Cue The Fireworks: A Smart Benefits Plan Is Cause For Celebration

By Keith Pellerin

“The rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air….” These words from our national anthem are full of imagery, sparking pride in our country and its founders. Perhaps that’s why we celebrate our freedom each July 4 by setting off symbols of rockets and bombs in the form of fireworks. Unfortunately, the celebrations have their cost: According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, about 240 people with fireworks-related injuries visit emergency rooms each day in the four weeks surrounding the Fourth of July holiday.

As agents meet with clients and accounts this time of year, it would be wise for the conversation to center around employee safety. After all, the Fourth of July comes on the heels of June’s National Safety Month. So it’s a good time to remind employers that Independence Day accidents represent just a small portion of the more than 80 million injury-related visits to doctors’ offices, hospital outpatient departments and emergency-treatment facilities in the U.S. each year. These injuries take their toll on workers both physically and financially, considering that:

• Slightly more than 25 percent of 20-year-olds will be disabled before reaching age 67.
• 68 percent of the private-sector workforce has no long-term disability insurance.
• A mere 9 percent of long-term disabilities are the result of accidents that are considered “serious.”
• Employer-provided disability insurance prevents as many as 575,000 families each year from slipping into poverty levels, saving the government and taxpayers up to $4.5 billion annually.

A simple solution

Unfortunately, many U.S. families have limited savings. Consider that 25 percent of all U.S. households are “financially fragile” and could not come up with an emergency fund of $2,000 within a month, while another 19 percent would cope with a financial emergency at least in part by selling or pawning possessions or taking payday loans. That could mean financial ruin when a breadwinner is injured, can’t work and isn’t earning an income.

The solution? Employee-paid accident and disability insurance. By adding these employee-paid voluntary options to their benefits portfolios, businesses give workers valuable financial protection with no direct effect on their companies’ bottom lines. Here’s how they work:

• Disability insurance – If disabled, workers may lose the ability to earn a living as well as their savings and retirement funds. They may even face losing their homes. By offering voluntary short-term disability insurance, employers provide the confidence that comes from knowing benefits can be used to help pay the mortgage or rent, as well as any other bill that threatens a family’s financial security, such as gas, groceries or education expenses.

Accident insurance – Accident insurance helps employees stay ahead of the medical and out-of-pocket expenses that add up quickly after an injury. Again, benefits can be used not only for emergency treatment, hospital stays and medical exams, but for other expenses workers may face, such as transportation costs, lodging needs and daily living expenses.

Employers: Bang for (no) buck

In addition to the financial security that accident and disability policies help provide, there’s another good reason to offer this benefit. Employers who put together comprehensive voluntary benefits portfolios also protect their business interests – at no cost to their companies.

Workers surveyed as part of the 2015 Aflac WorkForces Report said strong benefits plans increase their company loyalty, productivity and job satisfaction. What’s more, the survey revealed that health insurance plays a role when workers are deciding whether to remain in their jobs or leave for companies offering better benefits.

In other words, by doing the right thing for workers, employers do the smart thing for themselves. And while that might not be a reason to set off fireworks, it’s a great reason to celebrate.

Keith Pellerin is vice president of product management and innovation for Aflac. Keith may be contacted at [email protected].