Eastbridge report shows strong growth in voluntary long-term disability market

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Jun 29, 2023, 08:00 ET

VLTD sales reach their highest level in six years

AVON, Conn., June 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Demand for long-term disability coverage continues to grow in the voluntary/worksite market, according to Eastbridge Consulting Group's most recent research.

Eastbridge's "Voluntary Long-Term Disability Products" Spotlight™ Report shows 2022 sales hit their highest point in the past six years, totaling nearly $540 million. That represents a 6% increase from 2021, on top of a 20% jump from 2020 to 2021.

"More employers are transitioning their plans from employer-paid to premiums that are shared or 100% employee-paid, so demand for VLTD products should remain strong," said Danielle Lehman, Eastbridge senior consultant. The report shows only 10% of employers now pay the full cost of this coverage for their employees, down from 51% a little more than a decade ago.

Voluntary Long-Term Disability Sales

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Total sales	$516.98	$537.48	$525.01	$488.46	$423.00	$507.71	$539.27
Percent of voluntary sales	6.8 %	6.6 %	6.2 %	5.5 %	5.7 %	6.1 %	6.2 %

Eastbridge's "Voluntary Long-Term Disability Products" Spotlight™ Report provides key competitive data on benefits and structure; administrative, underwriting and compensation practices; and current and future obstacles and trends in the voluntary long-term disability market based on written surveys and secondary sources collected from 19 VLTD carriers in March and April 2023.

Other key findings in the report include:

All the carriers surveyed offer guaranteed issue underwriting for their VLTD plans, but often require higher participation than for most other voluntary products.
All carriers offer both a stand-alone and a buy-up version of their long-term disability plans. These are usually the same product with the same benefits.
VLTD coverage is portable for only six carriers, although 12 allow employees to convert their coverage to an individual plan that may have different rates, benefits and limitations.

Information about purchasing the "Voluntary Long-Term Disability Products" Spotlight™ Report is available on Eastbridge's website. Those interested can email [email protected] or call (860) 676-9633.

About Eastbridge Consulting Group

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving companies focused on the voluntary/worksite benefits market in the United States and Canada. Follow Eastbridge on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/eastbridge-consulting-group.