Voluntary Benefits
Published by Frank Morang on October 20th, 2020
I’ve worked in the insurance industry for more than 20 years. On a daily basis, I’m thinking through the best way to protect employees and their families. Building benefit plans with employers, HR staff and other industry professionals is both rewarding and of great importance.
For me, benefits coverage took on a new meaning when COVID-19 hit and one of my family members, as well as others in our community, contracted the virus. I felt an urgency to consider how our finances could be impacted if my wife or I contracted COVID-19 and was compelled to consider purchasing additional benefits for my family this open enrollment season.
With that in mind, and with our Trustmark enrollment just wrapping up, I thought it would be worthwhile to give some insight on how I approached my own enrollment. Some of the tips may be worthwhile in helping you plan for you and your family’s needs to make the best choices this enrollment season.
Preparation starts enrollment off on the right foot
Tip: Keep an eye out for announcements and benefit details from your employer. Use them to research your options and ask questions ahead of time. When open enrollment comes around, speak with a benefits representative if one is available. This is the best way to get the most accurate and specific information about each product.
How it applied to me: For my own enrollment, I knew when to expect our internal benefit communications. I scheduled time with the available benefits representative who helped me crunch the numbers and put together my preferred plan options for each policy I was considering. I didn’t enroll right away though. I ran the information by my wife to see if there was anything I hadn’t considered and to make sure that the selections were the best for our family. After analyzing the coverage and costs, I scheduled a second call with the benefit counselor and made my elections.
Circumstances I considered when choosing my benefits
1. Past personal health events
Tip: Look at your health history and that of your family’s to help you decide your potential for future health concerns and evaluate how voluntary benefits may be able to mitigate the financial impacts of a health event.
How it applied to me: A few years back, I started experiencing shortness of breath during exercise. A stress test on my heart revealed that I needed triple bypass surgery. I was shocked; not only by the health scare, but by the treatment costs I was facing.
My benefit decision: Given my prior health event and first-hand experience of the serious expenses associated with it, I understand better than most that unexpected health scares can happen to anyone and how important it is to be prepared financially. That’s why I elected Trustmark’s Critical HealthEvents insurance, in case this happened again to me or anyone in my family.
2. Health Trends (COVID-19)
Tip: Take into account current health trends. The obvious one today is COVID-19, but consider medical practices and current medical treatments and make sure you have benefits that suit those needs.
How it applied to me: Unfortunately, my son contracted COVID-19. Now fortunately, he’s a young, healthy person and was able to recover. However, along with millions of others, COVID-19 has heightened my awareness of my family’s financial exposure and how a hospital stay could affect our savings and financial situation.
My benefit decision: I know the financial impact a hospital stay can have and since the future of COVID-19 is still uncertain, hospital insurance made sense.
3. Current life stage
Tip: This is perhaps the most predictable, useful factor to consider when choosing your benefits each year. Consider where you are in life, where you’re going and what makes sense to prepare yourself financially for what life brings next.
How it applied to me: Personally, I recently became an empty nester. With that in mind, I considered the possibility of my wife and I may eventually need help to care for ourselves as we age. Or, as I learned from my health scare, help caring for ourselves in the event of a serious illness or injury.
My benefit decision: I purchased universal life insurance with long-term care to help protect my family from the financial burden of providing professional care.
In general, consider your medical coverage, your age, the age of your family, the health of each family member and your family’s health history. Is there a history of cancer or heart attacks in your family? See what kind of benefits are offered to support treatment for critical illnesses or ones that offer payments for hospital stays or preventative tests.
The key here isn’t the products I chose but rather that they were the right ones for me and my family given the current health situation, my personal health risks and our financial situation. The takeaway here is how to think about your benefits and apply them to your own unique situation. Benefits, and by extension voluntary benefits, make up a significant part of an employee’s compensation and overall benefits package. So do yourself a favor and prepare by making careful considerations to get it right for you and your family.
For me, benefits coverage took on a new meaning when COVID-19 hit and one of my family members, as well as others in our community, contracted the virus. I felt an urgency to consider how our finances could be impacted if my wife or I contracted COVID-19 and was compelled to consider purchasing additional benefits for my family this open enrollment season.
With that in mind, and with our Trustmark enrollment just wrapping up, I thought it would be worthwhile to give some insight on how I approached my own enrollment. Some of the tips may be worthwhile in helping you plan for you and your family’s needs to make the best choices this enrollment season.
Preparation starts enrollment off on the right foot
Tip: Keep an eye out for announcements and benefit details from your employer. Use them to research your options and ask questions ahead of time. When open enrollment comes around, speak with a benefits representative if one is available. This is the best way to get the most accurate and specific information about each product.
How it applied to me: For my own enrollment, I knew when to expect our internal benefit communications. I scheduled time with the available benefits representative who helped me crunch the numbers and put together my preferred plan options for each policy I was considering. I didn’t enroll right away though. I ran the information by my wife to see if there was anything I hadn’t considered and to make sure that the selections were the best for our family. After analyzing the coverage and costs, I scheduled a second call with the benefit counselor and made my elections.
Circumstances I considered when choosing my benefits
1. Past personal health events
Tip: Look at your health history and that of your family’s to help you decide your potential for future health concerns and evaluate how voluntary benefits may be able to mitigate the financial impacts of a health event.
How it applied to me: A few years back, I started experiencing shortness of breath during exercise. A stress test on my heart revealed that I needed triple bypass surgery. I was shocked; not only by the health scare, but by the treatment costs I was facing.
My benefit decision: Given my prior health event and first-hand experience of the serious expenses associated with it, I understand better than most that unexpected health scares can happen to anyone and how important it is to be prepared financially. That’s why I elected Trustmark’s Critical HealthEvents insurance, in case this happened again to me or anyone in my family.
2. Health Trends (COVID-19)
Tip: Take into account current health trends. The obvious one today is COVID-19, but consider medical practices and current medical treatments and make sure you have benefits that suit those needs.
How it applied to me: Unfortunately, my son contracted COVID-19. Now fortunately, he’s a young, healthy person and was able to recover. However, along with millions of others, COVID-19 has heightened my awareness of my family’s financial exposure and how a hospital stay could affect our savings and financial situation.
My benefit decision: I know the financial impact a hospital stay can have and since the future of COVID-19 is still uncertain, hospital insurance made sense.
3. Current life stage
Tip: This is perhaps the most predictable, useful factor to consider when choosing your benefits each year. Consider where you are in life, where you’re going and what makes sense to prepare yourself financially for what life brings next.
How it applied to me: Personally, I recently became an empty nester. With that in mind, I considered the possibility of my wife and I may eventually need help to care for ourselves as we age. Or, as I learned from my health scare, help caring for ourselves in the event of a serious illness or injury.
My benefit decision: I purchased universal life insurance with long-term care to help protect my family from the financial burden of providing professional care.
In general, consider your medical coverage, your age, the age of your family, the health of each family member and your family’s health history. Is there a history of cancer or heart attacks in your family? See what kind of benefits are offered to support treatment for critical illnesses or ones that offer payments for hospital stays or preventative tests.
The key here isn’t the products I chose but rather that they were the right ones for me and my family given the current health situation, my personal health risks and our financial situation. The takeaway here is how to think about your benefits and apply them to your own unique situation. Benefits, and by extension voluntary benefits, make up a significant part of an employee’s compensation and overall benefits package. So do yourself a favor and prepare by making careful considerations to get it right for you and your family.
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Written by Frank Morang
Senior Regional Sales Director, Empire Region
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