Employee choice in benefits is the future, says Marsh India survey

Increasing voluntary schemes built into group insurance have seen employees taking on additional cover as per their needs

A majority of employers believe that employee choice in benefits would help improve employee retention and attraction and make employees see larger value in the benefits provided to them, according to Marsh's Annual Employee Health and Benefits Study, which was launched today.

The annual study, which features an assessment of the key concerns and realities of the evolving health and benefits landscape, finds attracting and retaining talent, being able to meet employee's needs, and providing benefit enhancements as the key drivers for organizations' implementing employee choice in benefits.

In India, the concept of providing employee choice is new. However increasing voluntary programmes built into group insurance schemes have seen employees exercising the option to take on additional cover as per their requirements. Around 18 per cent of the surveyed organizations offer some sort of employee choice through voluntary and top-up plans and an additional 16 per cent offer varied benefits around wellness and lifestyle outside of insurance.

The insurance cover to parents as a part of the employees' family insurance is back after having been discontinued since the last few years, with 35 per cent surveyed organizations offering it on voluntary basis in addition to 41 per cent sponsoring parents cover. Similarly choices are available in health & wellness programs and other benefit enhancements such as maternity limits, different co-pay percentage on claims, etc.

Sanjay Kedia, CEO of Marsh India, says, "Asia lags behind other developed regions in offering choice in employee benefits. However, in the past few years many organizations are increasingly moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach." He said that as costs escalate, it's essential for organizations to ensure they have long-term and sustainable benefits strategies.

Benefits can be classified as insured and non-insured - Insured benefits typically include medical, life, accident, health screening, maternity, dental, vision, critical illness, and parents coverage, whereas non-insured benefits would include phone, gym / fitness equipment, travel, vacation, personal and family development andprofessional subscription.

India, according to the survey, is still far behind many Asian countries when it comes to offering choice and the next few years will shape the future of employee choice in India.