Consider families with kids during benefits enrollment

It is easy to think of benefits as a decision one makes for themselves. However, if one has children, insurance options are not only about the individual. In the U.S. workforce, 72% of women and 93% of men have children under the age of 18, so working with clients to offer benefits supporting families with kids is a necessity.

Offering flexible work schedules or discounted child care options goes a long way with working parents, but family-focused benefits take that commitment a step further. Consider ways to help your clients ensure that the health-related benefits available to them are not only the best options for them, but their family as well.

Addressing childhood health conditions with supplemental benefits

While modern medicine has taken great strides in combatting childhood diseases, several serious ailments unfortunately commonly affect kids in the U.S. For example, industry-leading research groups indicate that autism affects 1 in 54 children, Type 1 diabetes impacts approximately 1 in 400 children and teens and more than 16,000 children and teens receive a cancer diagnosis every year.

Read more: Why wellness should be part of your employee benefits plan

Not only will parents and children experience emotional challenges, but illnesses like these can lead to expensive treatments. One benefits solution for clients to offer employees is supplemental insurance, which helps with expenses health insurance doesn’t cover. As an example, Aflac’s group critical illness insurance not only includes benefits for serious sicknesses like cancer, but also has riders providing a benefit for the diagnosis of a variety of childhood conditions or specified diseases, including autism spectrum disorder, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Type 1 diabetes, sickle cell anemia and more.

Offering family-friendly value-added services

Another benefits option relevant for families with children that is also in high demand is value-added services, which the majority of employees are looking for. The Aflac WorkForces Report finds that 63% of employees expect their employer to offer expanded benefits options such as telemedicine, employee assistance programs and bill negotiation services.

Demand may be high because of the practical help they can give to families facing stressful pandemic conditions. According to a Pew Research Center poll, 52% of employed parents with kids under 12 in the household say the pandemic has been a difficult time to handle child care responsibilities, up from 38% in March 2020. By offering value-added services, clients can give solutions to help build up employees’ emotional well-being.

Employee assistance programs provide workers with access to trained specialists who can assist with a range of issues, including work-life balance, and child care or relationship difficulties. Telemedicine, widely used to consult with a doctor virtually while maintaining social distancing, is also used to meet remotely for counseling or psychiatric sessions — with 91% of people using virtual therapy agreeing that more people should try it. Health advocacy helps employees with bill negotiation, understanding claims and assisting with other financial topics to help assuage financial stress.

Enrollment for the whole family

Benefits enrollment can be complicated enough when identifying the needs of just one person, and that multiplies when working to provide solutions for entire families. However, by encouraging clients to keep the needs of their workers’ families in mind with benefits offerings, brokers can ensure that clients’ workforces (and their families) get the support they need during enrollment.