Group Health and Group Voluntary: A Brief Comparison

First and most importantly, both product categories allow employers to help their employees address the financial impacts of medical care.

Health care costs neared $13,000 per capita in 2021, and continue to climb each year.¹ For employers, it is becoming more challenging to offer affordable insurance to help cover these costs.

Group health benefits and group voluntary benefits can help deliver big savings to customers. Both also may offer add-on coverage perks in the form of wellness and preventive care programs as well as virtual care options. These types of features are becoming increasingly attractive to consumers.

Benefits are also a top recruitment and retention tool. Both group health and group voluntary coverage offer affordable options to help employers recruit, reward and retain top talent.

This business area provides small- and mid-sized business owners with options for affordable major medical group health benefits. Designed as an affordable alternative to traditional health insurance plans, the Self-Funded Program is available in most states to groups with as few as two eligible lives.

Here's how it works: Employers choose from a broad set of plan designs, network options, and cost containment features. They use level-funding to manage their expected claims costs and when claims are lower than expected, they may receive a refund for the difference. Larger employers may also choose traditional funding, keeping those dollars in their pockets to pay claims only as needed.²

Also, the Self-Funded Program includes stop-loss insurance to protect businesses from catastrophic loss above and beyond the expected claims cost for the year. Click here to learn more about the Self-Funded Program.

Allstate Benefits also offers Secure Choice, a small group fully insured product available in Texas, Florida and Indiana. Learn more about Secure Choice by clicking here.

While group voluntary benefits can also help employees cover health care costs, they work a bit differently than the group health programs above.

Group voluntary benefits are employee-paid insurance products that provide a cash benefit when an employee experiences a qualifying diagnosis. These benefits are paid regardless of any other insurance the employee may have in place. The cash benefit is paid directly to the insured and may be used in any way they'd like—to pay for out-of-pocket medical costs such as copays, deductibles and coinsurance, or to pay bills or other living expenses.

Employees enjoy discounted group rates and employers can rest assured knowing that group voluntary benefits don't impact their bottom line.

Signature group voluntary products from Allstate Benefits include the following.

• Accident Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Hospital Indemnity Insurance
• Cancer Insurance

Click here to contact a sales consultant to learn more about all the products available from Allstate Benefits.