There's much that can be done to reduce the environmental impact of your employee benefits plan, which with all the booklets, pamphlets and other materials can be very paper intensive.
In a typical new plan, a 40 page booklet describing the coverage is given to each employee (and then again in a couple months when they've been misplaced); brochures and marketing information along with an administrative manuals are printed for the plan manager.
With the sophisticated web resources that insurers have invested millions of dollars to develop, there's no need to be giving out this material when it can all be found online. Best of all, these systems are included in the cost of your plan.
Employees can create their own unique login, which will provide access to a summary of their coverage, status of any benefit submissions, direct deposit of claims, and pre-filled forms. The plan administrator can access an archive of monthly billing statements, status reports, update employee information, how-to guides, and plan information. This can save time and money - your HR specialist will no longer be printing off forms for others, and staff won't have to spend their time on the phone checking up on a claim... it's all available online.
So, if your business is looking to start a benefits plan, or make changes to your current plan, consider getting 'green' benefits. At True Benefits our clients are each presented with that option; if we get the 'green' light we make sure that all unecessary printing is suppressed, and help to educate employees on how to make best use of their insurer's website.
Rachel
