What are Group Ancillary Benefits?

When looking at group insurance, you may come across group ancillary benefits. This refers to supplemental coverage that may be added to group health insurance. 

Group health insurance is designed to offer employees coverage for different health services.

In general, group ancillary benefits provide coverage for vision and dental care. Most group health insurance plans exclude coverage for dental and vision, despite the fact that these two areas are extremely important to a person’s health. Oral issues can cause major health risks down the line if not treated immediately, as can issues with a person’s vision. This is why group ancillary benefits are offered to fill in the gaps.

While offering basic health insurance is expected of most employers, adding group ancillary benefits to your employee benefits package can set you apart from other companies.

How Do Group Ancillary Benefits Work? 

As this is a policy offered by an employer, most employers pay the premiums for group ancillary benefits. There are two types of group ancillary plans, however: employer-contributary and voluntary. The type of plan decides who pays the premiums. In an employer-contributory plan, the employer pays anywhere between half and all of the group ancillary benefits premiums. On a voluntary plan, employees tend to bear the brunt (or all) of the premium costs. Like with other types of policies, this amount can be taken directly from the employee’s paycheck. Since it is voluntary, group ancillary benefits are not mandatory.

Why Do Employers Offer Group Ancillary Benefits? 

Finding reliable employees is a competitive task. Business owners must consider what other companies are offering to employees if they are to compete. Offering group ancillary benefits can draw in talented workers by offering coverage that other employers may not offer. Many of these plans also allow the employer to share the cost of premiums for group ancillary benefits with the employees, meaning that employers can save money on this insurance while offering competitive benefits. 

Group ancillary benefits can also allow employees to make use of pre-tax in order to pay for the benefits and lower their taxable income.

Speak with an insurance agent about your company’s insurance and employee benefits needs. Adding to your employee benefits package can greatly increase your chances of attracting and securing top talent in the competitive job market. Not all policies are created equal, however, and you want to make sure that you can save money while offering employees the coverage they want and deserve.