Why you should offer your employees life insurance as a benefit
Competition is fierce these days for talented recruits. Unemployment is low amongst the highly skilled so they generally have their choice of where to work. If you are a startup looking to hire the very best, or are an established company that would like to show your appreciation for your staff, then offering life insurance is a great enticement.
Relevant life insurance used to be a benefit that only large companies offered their employees. Policies are much more affordable these days so even a small business can take out a group policy to cover their employees.
In this article, we will go over some of the reasons that you should take out a life insurance policy for your employees.
Improves retention, morale and recruiting
It was briefly mentioned but bears repeating that offering life insurance goes a long way toward recruitment and even employee morale for existing employees.
If you are targeting recruits that are of an age where they have a spouse or family then this type of benefit is very attractive. Even workers in their 20s who don’t have family or are single will appreciate it as they feel they can grow with the company.
When you are looking to hire, the benefits package can be the very thing that sways them towards working for you. Many companies will say they are like a family, but when you give them a life insurance policy it makes them feel like a valued family member so it isn’t just talk.
Boosts productivity
Employees work better and harder when they feel they are looked after by their employer. If they feel like another cog in the wheel or that they are expendable, then they are not likely to be very productive. Often they will only do the bare minimum of what is required.
An employee that feels like they are an actual part of the family and that the employer wants them there will often work much better. There will be fewer issues with missing work and taking personal time while at the workplace.
What to consider with the policy
All of your employees are individuals with different needs and are in different stages of their life. This makes it impossible to have a group policy that suits the exact needs of everybody.
You’ll have to figure out what policy will be best for the majority and make sure to have possibilities for others to get what they need. You could make sure that the company that you are using to provide the insurance has affordable supplemental insurance for those that need more coverage.
Also, not everybody will want life insurance. They may already be covered and wish to keep the policy they have, or are not ready to commit to going through a medical evaluation for the underwriter of the insurance. Have an opt out for those that don’t want to join, but make sure that they can opt in whenever they are ready.