Dental Insurance and Other Voluntary Benefits Increasingly Important for Employee Recruitment, Retention and Loyalty

Employee benefits programs play a huge role in employee satisfaction, retention and loyalty. Voluntary benefits—or those that are offered by the employer but paid for 100% by the employee—have been shown to be very popular among employees and can lead to a more loyal and satisfied workforce. Voluntary benefits are often offered to complement medical benefits, and are a great way for employers to offer a robust benefits package without taking on additional costs. With voluntary benefits, employees can choose which plans or programs they want to participate in to gain added protection for their families.

Voluntary benefits can include a wide range of insurance plans and discount programs, including dental insurance, life and disability income insurance, accident and vision insurance, as well as discount programs or memberships.

Employee benefits programs play a huge role in employee satisfaction, retention and loyalty. Voluntary benefits—or those that are offered by the employer but paid for 100% by the employee—have been shown to be very popular among employees and can lead to a more loyal and satisfied workforce. Voluntary benefits are often offered to complement medical benefits, and are a great way for employers to offer a robust benefits package without taking on additional costs. With voluntary benefits, employees can choose which plans or programs they want to participate in to gain added protection for their families.

Voluntary benefits can include a wide range of insurance plans and discount programs, including dental insurance, life and disability income insurance, accident and vision insurance, as well as discount programs or memberships.

Voluntary dental insurance is very popular among employees. According to a recent survey by Delta Dental, 70% of employees surveyed said that dental benefits coverage is somewhat or very important, and if an employer drops dental coverage its favorability among employees drops too. The survey also reported that 86% of large employers (over 1,000 employees) offer some type of dental benefits, while 35% of small- to mid-sized employers offer dental insurance.

Voluntary dental insurance provides an opportunity for small- to mid-sized employers to distinguish themselves from their peers and gain a competitive edge. It is a great way to make dental insurance affordable for the employer while meeting employee demand for additional benefits. Employers who offer voluntary dental insurance do so because employees ask for it, they recognize the connection between oral health and overall health, and it is affordable.

Dental benefits can be offered with a variety of plan designs. Conventional wisdom asserts that your best bet is to offer choices to employees, so they can pick the plan that best suits their needs and budgets.

• Dental PPOs are the choice of 75% of Americans with dental options. Dental PPOs offer out-of-network options with somewhat higher premiums.
• Dental HMOs offer the lowest premiums and predictable out-of-pocket costs.
• Dental indemnity plans have the highest premiums but no network restrictions.
• Dental discount programs allow employees to receive discounts on certain services that are not typically covered by insurance, such as cosmetic dental procedures.
• Consumers must pay out-of-pocket for the entire discounted price of the procedure.

Researchers are now looking in to the importance of voluntary benefits as loyalty-drivers in the post-health care reform era. Findings so far indicate that non-medical benefits like life, dental and disability income insurance could become even more significant loyalty-drivers now and in the future, as the repercussions of health care reform become apparent. Voluntary benefits will remain a cost-effective way for employers to continue to offer valuable benefits, and they can improve and build upon these programs in the future.

Do you currently offer voluntary benefits of any kind to your employees? Do you offer dental insurance? If yes, what types of options do you offer? As these types of benefits increase in importance, how will you update your offerings to reflect the changing employee benefits landscape?