Ready, set, flex

The race towards the future of employee benefits is on. Ever-evolving expectations of the traditional benefit package are putting your clients under increasing pressure to step out of their lanes and try something new.  

Their teams want something more personalised. More agile. More flexible. With employers recognising the value of this approach, the flexible benefits market has seen substantial growth in recent years.  

Once you start to explore the myriad opportunities for both employers and advisers to enhance employee satisfaction and retention, it’s easy to see why. 

It pays to be fast out of the blocks 

By empowering employees to tailor their benefits package to their unique needs, flexible benefits have become a popular addition to traditional insurance products for advisers on the pulse.  

While standard health and life insurance will always have their place, employees are increasingly expecting enhanced benefits packages that include rewards and compensation products, gym memberships, wine clubs and more. All things that help to tip the balance of work-life harmony in the right direction. 

Drill down into the figures, and they really do speak for themselves. Across the last decade, the number of flexible protection products has doubled. Growing at a much faster rate than non-flex protection, at Canada Life we’ve also seen consistent gains for these products in our own portfolio from some of our most pioneering advisers.  

A fresh competitive edge 

A more flexible approach to benefits allows employees to react faster to big changes in life circumstances. Marriage, having children or ill health can all dramatically impact on an employee’s perspective on how they want their benefits package to support them.  

Purchasing these flexible benefits through their employer isn’t simply about enjoying improved choice. It’s also often more straightforward compared to arranging an individual protection plan. Group flex schemes typically – but not always – involve minimal health related entry requirements. Making it far easier and more accessible for an employee to actively engage with their cover. Increasing overall uptake and the perceived value of the benefits package in the process. 

Is flex the right fit for your clients? 

Like any good financial advice, the best place to start is with an open conversation. Being on the same page is essential to determine whether flex benefits are the right fit, before identifying the right platform to meet your client’s budget and needs. As demand continues to develop, we’re seeing more accessible, customisable and cost-effective platforms come to market – bringing flexible benefits in reach of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where they have historically been out of reach. 

But, it is still an investment. As an adviser, your key role in this process is helping employers to understand their potential return on investment (ROI) – helping them weigh up the needs of their business and their teams to tailor the benefits offering to make sure everyone wins. From diving deeper into understanding their workforce demographics to helping develop effective communication strategies, there’s plenty to consider. 

It’s not enough to just implement a flexible benefits scheme. It’s an ongoing process of continual improvement. Regular reviews, typically every 2-3 years, help ensure that the benefits offered remain relevant to employees’ needs and deliver positive ROI for the employer.  

This could involve starting with essential benefits like Group Life Insurance, Income Protection and Critical Illness and developing the product over time. For example, increasing the illnesses covered under Critical Illness, enhancing the benefits/level of cover employees can select or expanding to include partners. By reviewing and refreshing the packages, you’ll encourage more take up year-on-year.  

Prepare for life on the pulse of flexible benefits 

In an increasingly competitive field, the true pace setters are the advisers and employers going further to drive engagement.  Current data suggests that only 5-10% of employees take up flexible benefits. To improve this, employers and advisers need to focus on tailoring their offerings to employees and clearly communicating the undeniable value of these benefits.  

At Canada Life, we’ve developed a range of resources to support advisers and employers in promoting flexible benefits. Our employer toolkits provide valuable information to help employers communicate the benefits of flex schemes effectively to their employees. While our expert team are always on hand to help you build a compelling business case that sets you apart from the crowd. 

Simply get in touch with our team of experts to discuss flexible benefits in more detail. 

1. SwissRe Group Watch 2024 

2. Number of employers with Canada Life flexible benefits policies EOY 2017 – EOY 2023 

3. Number of employees purchasing Canada Life flexible benefits policy EOY 2014 – EOY 2023