A voluntary benefit is only worth offering if it fills a gap your medical plan leaves.
Accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity coverage pay cash when something happens. Whether that cash matters depends on your deductible, your workforce and what employees already have. We choose the lineup from those facts, not from the bundle a carrier happens to sell.
These plans pay the employee, not the doctor. That changes who they help.
Worksite coverages pay a fixed benefit on a covered event, regardless of the bill. That makes them useful against a high deductible and weak against almost anything else.
Accident
Pays set amounts for injuries and the treatment that follows. It suits a physically active or younger workforce, so we look at who you employ before assuming it belongs in the lineup. Workforce fit determines whether accident insurance adds value. Our free voluntary benefits payroll calculator turns this into dollars for your plan.
Critical Illness
Pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a listed condition. The list, the definitions and any pre-existing condition limits decide its value, which is why we read the certificate rather than the brochure. Reading the certificate reveals critical illness value. For a quick estimate, use our free hospital indemnity benefit calculator.
Hospital Indemnity
Pays a set amount for an admission or a day in the hospital. Paired with a high-deductible plan it can cover much of the deductible an admission triggers, so the two are designed together. Designing hospital indemnity with the medical plan adds value. Our free critical illness benefit calculator turns this into dollars for your plan.
Similar Coverages
Cancer, legal, identity protection and pet coverage arrive in carrier bundles. We include only the ones your employees would actually buy, because every extra option makes enrollment harder to understand. A focused voluntary lineup makes enrollment clearer. Fewer options, better choices. Our free pet insurance value calculator turns this into dollars for your plan.
A well-meant add-on can break HSA eligibility or change the tax on a benefit.
Worksite products sit at the edge of several rules. We check each one against your medical plan and payroll setup, and a CPA or counsel confirms where a judgment is required.
HSA Compatibility
IRS rules let an HSA-eligible employee also carry coverage for a specific disease or illness, a fixed amount per day of hospitalization, or accidents. A product that pays for ordinary medical care before the deductible can end HSA eligibility, so we check the design, not the product name.
Pre-Tax or After-Tax
Paying premiums through the cafeteria plan saves tax now but can make fixed-dollar benefits taxable when paid. After-tax premiums generally avoid that, so the choice depends on what employees value more. Premium tax treatment shapes voluntary benefit value. Employees choose what matters.
Staying Voluntary
If the employer pays nothing and stays neutral, a voluntary program can sit outside ERISA. Contributing or endorsing it changes that, and with it the plan document and notice obligations. Counsel decides where your program falls. Employer involvement decides whether ERISA applies.
Fewer, better options beat a long menu nobody reads.
Employees buy what they understand. Every coverage in the lineup should answer a risk they already recognize.
Start from the Deductible
The higher the medical deductible, the more a cash benefit is worth. We size voluntary coverage against the exposure your plan actually leaves, so it protects rather than duplicates. Sizing voluntary coverage to the deductible avoids duplication and keeps the lineup useful to employees. You can test your own figures with our legal plan value calculator.
Read the Workforce
Age mix, dependents, shift work and pay levels change what people will buy. We look at your census first, because a product nobody enrolls in still costs administrative effort. Census review guides the right voluntary benefits lineup and keeps low-interest products off the menu. For a quick estimate, use our free accident insurance benefit calculator.
Price for Value
Some worksite products return little of each premium dollar in benefits. We compare what a policy is likely to pay against what it costs, so employees are offered coverage that is worth their money. Value-based selection protects employees from low-return products. You can test your own figures with our commuter benefits tax savings calculator.
What employers ask about worksite benefits.
Does offering these cost us anything?
Usually no premium, since employees pay. There is still payroll setup, enrollment effort and the reputational cost of a product that disappoints at claim time, which is why we are selective. Careful selection protects employer reputation with voluntary benefits. We are selective. You can test your own figures with our lifestyle spending account budget calculator.
Can employees keep coverage if they leave?
Many worksite policies are portable, but terms and rates after leaving vary by contract. We confirm the terms before enrollment, because portability is one of the strongest reasons an employee buys. Confirmed portability terms make voluntary benefits more valuable. Confirm terms first.
How do these get enrolled?
Alongside medical in the same enrollment, with plain-language explanations. We set it up through our platform so voluntary elections flow to payroll deductions without a separate process. Integrated enrollment keeps voluntary benefits simple for employees and HR, with deductions flowing straight to payroll.
Where the Rules Come From.
The laws and rules named on this page link to the statute or regulation they come from. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and rules change, so check the current text.
ERISA (29 U.S.C. Chapter 18)
The federal law that sets reporting, disclosure and fiduciary rules for employer-sponsored benefit plans.
Cafeteria Plans (26 U.S.C. 125)
The tax code section that lets employees pay certain benefit premiums before tax.
Health Savings Accounts (26 U.S.C. 223)
Tax rules for health savings accounts paired with qualifying high-deductible health plans.
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
The renewal letter
Your current plan summary
Contribution split by tier
Enrolled counts by tier
Four documents — two more if your group is 50 or more. Nothing else; every extra one is a reason to postpone.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
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