How do insurance benefits change based on the size of your company?

Providing employees with benefits such as life insurance and short- and long-term disability can help provide a sense of job security in the event of illness or injury. But for small businesses, providing access to those benefits is an uphill battle, which can drag down employee sentiment. 

A survey from New York Life Group Benefit Solutions showed that 80% of employers expressed confidence that their employees were satisfied with disability benefits provided by the company, though 57% of employees would appreciate more benefits — and a majority of employee respondents also expressed barriers to using existing benefits. 

Read more: Why employers should add child disability insurance to their benefits suite 

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that employees of smaller companies lack access to employee benefits including life insurance, short-term disability and long-term disability. Just 38% of employees at companies with less than 50 workers have access to life insurance, while 30% have access to short-term disability and 22% have access to long-term disability. In contrast, 86% of employees at companies with more than 500 workers have access to life insurance, 69% have access to short-term disability and 63% have access to long-term disability. 

When employees have access to these vital benefits, it can serve as a culture-boost across the organization, according to Terri Rhodes, CEO of the Disability Management Employer Coalition. 

"It's a morale booster for employees because they can see a coworker helped through a transition and getting back to full duty," Rhodes told EBN's Deanna Cuadra. "It's pervasive throughout the organization. They know that whatever this issue is, they're going to have the opportunity to get back to work." 

Read more about how insurance benefits change based on company size.

Insurance benefit rates across various company sizes