How do your benefits providers stay relevant? In our fast-paced, technology-driven world, all companies must evolve. Consumer demand plays a big part in the need for evolution — expectations are higher than they’ve ever been.
The 2019 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index® says that consumer expectations increase 25% on average every year. Across all categories of businesses and services, people are expecting more. In the voluntary benefits space, we have triple the expectations, as we must meet the needs of brokers, employers and employees.
To do this, ARAG® is committed to staying nimble and responsive with our offerings and how we deliver them. In fact, we’ve built an entire team devoted to the customer experience so we can keep our fingers on the pulse of consumer expectations and ensure we are delivering the experience they expect.
One of the ways we do this is adjusting and adding to our products so they remain the best in the marketplace. With each of our products, we constantly monitor plan usage, the market, the changing legal landscape and other data. Then we put together recommendations for what benefits we can add and changes we can make to our products to meet the needs of employees.
For example, we are always piloting new coverages. Many of these are based on client feedback requesting that our plan cover certain legal issues. We take those requests into consideration and if the pilot shows the issue is, in fact, one that many of our members benefit from, we’ll add it to our standard plans for the next year.
We also pioneered offering employees more than one option for their legal plan. This came about because consumers expect choice and control when it comes to their benefits — just like everything else in our on-demand world. People want a benefit that fits their budget and their lifestyle needs. The more personalized the plan, the better: A single 25-year-old doesn’t have the same needs as a married 55-year-old with kids.
Our DIY Docs® have also evolved since we started offering them to meet consumer expectations for online legal resources. We wanted to empower people by providing access to legal document templates. Unlike some documents online that might be outdated or generic, our templates are state-specific, customizable and interactive. DIY Docs are created and regularly reviewed by attorneys to ensure the documents are legally valid.
ARAG plan members also have peace of mind knowing DIY Docs are just one part of a robust legal plan. If members use a template to create a will, for example and then want an attorney to review the document or help finish putting it together, they have that option available.
These days, people not only expect resources online — they want them at their fingertips 24/7. Does your provider offer an app so employees can access their benefits information and get help wherever they need it?
ARAG is constantly enhancing our mobile app based on what employees tell us they want. We’ve added attorney ratings and reviews and custom searches and sorts so when employees need an attorney, they can just pull up the app and search by name, location, area of law and more.
Employers should expect benefit companies that are innovative and prepared to meet the ever-evolving needs of their employees. As your employees’ expectations change, make sure your benefits providers are keeping pace and offering them relevant solutions.
