Want to know why your most qualified employees are quitting?
It’s not the foosball table. It’s not the free snacks.
The answer is simple:
It’s the large group health insurance.
A recent survey found 56% of employees cite health benefits as a primary factor in employee retention.
And the data gets even better for companies that have great coverage.
Turnover rates at companies with strong health benefits are 26% lower than companies without it.
Think of what that means to the bottom line. All of those savings from not having to recruit, hire, and train new employees.
Businesses with 50+ employees aren’t just expected to provide large group health insurance solutions that Taylor Benefits can offer. They have to.
But here’s the twist:
Most employers think they know what their employees want and need.
And they’re way off base.
Health insurance is not “just another benefit” on the benefits menu.
It’s one of the most important benefits employees care about.
In fact, after salary, it’s the number one thing.
Post Contents
What We’ll Cover
- The Cost of Losing Your Best People
- Why Large Group Plans Rule
- How to Get Your Benefits to Work for You
- How to Get the Most for Your Money
The Cost of Losing Your Best People
Here’s a little secret:
Employee turnover is killing companies today. The rate for professional services employees was 63% last year.
Do you see that? 63%.
This is what that means to your business in real life:
- Recurring costs of hiring people
- Ongoing costs of training people
- The lost productivity of a vacant position
The worst part of it all? A lot of the time it’s because your competitors are offering better health insurance. And your employees are going to them.
Insurance companies used to have employee turnover rates of 8-9% for their business.
And now they’re seeing 12-15% turnover regularly. If the leader of the industry is at this rate, you can expect even more for your company.
And this isn’t just a bit of a problem.
This is a national crisis.
What Large Group Insurance Plans Do Differently
Large group insurance isn’t the same thing as small business plans.
Let’s just get that out of the way first.
What is large group health insurance?
Per the Affordable Care Act, it’s health insurance for companies with 50 or more full-time employees.
Offering large group insurance isn’t optional. The law actually mandates you to do it.
But that’s not what we’re talking about.
What we’re discussing is how a business changes when you make it work.
Large group plans let you have:
- More negotiating power with insurance providers
- More stable and predictable premium rates
- Broader coverage options
- Lower costs per employee
In a small business plan, insurance companies can pretty much dictate to you whatever they want.
You? You can negotiate. And that’s a game-changer.
Why Your Employees Really Care
This number shouldn’t be a surprise:
92% of employees count health insurance as a vital part of their benefits. Careful there! Vital part.
Take a look at this next stat:
49% of employees will leave in the next year if they’re unhappy with their benefits.
Half of your employees.
Can you really afford to lose half of your workforce in one year?
Here’s what’s really fascinating:
Employees don’t want just health insurance. They want coverage that actually works for them. We’re talking protection for the people who put blood and sweat into your business.
In a world with lousy insurance coverage:
- Breaking a leg can bankrupt an employee
- Cancer can force someone to choose between treatments and keeping a home
And that’s not the worst part.
You know how the saying goes, right? There are healthcare experts to handle healthcare stuff and other smart people for other smart stuff.
Screw that.
The sad reality is, a recent study showed 50% of households in the US couldn’t come up with $1,000 in an emergency.
That means one medical emergency can blow up a family’s finances.
This isn’t new.
And your employees are well aware of it.
That’s why they’re all over your benefits package looking for coverage that works for them.
Making a Large Group Plan Work
Large group health insurance isn’t rocket science. But most companies blow it every chance they get.
How do you do it right?
Keep It Simple
Complex plans annoy everyone.
Everyone.
Your HR team gets drowned in questions from employees.
Employees can’t figure out how to use it.
Simple wins here.
Choose insurance products that you can describe in two sentences. If you can’t, it’s too complicated.
Cover the Essentials
Cover the basic stuff first:
- Doctor visits
- Hospital visits
- Drugs
- Emergencies
Once you have that nailed, look for the extras that your unique workforce needs.
A tech company might need mental health coverage, while a construction business needs solid injury coverage.
Know your people.
Talk to Real Humans
Do you have a 50-page benefits book that your employees can’t decipher?
Stop doing that.
Talk to your employees like they’re human.
Tell them real examples of how the plan works.
Breaking a leg? Here’s your cost.
Emergency surgery? Here’s what’s covered.
Plain. Simple. Straightforward. That’s your goal.
Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck
Let’s cut to the chase.
Here’s what you really want to know.
What does it all cost?
The beautiful thing is…
You can get large group plans for less than you probably think.
The average plan is cheaper per employee than small group coverage. And you’re spreading the risk over more people. Insurance companies like that. So they give you better rates.
The secret most brokers won’t share, though, is the savings from lower turnover.
This was covered above, but it’s worth repeating.
Companies with good health benefits see a 26% reduction in turnover.
You take that number and multiply it by the following:
- Recruiting costs
- Hiring and training
- Productivity loss
- Management time
And those insurance premiums start to look a lot more like an investment.
Where Do You Start?
Got your large group insurance issues you want to fix?
Good. Let’s dig into the details.
First off, know the minimum you have to offer. The ACA states you must offer coverage to at least 95% of your full-time employees.
Coverage also has to be “affordable.” Meaning an employee cannot pay more than 9.02% of their income toward the coverage in 2025.
Next, talk to your employees.
Find out what they actually want from a health insurance plan.
Don’t guess.
Talk to them.
Ask them.
Finally, shop the plans. Get at least three proposals in front of you. Then compare them.
Don’t jump at the first plan you find. Large group status gives you power. Wield it.
After that, make the best plan for your employees based on your workforce.
You have a young startup in tech? That’s different than a manufacturing company with older employees.
Fit your plan to your people.
The Bottom Line on Large Group Insurance
Large group health insurance isn’t a game anymore.
It’s a must-have for 50+ employee companies.
Every good employee who leaves takes with them institutional knowledge, business relationships, and company momentum.
You can’t afford that loss anymore.
Companies are on this and investing.
77% of employers reported growing mental health concerns in their workforce this year. They’re responding by offering better benefits.
Your competition is on this. They’re giving their employees better coverage. They’re reducing turnover. They’re building stronger teams.
The question is not if you need to improve your large group health insurance.
The question is when will you get started before you lose your best people.
Wrapping Things Up
Large group health insurance makes a bigger impact on employee retention than just about any other factor.
Here are the key statistics from the post:
- 56% of employees report that good health benefits keep them with a company
- 49% of employees will leave a company in the next year if they don’t have benefits they like
- Companies with strong health benefits have 26% lower turnover
You want to retain employees? Give them a great large group insurance plan, and they’ll stay with you.
Keep offering the skimpy benefits you have now, and they’ll keep leaving.
You make the call.
But don’t take too long.
While you’re reading this post, your competitors are jumping in and making changes.
And guess what?
Your employees are noticing.