The Hartford’s 2020 Future of Benefits Study found that the pandemic has placed a greater emphasis on employer-sponsored benefits that help people plan for unexpected life events and provide financial protection. According to the study, 40% of U.S. workers say they will consider purchasing life insurance during their next open enrollment as a result of COVID-19.
“The pandemic is shining new light on the benefit programs offered to employees through their workplace, revealing features they might have been overlooking,” said Jonathan Bennett, head of Group Benefits at The Hartford. “People are facing challenging circumstances – whether it is the shattering experience of losing a loved one or becoming sick themselves – and are now recognizing the value of financial protection provided by life insurance and other benefit options. As we mark Life Insurance Awareness Month and approach benefits enrollment season, we encourage employees to carefully review and consider the benefits offered by their employer that can help them prevail through difficult life experiences.”
The Hartford’s Future of Benefits Study, which polled U.S. workers and human resource benefit decision makers before the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. in early March 2020, and again in mid-June, found that employees say they would consider purchasing the following benefits during their next open enrollment because of COVID-19:
- Life insurance: 40%
- Short-term disability insurance: 30%
- Long-term disability insurance: 29%
- Critical illness insurance: 27%
- Hospital indemnity insurance: 23%
A shift in benefits buying habits
Employees in their early twenties (generally considered Gen Z and younger Millennials) are more likely to upgrade or buy additional benefits offered by their company than they were before the pandemic began. While more workers overall showed interest in upgrading or purchasing additional benefits, the youngest workers indicated the most notable shifts in attitudes.
| I typically don’t upgrade or buy the additional benefits offered by my company. | |||||
| Total | Gen Z/younger Millennials (1995-2002) | Older Millennials (1981-1994) | Gen X (1967-1980) | Baby Boomers (1955-1966) | |
| Early March (Before the pandemic escalated in the U.S.)
|
64% | 73% | 66% | 62% | 62% |
| Mid-June (Amid the pandemic in the U.S.)
|
55% | 59% | 60% | 52% | 55% |
“We have been conducting research about Millennials’ preferences for many years and have found that the youngest generation typically has the lowest participation rates in company-sponsored benefits,” Bennett said. “It is encouraging to see this notable shift and it is even more important now to make sure employees have access to educational information to make informed benefits decisions. We’ve developed new resources using data and personalized experiences to communicate the value and affordability of voluntary benefits, as well as the ease of enrollment at work and payment through payroll deductions.”
Personalized benefits experience
Gen Z and younger Millennials consistently indicate that they would like a personalized recommendation for what benefits they should be buying (68% in both waves of the survey). With multiple generations in the workforce today, The Hartford has developed educational resources to help employers communicate benefits options through targeted, data-driven methods, including:
- An online education center giving employees access to relevant, personalized voluntary benefits information they need to make informed decisions;
- Tailored communications based on an understanding of their individual benefit needs, influences, life stages, buying habits and mindsets; and
- A fully digitized benefits experience employees can access at their convenience including one-on-one sessions with benefits counselors, virtual benefits fairs, videos, plan details and other content based on their preferred method of learning.
Insuring more than 20 million Americans, The Hartford is a leading provider of employee benefits products and services, including leave management, group life and disability insurance, as well as other voluntary products. For more information, visit www.thehartford.com/groupbenefits.
Methodology
The Hartford’s 2020 Future of Benefits Study was an online survey fielded in two waves. The first wave was fielded from Feb. 27 – March 13, 2020, just before the pandemic escalated in the United States, and included 761 employers and 1,503 employees. The second wave was fielded from June 15 – June 30, 2020 and included 567 employers and 1,038 employees. The employers surveyed were HR human resource professionals who manage/decide employee benefits and employees surveyed were actively employed. The margin of error is employer +/- 4% and employee +/-3% at a 95% confidence level.