Legal Insurance Supporting Diverse Communities and DEI Efforts

By Ann Cosimano, General Counsel, ARAG

Across the country, June marks Pride Month – a time for honoring and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and promoting visibility and inclusion. It’s also a time to think about what we can do to create an equitable workplace: how can we keep an eye on DEI-related issues while still meeting our business goals?

While great progress has been made in supporting LGBTQ+ and other marginalized employees, there is still room for improvement. Whether it’s through creating employee resource groups, offering diverse benefits or educating employees on the importance of a diverse workforce, there are many steps employers can take. One of the best ways to support diverse communities is to offer benefits that cater to a wide variety of people. In fact, the Human Rights Council provides helpful guidelines on offering inclusive benefits.

When it comes to benefits, it’s important for brokers and HR professionals to look for potential gaps in their offerings, especially those related to health care, financial well-being and family-starting benefits.

Members of diverse communities often have unique needs. Luckily, legal insurance gives people a voice and is a benefit every employee can use, no matter their age, race, identity or background. Explore some of the coverages legal insurance offers that can help meet the DEI goals your clients and your organizations have.

While many employers offer health insurance that are transgender-inclusive, some LGBTQ+ community members may still not be comfortable seeking medical care. Consider offering comprehensive health benefits to your employees’ domestic partners. According to the Human Rights Counsel’s Healthcare Equality Index 2022, only 34% of employers do.

So, how can legal insurance help provide equality for all employees? As part of a legal plan, employees can create hospital visitation authorizations, which grants family and non-family members hospital visits. Employees can also complete a HIPAA authorization form, which allows medical professionals to discuss protected medical information with designated people who normally would not have access to this information.

When an employee has legal insurance, a major benefit is that it removes some of the financial burden of attorney fees. This means individuals who might not normally have access to an attorney, whether it be for financial reasons, misconceptions of who can hire an attorney or a lack of knowledge about how to work with an attorney, can get access to vital estate planning documents.

According to a recent Consumer Reports study, 39% of white, non-Hispanic Americans have a will, compared to only 18% of Hispanic Americans, 23% of Black, non-Hispanic Americans and 33% of English-Speaking Asian Americans. This is often because individuals don’t believe they have enough assets to warrant making a will. But when individuals have access to an attorney through legal insurance, these barriers are removed, and they can protect their assets and their future.

Funeral directives are another coverage that help support DEI-related efforts. A funeral directive provides direction on the arrangement of services and disposition of one’s remains. You should designate an agent to carry out your wishes – it might be an individual in a relationship with someone who isn’t recognized by their state. If you don’t designate an agent, the law will determine who has the legal authority to make your funeral arrangements: first a spouse, then adult children of the deceased, parents of the deceased, siblings and finally next of kin (such as a grandparent or aunt or uncle).

More and more, employers are being asked to support employees with family-starting benefits and other offerings that affect how their family works. What many don’t realize is that there is a legal component to this. For example, legal insurance can help support employees who want to expand their family by handling the legal side of adoption and egg, sperm or embryo donations.

Legal insurance can also help with parentage issues. By establishing parentage rights, non-traditional families ensure that the parents of the child can make important decisions for a child.

Finally, legal insurance can support employees through a name change process. Whether this name change is stemming from adopting a stepchild and wanting to change their last name to yours, getting married and wanting to change your middle name to your maiden name or because you are transgender and no longer identify with your birth name, an attorney can help with the legal process.

While providing extra protection to diverse individuals is great, how does this impact you? As an employer, offering benefits like legal insurance can have many positive effects. If an employee is facing a legal issue, chances are they’ll be less stressed and more focused on work when they have the assistance of an attorney at an affordable rate. In fact, new research from ARAG shows 39% of ARAG members were not stressed at all when it comes to truly understanding their options and what’s best for them, compared to only 14% of consumers using an attorney without a legal plan.

In addition to lowering employee stress levels, providing a legal plan and other benefits that support DEI efforts can secure your place as an employer of choice In an increasingly tight labor market, offering and highlighting these benefits can make a significant difference when recruiting new talent.

As a broker or benefit provider, educating your clients on the advantages of a legal plan helps to establish yourself as a voluntary benefit expert. You bring the knowledge to your clients, and they will look to you to present them with benefits packages, including traditional and voluntary benefits, that help their employees and enable them to attract and retain employees.

Most importantly, by having a benefits structure that is inclusive of all workers, employees can show up as their whole self. You show that you value, accept, support and understand their unique needs, making them more likely to contribute all their gifts to your workplace. As organizations continue to level the playing field for marginalized communities, it’s not only good for the community, it’s good for your bottom line.

Ann Cosimano - As ARAG's General Counsel, Ann Cosimano directs the company's legal, regulatory, compliance, risk management and attorney relations departments. Having started her career as an attorney for nonprofit organizations, Ann brings a full understanding of – and deep respect for – members experiencing legal issues. Ann genuinely cares about improving the lives of others and aligns those values with her role as an executive leader. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology/sociology and prelaw from Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska, and a law degree from Creighton University School of Law in Omaha.