2019 benefit trends: The year of well-being

The benefits industry is like a merry-go-round. Benefit popularity is cyclical, and market trends and themes always seem to circle back into the foreground over time. However, the acceleration of technological innovation is propelling the benefit carousel faster each year, making it challenging for many brokers and employers to keep up with changes and new products in the market.

2018 focused on the individual’s role in health care, and more specifically, their access to transparency tools,education and the adoption of technology to foster more informed health care consumerism. The spotlight on individual privacy, security, and protection continued to shine as well. As we close out the first quarter of 2019, I expect those trends to continue through the evolution of benefits on which we already rely as well as adoption of new, innovative products.

Looking back at 2018, we saw continued growth of several cornerstone benefits: