro, vice president of the consumer solutions group at Unum. “Even if employees don’t have a particularly good benefits package, those who say they received quality education about the benefits they are offered are far more likely to consider their employer a very good place to work.”
Employers can also get a win when providing educational guidance in choosing the right benefits. Correlation between employee satisfaction with their benefits continues to run parallel with overall employer satisfaction.
More than three-quarters of those employees who rate their benefits package as highly also rate their employer as an excellent or very good place to work. By contrast, only 17% of employees who consider their benefits package to be fair or poor rate their workplace as excellent or very good.
Additionally 79% of employees who reviewed benefits in the past year and rated their education as excellent or very good also rate their employer as excellent or very good — compared to 30% who said the education they received was fair or poor.
The survey also found:
- 40% of employees say they understand supplemental medical coverage somewhat or very well.
- 47% say they understand critical illness insurance somewhat or very well
- 48% whose employers offered long or short term disability insurance said no one explained disability insurance to them.
- 66% agree employers should do a better job educating employees about these important benefits.
“This research underscores the value of an effective benefits education plan, because when an employee understands their benefits, they tend to value them more and in turn may then value their employers more for providing access to them,” Dalicandro adds.
What Americans think about health insurance & hiring practices
Originally posted July 25, 2014 by Lynette Gil on https://www.lifehealthpro.com
In a recent survey from Gallup, the majority (58 percent) of Americans said that they would justify charging higher health insurance rates to smokers. And about 39 percent said that they would justify raising health insurance rates to those significantly overweight.
Both percentages have gone down slightly since 2003, when Gallup asked these questions for the first time: from 65 percent for smokers having to pay higher rates and 43 percent for those significantly overweight.
The results are part of Gallup's July 7-10 2014 Consumption Habits survey, in which telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of 1,013 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and D.C.
The survey also asked participants if companies should be allowed to refuse to hire smokers or those significantly overweight. Most Americans agreed that there should not be discrimination against both. Only 12 percent said that companies should be allowed to refuse to hire people because they are significantly overweight (down from 16 percent in 2003); 14 percent said the same about smokers (up one percentage point from 13% in 2003).
Even though most Americans oppose “hiring policies that would allow companies to refuse to hire smokers or those who are significantly overweight,” it is unclear if those views are because they do not think smoking and obesity negatively affect workplace performance or they “simply reject discrimination of any kind in hiring,” the report says.
According to the report, smoking and being overweight are associated with higher health care costs, and even the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) allows for higher insurance premiums for smokers. Some would argue that allowing companies to refuse to hire smokers and people who are overweight, or charging them higher health insurance rates, might help encourage healthier lifestyles.
IRA Rollovers Increase; Survey Predicts Continued Growth
Originally posted May 9, 2014 by Cyril Tuohy on https://insurancenewsnet.com.
A new report by Cerulli Associates finds that individual retirement account (IRA) rollover contributions in the U.S. reached $321.3 billion last year, an increase of 7.3 percent over 2012.
“We anticipate IRA rollover contributions will continue to grow,” Cerulli director Bing Waldert said in a news release.
That’s good news for advisors since they already play a primary role in helping asset managers win asset in-flows. These occur as employees roll over their employer-sponsored defined contribution plan holdings assets into IRAs after workers lose or change jobs.
Every time an employee rolls over assets from a 401(k) plan to an existing or new IRA, advisors can step in and suggest how those assets are managed to best meet the needs of the employee.
The data are contained in Cerulli Associates’ “Retirement Markets 2013: Data & Dynamics of Employer-Sponsored Plans,” which examined public and private U.S. retirement markets contained in defined benefit, defined contribution and IRA plans.
Over the next four years, assets held in IRA accounts will make up 35.4 percent of all retirement market assets, an increase from the estimated 32.1 percent in retirement market assets in 2014, the report also found.
IRA accounts will grow at the expense of public and private defined benefit plans, whose market share will shrink over the four-year period ending in 2018, Cerulli also said.
At the end of last year, IRAs contained an estimated $6.5 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), which represents the mutual fund industry. Defined contribution plans were next with $5.9 trillion in assets, according to ICI data.
Cerulli also found that only 7.9 percent of all financial advisors — about 24,440 advisors — fall under the category of retirement specialist.
