Voluntary Benefits Insurers Flock To Mini Med Plans

But “they’re creeping out of that niche and showing up in other places,” Lowerre said, suggesting that problems could surface if mini med plans start to replace traditional group health coverage.

Long term care insurance is another door opener, but it’s also “everybody’s favorite product for next year,” Lowerre said. “Somehow, next year never gets here.” Meanwhile, insurers tend to say that their own limited-benefit health insurance programs are not growing all that well but that they believe limited-benefit health insurance is a growth product for the voluntary benefits industry. That may be a sign that the products are doing less well than insurance industry executives tend to believe, Lowerre said.

Lowerre predicted that the voluntary benefits themselves will become more of a commodity and that, just as financial advice tends to be the main sales proposition in the 401(k) plan market, benefits advice will become the key selling point for voluntary benefits.

“We’re going down the same road” as the 401(k) market players, Lowerre said.