Table of Contents
Key takeaways:
- Vision benefits make employees healthier and more productive.
- However, many employers don’t understand why they should offer a vision plan as part of a comprehensive employee benefits package.
- As a broker, you need to educate employers about vision benefits by focusing on tangible business outcomes.
Did you know that as many as half of Americans suffer from digital eye strain? This translates to frequent headaches, constant squinting, and other symptoms. For workers, that can derail a productive work day.
Most employers fail to realize how much of an impact an undiagnosed eye problem can have on engagement and productivity. Offering vision plans to employees is an easy solution, but not all your customers see the value.
Focus on selling business outcomes rather than eye health products when talking about why employers need vision benefits.
Start With Regular Eye Health Exams
Connecting vision plans to tangible business benefits will make these products a lot more appealing.
An obvious benefit is better access to routine eye exams, which the American Optometric Association recommends once a year for people aged 18 to 64.
Improving access to these routine exams does much more than catch refractive eye errors. During a comprehensive exam, an optometrist can detect early warning signs of different health problems, including:
- Serious eye conditions like glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration.
- Diabetes and pre-diabetes.
- Heart problems.
- Some cancers.
Address Eye Health Risks in the Modern Workplace
Not all employers are fully aware of how their workplace can affect eye health. Discussing the unique vision health risks their workforce faces is another opportunity to drive home the benefits of vision plans for businesses.
Vision benefits are more important than ever because America’s workforce is aging. People are working longer, retirees are going back to work and the population as a whole is getting older and more likely to develop eye health conditions.
This trend affects some industries more than others, but age isn’t the only factor to consider. Modern workplaces rely heavily on screens, which leads to digital eye strain. With as many as 50% of Americans suffering from this condition, increased technology usage is a strong argument for offering better vision benefits.
Why Employers Need Vision Benefits: Poor Eye Health and Employee Productivity
Employees who skip eye exams often develop symptoms that get progressively worse and ultimately hurt their productivity at work. Many don’t recognize they have a vision problem, while others avoid treatment because the perceived cost is too high in light of their limited benefits. This situation leads to a decline in performance and poor job satisfaction.
Once you’ve highlighted the connection between poor eye health and productivity, you can frame vision benefits as a factor that contributes to employees’ health, engagement and productivity.
Better Health Outcomes and Lower Costs
Access to quality vision benefits empowers employees to take charge of their eye health. They get early diagnosis and treatment when problems emerge, which improves medical outcomes and prevents vision issues from getting in the way of their work performance.
Early intervention also reduces out-of-pocket costs by addressing problems before expensive complications can appear. From an employer’s perspective, giving employees access to early diagnosis and treatment means less missed work and less lost productivity.
Hiring and Retention
If you need another argument for offering vision benefits, hiring and retention are important talking points.
Given the current economic uncertainty, employees are less likely to engage in job hopping, which can reduce the pool of talent available and increase competition between employers.
Hiring takes longer and tends to cost more, and for employers looking to reduce these costs, offering a comprehensive benefits package with a vision plan can be a strong differentiator, as well as a clear indication that they value employee wellness.
Overcoming Common Employer Concerns About Vision Benefits
Some employers worry that offering vision benefits will strain their budget or create administrative headaches, among other objections. The truth is that vision plans deliver consistent returns and represent less of an investment than many other benefits.
You might run into customers who wonder if employees will use the eye health plan enough to justify the investment. You can address this concern by citing the rising interest in proactive and holistic health, and share a few strategies employers can use to communicate about the employee benefits they offer to boost usage.
Simplicity is another powerful argument. When adding elements to their benefits package, employers often think of the administrative burden on their HR team. Reassure them that you’re here to help them pick the best option for their needs and that many vision plans, especially pre-paid options, are easy to implement and require minimal involvement from HR.
Why VCD Offers More Value Than Traditional Vision Plans
Talking about productivity, improved satisfaction, and easier hiring creates a strong business case for vision plans.
Once you have discussed these tangible benefits with a customer, it’s time to introduce an option that supports healthier employees while delivering the best value for your customer’s budget.
Instead of traditional vision insurance products, pre-paid plans like VCD can be an appealing alternative. These plans tend to be more affordable and easier to use thanks to their transparent pricing structure.
Rather than navigating a reimbursement process, employees have access to pre-negotiated savings on vision care services like comprehensive eye exams. On top of saving on the services they need, they can get quality care via one of the largest networks of optometrists in Oklahoma.
Learn more about joining the VCD family as a broker and getting a 10% commission on our great selection of flexible pre-paid plans.
FAQ
What are some good broker talking points about vision insurance?
You can talk about how vision plans help with employee retention and why improving access to routine eye exams is good for productivity.
Why should employers offer eye health benefits?
Between an aging workforce and increased screen time at work, more employees than ever need eye health care. This valuable benefit also helps attract talent as more employees look for holistic benefits packages.
What’s the ROI of vision plans for employers?
The right vision plan can help save thousands in hiring costs, increase productivity, and reduce healthcare expenses through early detection of serious conditions.
What’s the difference between vision insurance and pre-paid vision plans?
Vision insurance typically requires employees to pay premiums, deductibles, and copays, then navigate reimbursement processes for covered services. Vision discount plans like VCD offer pre-negotiated savings on eye care services with transparent pricing and no claim forms.
