There is no doubt that 2020 was one of the most stressful periods many people have ever experienced, for both health and financial reasons. In addition to the physical health effects of COVID-19, the pandemic raised awareness of the high costs of health care and the financial impacts an illness can have on a person’s future.
One step employers can take to help protect the financial wellness of their employees is to offer low-cost supplemental health insurance products such as critical illness, accident and inpatient hospital insurance. These three insurance products—which can usually be purchased separately or packaged together—provide benefits to help employees pay for out-of-pocket medical costs or other expenses if they have a qualified illness or accident, or are hospitalized.
An illness can severely affect a person’s finances, but supplemental health benefits like critical illness, accident and hospital insurance may lessen the impact.
Benefits for employers
In the past year, some medical plans have seen little change in premium rates. As a result, employers may find themselves with an opportunity to use these dollars to widen the range of benefits offered to employees—giving them more flexibility to meet their individual financial wellness needs.
Benefits for employees
These benefits offer employees additional protection against potential catastrophic events due to sickness or accidents, as well as unplanned hospital bills. This can help employees save more of their personal finances and, if applicable, preserve dollars in their HSA to provide an increased level of financial wellness.
Offering these benefits at the workplace gives more individuals access to a wider range of coverage, at the lower cost of group rates (when compared to individual coverage). Signing up through work can also mean a simpler enrollment process, and employees won’t have to worry about administering their plan.
To learn more about supplemental health benefits, contact your Symetra representative.
