If you make your living in the voluntary/worksite benefits industry, this won’t surprise you: Despite continually growing sales in the market, the levels of employee ownership of voluntary products and employee participation in their voluntary benefit enrollments have been fairly flat for several years. And you’ve likely been collaborating with your clients and carrier partners on strategies to start moving that needle in 2026.
To create the most effective plans, it’s important to have a solid understanding of exactly which products employees are buying, what they’d most like to see added to their workplace benefits menu and why employees who choose not to buy are making that decision. Here are five key findings about employee purchasing and interest from Eastbridge’s most recent MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint© report.
See also: Voluntary benefits: The new ERISA target
1. Employees are most likely to own core benefits, including medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage.
Most share the cost of premiums for these products with their employer, but another 11%-13% pay the full cost themselves. Even major medical coverage—the most popular employee benefit—is a shared-cost or voluntary benefit for nearly two-thirds of employees. In addition, many employees are expanding their protection beyond core coverages. Nearly half (47%) own whole/universal life or short-term disability coverage on any funding basis, and nearly as many have accident (45%), accidental death and dismemberment (45%), term life (44%) or long-term disability (41%) protection. More than a quarter of employees also own hospital indemnity (28%) or critical illness (26%) coverage.
2. Employees often are willing to pay the tab for the benefits they want.
The top voluntary products by percent of ownership are mostly core products such as dental, prescription drug and vision coverage, but a significant number of employees say they’re interested in buying other benefits on a voluntary basis, including cancer (34%), critical illness (34%), long-term care (34%), identity theft protection (32%) and hospital indemnity (31%). A little less than half of employees own at least one type of voluntary coverage, but a strong majority (71%) of those employees own multiple products. Employees cite the affordable cost, the product meeting their needs, filling gaps in their primary medical coverage and the convenience of payroll deduction as the most important reasons they buy voluntary benefits.
3. Employees continue to show significant interest in other, non-traditional benefits.
About one in five employees own identity theft protection (23%), legal plans (21%) or pet insurance (20%). Employees most often share the cost of these products with their employers. And they’re also thinking outside the box when it comes to benefits they’d like their employers to offer in the future. For employees who don’t already have coverage, the non-traditional benefits employees say they most want access to are pet insurance, mental health/counseling and homeowners/auto insurance.
4. Employees express interest in a wide range of non-insurance benefits.
Other benefits employees would most like their employers to add to the menu include caregiver/family/senior care support, estate and will planning services, genetic/DNA testing, bereavement support, purchasing programs and financial wellness/planning. Millennials and Gen Z employees tend to show the highest levels of interest in many of these non-insurance benefits.
5. Cost and need are the main barriers for non-buyers and non-owners.
About half of employees who don’t currently own a voluntary product have had an opportunity to buy coverage but declined to do so. Most of these employees say the coverage costs too much or they didn’t need it. These are also the same reasons previous owners list for dropping their coverage. Inflation may not be the benefits bogeyman many fear. In fact, fewer than half (45%) of employees say concerns about inflation make them unlikely to purchase additional coverage in the future due to inflation. And even better news: Another 33% say they’re actually more likely to purchase additional coverage due to inflation.
Savvy benefits advisors and brokers can brainstorm with their clients and carrier partners to build on these trends by including the benefits employees want and value most, perhaps considering fewer bells and whistles to keep products affordable, and focusing on stronger, better benefits communication so employees understand their needs and the important protection voluntary coverage can provide them and their families.
