Specialty benefits supplement standard medical insurance plans and include additional coverage options like dental, vision, life and disability insurance. Offering these benefits makes a company's overall package more attractive to employees and helps stand out among competitors. There are two ways to provide specialty benefits - employer paid, where the company pays a portion of premiums, and voluntary plans, where employees pay a portion or all of premium costs. Common specialty benefits include dental and vision insurance, which can help reduce future medical costs, life insurance that provides financial security to families, and short-term and long-term disability coverage to replace lost wages during illness or injury.

1. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
A Guide for an Informed Employer
Specialty Benefits:

2. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
SPECIALTY BENEFITS
are insurance products that supplement medical
group health insurance plans
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While often seen as less important than the main policy,
the additional coverage that comes from
SPECIALTY BENEFITS
can make your company’s benefit packages much more
attractive to jobseekers and help you stand out in a
competitive employment marketplace.
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4. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
While often seen as less important than the main policy,
the additional coverage that comes from
SPECIALTY BENEFITS
can make your company’s benefit packages much more
attractive to jobseekers and help you stand out in a
competitive employment marketplace.
Recent surveys show, 65 percent of employees say it’s
important their company offers ancillary or specialty
insurance options.
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There are two ways you can
provide your employees with
specialty benefits
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#1: Employer Paid
When an employer is contributing to the
benefits, the company usually pays 50 to 100
percent of the premiums.
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#2: Voluntary
With voluntary plans, the employer may
contribute zero to 40 percent of the premiums.
Purchasing these services at a group level can help reduce the cost of
the services as well.
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While there are many kinds of
specialty benefits, this takes a
closer look at four of them.
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Dental and Vision
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Dental and Vision
These two specialty products don’t just help with
employees’ physical health, but also keep medical costs
down.
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11. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Dental and Vision
These two specialty products don’t just help with
employees’ physical health, but also keep medical costs
down.
According to recent studies, routinely visiting the dentist
and optometrist is a great preventive step that may lower
medical claim costs in the long run.
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Dental and Vision
According to the National Association of Dental Plans,
people who do not have dental coverage are 2.5 times
more likely to not schedule a check-up.
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13. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Dental and Vision
According to the National Association of Dental Plans,
people who do not have dental coverage are 2.5 times
more likely to not schedule a check-up.
Additionally, annual eye exams can detect early signs of
diabetes and high blood pressure before symptoms may
show up in a physical.
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Dental and Vision
Blue Cross offers many dental and vision plans geared
towards different ages and with different levels of coverage.
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Group Life Insurance
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Group Life Insurance
The most commonly offered type of employer-provided life
insurance is group-term.
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17. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Group Life Insurance
The most commonly offered type of employer-provided life
insurance is group-term.
Employers can offer life insurance to small sub-groups of
employees if the distinctions are based on:
• Marital status
• Job duties
• Length of service
• Other employment-related factors
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Group Life Insurance
With term life insurance, a beneficiary receives money if
the insured dies during his or her working years. This gives
families peace of mind and a sense of security.
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19. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Group Life Insurance
With term life insurance, a beneficiary receives money if
the insured dies during his or her working years. This gives
families peace of mind and a sense of security.
To qualify for group life insurance, companies must have
two or more employees and active, full-time employees
must work at least 30 hours a week.
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Group Life Insurance
Options for group life insurance include flat or salary-based
benefit plans, accelerated death benefits and grief, legal
and financial counseling.
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Group Life Insurance
Options for group life insurance include flat or salary-based
benefit plans, accelerated death benefits and grief, legal
and financial counseling.
• Counseling is available for groups with 50 or more
eligible employees.
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22. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Disability Coverage
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23. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Disability Coverage
Missing work due to an injury, accident or serious illness
is something few people plan on, but one in four people
over the course of their working years will experience one
of these incidents. If it happens, it can be financially
devastating.
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Disability Coverage
Providing this coverage to employees helps fill the gaps in
financial protection left uncovered by public disability
income assistance programs.
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25. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Disability Coverage
Providing this coverage to employees helps fill the gaps in
financial protection left uncovered by public disability
income assistance programs.
Through a partnership with Dearborn National, Blue Cross
offers both short-term and long-term disability insurance.
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Disability Coverage
Short-term disability insurance replaces lost income if an
employee has an accident, illness or pregnancy which
keeps them from work.
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Disability Coverage
Short-term disability insurance replaces lost income if an
employee has an accident, illness or pregnancy which
keeps them from work.
• A percentage of an employees salary is used to cover
this benefit for a set amount of time (typically 13, 26 or
52 weeks).
• Employers must have at least two full-time employees
working 30+ hours a week to enroll.
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Disability Coverage
Long-term disability insurance provides income
replacement for those who are disabled for an
undetermined amount of time and who are unable to work.
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29. Copyright Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Disability Coverage
Long-term disability insurance provides income
replacement for those who are disabled for an
undetermined amount of time and who are unable to work.
• Employers must have at least five full-time employees
working 30+ hours a week to enroll.
• Plans with Blue Cross include a claim management
program aimed at helping employees get well and back
to work as soon as they can.
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