While 2020 may be in the rearview, the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic continued well into 2021 and 2022 and will still be felt in 2023. A rocky financial landscape combined with labor shortages and an expansion of remote work may make you think you’re experiencing deja vu when considering these upcoming benefit trends. Below, the insurance professionals at Unity Insurance discuss some of the top benefits trends you can expect to see in 2023.
Rising Premium Costs
Driven by inflation, labor shortages, and the ongoing impact of delayed care during the pandemic, the need for health care in 2023 will likely increase as workers take care of ailments and health concerns that they have put off in previous years. Premiums are also expected to increase to cover these rising costs. According to the HR consultancy Mercer, health benefit costs per employee are expected to rise 5.4 percent in 2023.
Mitigating Employee Attrition
In spite of the Great Resignation, there are still great employees that want to continue in the current workforce. Keeping those employees is of the utmost importance. A strong benefits package can make the difference between a full, happy staff and one that is overworked due to a lack of bandwidth. Rather than decreasing benefits to cut costs, consider offering supplemental benefits, such as pet or veterinary insurance, financial wellness offerings, or added health subsidies for healthy behavior such as eating well, regular exercise, or quitting smoking.
Say Goodbye to the Sign-On Bonus
Long gone are the days when fast-food restaurants offered bonuses in the thousands to get employees to join the company. Although customers are as a whole still desperate to hire due to ongoing labor shortages, bleaker days ahead mean they may not be as inclined to offer some of the larger sign-on bonuses we’ve seen in the past.
Rethinking Reproductive Health and Family Leave Offerings
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, many employers are rethinking what they offer to employees in the way of reproductive health. Whether by expanding their benefits to include out-of-state travel costs to seek medical care to reassuring employees that live in unaffected states that their coverage remains the same, it is important to address employee concerns regarding what was previously a long-term benefit of many health plans
Continuance of Remote Work
Remote workers fall under a variety of regulations and leave policies at the federal, state, and city levels. As the prevalence of remote work continues it’s important for employers to provide benefits that meet their employers where they physically are by becoming knowledgeable about benefit requirements in the different states or even countries where their employees may be working.
Speak With An Agent At Unity Insurance About Your Employee Benefits Package
At Unity Insurance, we know that finding the proper benefit plan to satisfy all of your employees’ needs can be extremely difficult. Our educated and experienced benefits professionals can assist you in creating the ideal benefits package based on your employees’ preferences. To discover more about employee benefits, call us at 410-539-6642 to learn how Unity Insurance’s experienced insurance agents can assist you.