Katie Ott
Worksite benefits have often been marketed to employers as a “nice to have” benefit – something additional that they could add to their benefits package to positively impact talent attraction and retention.
We’ve taken a more strategic approach. As insurance consultants, we’ve been able to make the case anecdotally that worksite benefits can do so much more for your organization and employees. We’ve seen firsthand the way that workers’ compensation claims are affected when worksite benefits like accident insurance are offered.
New research from Guardian allows us to statistically show worksite benefits’ impact on workers’ compensation claims. Our largest takeaways from the 7th Annual Guardian Workplace Benefits Study were:
- 1 in 4 employers experienced a decline in workers’ compensation claims after offering voluntary accident insurance
- On average, employers report a 46% decline in workers’ compensation claims after offering voluntary accident or short-term disability plan to their workforce, with 42% reporting a decline of 50% or more; and 22% reporting a decline of 25%-49%
- Nearly 2/3 of firms with at least 1,000 employees report improved workers’ compensation results and fewer illegitimate claims after offering an Accident or STD plan
What This Data Indicates
This data supports what we have known intuitively for a long time – employee benefits and workers’ compensation are intricately linked. When we are able to approach your policy strategically using worksite benefits, we can drive down workers’ compensation costs due to “Monday morning claims” (wherein workers’ compensation pays for claims that are reported as work related but are not).
Offering accident insurance as a worksite benefit essentially deincentivizes employees from making Monday morning claims, as they can tap into their accident benefit to maintain financial wellness when experiencing an out-of-work claim. We have even been able to work with our clients to structure accident policies to only pay for off-job claims, so employees are incentivized to use this benefit instead of filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Takeaway
Worksite benefits are more than just a retention tool for your employees. They are a statistically proven, strategic way to drive down your business costs while ensuring employees who experience a claim event are taken care of. Reach out to your
M3 account executive if you are interested in exploring worksite benefits for your organization, or if you’d like to discuss key strategies for driving down workers’ compensation claims.