Of those 24,440 advisors, 12,882 work in the insurance channel, 4,711 in the independent broker/dealer channel, 2,392 in the registered investment advisor (RIA) channel, 2,065 in the dually-registered advisor channel, 1,525 in the wirehouse channel, 468 in the regional broker/dealer channel, and 396 in the bank channel, the report said.
Specialist retirement advisors most often work through the insurance company channel because carriers act as record keepers for the retirement plans. The retirement plan business “represents a natural extension” of other insurance products to business owners, Cerulli said.
Insurance companies as record keepers tend to be more prevalent among the retirement plan segment with less than $500 million in assets.
Deloitte: Study Shows Global Talent Squeeze Continues to Affect Employers
Originally posted April 29, 2014 on www.ifebp.org
Even as the economy slowly improves, human resources (HR) professionals around the globe struggle to find the right people for technical and skilled jobs. This talent shortage makes employee retention and engagement strategies even more critical.
The 2014 "Global Top Five Total Rewards Priorities Survey" from Deloitte, the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS), and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans shows that HR leaders globally are acutely focused on talent as the top challenge and priority over the next three years. With the added challenge of managing the dynamics of four distinct generations in the global workforce, the survey results point to the need for more effective and adaptable talent strategies and rewards programs.
"With global economies continuing their slow rebound amid persistent skills gap issues, it comes as no surprise among over a third (35 percent) of those surveyed that attracting, motivating and retaining talent is the primary concern of employers around the world," said Jason Flynn, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and co-author of the report. "While the alignment of rewards with overall talent management was the top challenge across all geographies, the approaches to achieve this goal truly reflected the economic, cultural and political nuances of the local regions."
Top five priorities
The "Global Top Five Total Rewards Priorities Survey" series serves as an annual barometer of talent and rewards management challenges. Conducted globally for the second time this year, 22 different countries ranked these the top five priorities for 2014: Aligning total rewards with business strategy by attracting, motivating, and retaining employees Reducing the costs of providing healthcare and other non-cash benefits to employees Motivating staff when pay increases are flat or non-existent Demonstrating appropriate return on investment for reward expenditures Creating a rewards program that reflects the culture and goals of the organization
Evolving rewards programs and strategies
The study indicates that employers should continue to modify and adjust their total rewards programs in today's dynamic economic environment. Forty-three percent of those surveyed identified an increase in health and well-being initiatives as an action that their organization has undertaken within their overall total rewards strategy. There has been more focus on these initiatives in the Americas (50 percent) than in EMEA (26 percent) and Asia Pacific (33 percent).
Forty percent of employers also responded that they have or plan to change the definition or mix of components within their overall rewards strategy. This remixing was more prevalent in responses from EMEA (45 percent), but still high in the Americas (38 percent) and Asia Pacific (33 percent).
"Employers recognize the critical nature of total rewards as a primary way to recruit and engage employees. Equally important is for employees to understand the value of their total rewards," said Michael Wilson, CEO of the International Foundation and ISCEBS. "Employer-provided education and communication is imperative for employees to better understand and make use of their rewards. Additionally, employers are educating beyond basic benefits literacy to include topics such as personal finance, health and wellness."
Skills gap paradox and employee consumerism
In an era of limited economic growth compressing job opportunities, it would seem that there should be enough talent to go around, but the reality is quite different.
"There is a talent paradox that we are seeing around the world. Employers are having difficulty finding the right skills and talent to fit their workforce, despite persistent unemployment numbers," said Yon-Loon Chen, senior manager, Deloitte Consulting, LLP and co-author of the report. "This leads to increased competition for the fewer highly-skilled employees; so it's no wonder that the focus comes down to enticing talent away from the competition and keeping the talent you have. And you accomplish all this through your Total Rewards program."
Global generational considerations: Varied rewards focus
While the workforce populations in the U.S. and most of Europe are aging, India and Brazil are experiencing a high influx of young employees. The report indicates that 60 percent of employers somewhat agree or strongly agree that their organization's leadership team understands the total rewards perspectives and values of the different generations in their workforce, but only 37 percent of employers globally would consider a menu-driven reward mix that allows employees from different generations to build a total rewards package to fit their particular needs.
"Organizations have come to face the reality that their workforces are intergenerational and what may work for one generation in the Total Rewards program doesn't necessarily work for the others," added Chen. "It will be imperative for organizations to have a flexible Total Rewards program that will support all its employees as they progress through their careers."