product spotlight | employee benefits Safety Awareness Month and the Value of Accident Insurance

There is no better time than now to approach your clients about accident insurance. It helps keep their clients happy because it helps ensure their peace of mind and financial freedom.

By Stephanie Shields

You’re likely reading this issue of Advisor Today from the comfort of your desk, sofa or even your dining table. Given your occupation, it’s a safe bet you don’t leave home — or your office — worried that today is the day workplace hazards will leave you suddenly injured.

Yet, many Americans don’t head to work with that type of reasonable certainty. Consider the concerns of those who hold the most dangerous jobs in the nation — for them, accidents and injuries are almost inevitable. According to a recent survey, construction workers, corrections officers, emergency medical technicians, nursing assistants and veterinarians face daily dangers ranging from electrocution and inmate attacks to back injuries and animal bites.1

June is National Safety Awareness Month

June is National Safety Awareness Month, and it is one of those times when all employees should pause to think about safety. This is a good time to urge clients to consider whether they’ve done everything possible to ensure their employees are protected from the costs of unexpected accidental injuries. While most jobs aren’t on the most-dangerous list, employee safety is always a primary concern for businesses. After all, on-the-job injuries aren’t rare. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 2.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported by private-industry employers in 2015. 2

Protecting employees’ wallets and companies’ bottom lines

Naturally, smart companies do everything possible to eliminate workplace hazards, but accidents happen nonetheless. While common injuries like sprains, strains and muscle tears sound fairly benign, these minor injuries can still affect a company’s resources and productivity. In fact, they resulted in 421,610 days away from work in 2015.3

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Providing employees with benefits that help protect their finances from the oftendebilitating costs of illness or injury is a smart business decision.

Not to mention, the constant threat of the medical costs associated with unexpected injuries can distract employees and negatively affect their productivity while they are at work. Fortunately, including supplemental accident insurance in your client’s benefits package can help assist employees with the financial burden associated with unforeseen injuries, without negatively affecting clients’ bottom lines.

In addition to using National Safety Month as an opportunity to raise clients’ accident awareness, advisors can remind them that offering a robust slate of benefit options can affect their companies in other positive ways.

For example, employees surveyed as part of the 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report said a strong benefits package increases their company loyalty, productivity and job satisfaction — and also plays a major role when deciding whether to remain in their current position.4 In other words, providing employees with benefits that help protect their finances from the often-debilitating costs of illness or injury isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s also a smart business decision.

By proposing accident insurance, you, as a trusted advisor, can keep your clients happy with a cost-containment solution that helps control their companies’ major medical expenses without sacrificing employee coverage. At the same time, accident insurance helps keep your clients’ employees happy because it helps ensure their peace of mind and financial freedom.

This article is for informational purposes and is not intended as a solicitation.

1 Career Cast. “The most dangerous jobs of 2016.”Accessed April 12, 2017. http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/most-dangerous-jobs-2016

2 Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Employer-reported workplace injury and illness summary.” Accessed April 11, 2017. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0. htm

3 Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work, 2015.” Accessed April 11, 2017. https://www.bls.gov/ news.release/osh2.nr0.htm

4 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report. The Report is the seventh annual study examining benefits trends and attitudes. The study’s sur veys, conducted by Lightspeed GMI, captured responses from 1,800 benefits decision-makers and 5,000 employees across the United States in various industries. For more information, visit AflacWorkForcesReport.com.

Stephanie Shields is Aflac Vice President of Product Innovation and Marketing.