It'simportant that we recognize that sometimes getting ahead of themarket might have us living in "future possibility," rather than"present reality." (Photo: Shutterstock)

The voluntary benefits market has, at times, seen certain trendsthat overshadow market realities. It was just a few years ago thatthere was still an expectation of growth in private exchanges. Fora time, it was frequently forecast that such platforms would be themost common destination for benefit enrollment. While this conceptmay see more adoption in the future, the original forecast forgrowth has not yet come about. It's important that we recognizethat sometimes getting ahead of the market might have us living in"future possibility," rather than "present reality."

New product categories are a good example of this kind ofexpected trend. While new product entrants like student loanreimbursement and fertility treatment benefits are getting somepress around the voluntary market, traditional products are stillmost in demand. The 2019 BenefitsPRO/Eastbridge Voluntary Survey foundthat the top go-to products for brokers are accident, criticalillness and hospital indemnity products.

Related: How technology is transforming the voluntarybenefits industry

Bonnie Brazzell and Nick Rockwell,Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc.

Eastbridge employer research also indicates that life insuranceand supplemental medical products are the most likely products tobe added as new voluntary benefits. New product categories aregreat, if they can play the right position in your valueproposition. However, as we compete every day for a client'sbusiness, we must appropriately balance our solutions. Rememberthat the majority of this industry is still focused on a moretraditional product and prioritize accordingly.

The supposed dominance of self-service enrollment is anotheraspect of the voluntary market where the trend overstates thereality. The same BenefitsPRO/Eastbridge survey found only a slightdecrease from the previous year in the percentage of brokers whomost frequently enroll voluntary through group meetings, followedby 1-to-1 meetings. This method of enrollment still garners thehighest use among brokers. While self-service or web enrollmentsfollows closely behind, carriers also cite group meetings andindividual meetings as the most used enrollment methods.

If you'd like more employee access during enrollment to enhanceemployee education and increase participation, these numberssuggest much of the market is still accepting of more interactiveoptions.

Trends are important because they can tell us which way the windis blowing so we don't get left behind. But let's make sure we arevalidating the differences between a potential directional changein the market versus where the market is today (and probablytomorrow). While trends tell us a lot about where the proverbialpuck may be heading, it's still important we don't skate there toofast.

Read more: 

• Hot voluntary products andplatforms
• Communications breakdown: How can brokers andemployers get on the same page with technology?
• Voluntary benefits: How they've become a must-haveproduct