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Providing employees with insurance coverage is one of the best waysfor small business owners to support their employees. Employeeswith health insurance are happier, far more productive in theoffice, and are more likely to stay at a company if they aresatisfied with their current benefits. In this digital age, onlinebenefits marketplaces render finding employee insurance foremployees as modern and straightforward as searching for and buyingother high ticket items such as automobiles or homes. There areresources at employers' disposal should they have anyquestions throughout the insurance shopping and purchasing process.Below are three reasons online marketplaces help small businessowners choose health insurance:

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Convenience

Small business owners are exceedingly busy and their time isvaluable. In a recent Vistaprint survey, small business ownersreported spending their time on administrative duties, projectmanagement, marketing, product development, design and othercountless tasks that are essential to growing their businesses. Theavailability to browse and shop from a laptop or tablet is aconvenience that their hectic schedule requires. Compare employeehealth plan options digitally to save time that would otherwise bespent filling out lengthy paperwork, scheduling meetings or playingphone tag. Sophisticated technology modernizes employee benefitsshopping it by removing any confusion or unknowns from theprocess. 

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Breadth of options

Most small business owners want to know they have considered a widerange of employee health insurance options before making apurchasing decision. They don't want to sift through stacks ofpaper when considering choices but do want to make sure theyhaven't missed the best plan or plans for employees. Research showsthat 43 percent of individuals shop online andpurchase online. Look around the store the next time you areshopping and notice the amount of people searching the price of acommodity prior to buying it. Employee benefits are no different.It is important to utilize the online resources available whenproviding employees with benefits that suit both their needs andthe employers' budget. 

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Broker support

The digital experiences offered by online insurance shoppingmarketplaces does not indicate the death of the broker. Peoplestill benefit from having access to an expert in the field shouldthey need any assistance. Even with the most streamlined of digitalinsurance shopping experiences, employers may have questions andconcerns along the way, especially because this is a high-costdecision that impacts employees directly. It is helpful thatemployers have a licensed broker to answer questions, put them atease, and act as an ally who can assist through the process. Anonline experience does not preclude themfrom having access to one of these valued resources.Licensed brokers are traditionally still made available to smallbusiness owners even online. 

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Employees and their health are important to employers. Takingadvantage of the ample resources provided by online healthinsurance marketplaces is the smartest and most cost-effective wayto make sure the team is covered. You will save time overall and bepresented with a variety of precise information faster, while stillhaving access to support every step of the way.

Sally Poblete has been a leader and innovator in thehealth insurance industry for over 20 years. As a broker and formerindustry executive herself, she founded Wellthie out of a deeppassion for making health insurance more simple and approachablefor consumers and small businesses. She had a successful careerleading product development at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, oneof the nation's largest health insurance companies.

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