Consumers Rush Through Their Annual Benefits Enrollment

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way millions of Americans live and work. Yet most people simply rush through their annual benefits enrollments.

According to a Colonial Life study of 1,200 U.S. consumers*, 73% spend less than an hour and 41% invest less than 30 minutes considering their benefits at enrollment time.

“If this year has taught us anything, it’s the importance of our health and the value in taking every opportunity to protect it,” said Richard Shaffer, senior vice president of field and market development at Colonial Life. “As we head into enrollment season this fall, workers across the country need to take time to ensure they’re protecting their families, finances and futures against unexpected events.”

Surprisingly, those who are the least confident in their knowledge of benefits available are most likely to rush through the enrollment process. Nearly 90% of consumers reported not understanding their benefits “at all” said they plan to spend less than an hour on enrollment this year.

“Especially in today’s environment, offering benefits isn’t enough,” Shaffer said. “To make the investment pay off, employers must ensure employees take the time to understand, value and participate in the benefits enrollment process.”

With millions of Americans still working at home, effective benefits communication is more challenging than ever. Business and human resources leaders must make sure they’re providing opportunities for their employees to learn basic information and ask questions, even in a virtual environment.

*Online research administered March 23–30, 2020 by Dynata on behalf of Colonial Life among 1,200 U.S. adults.