The voluntary benefits landscape is experiencing unprecedented transformation. With employer-sponsored group health plan costs projected to rise 8% in 2025—the steepest increase in over a decade¹,²—supplemental health products like accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity coverage have rapidly emerged as strategic imperatives.
I recently spoke with Ronak Doshi, a partner at Everest Group who leads their financial services research, to explore this evolving market. Here are five key takeaways that every carrier, broker, and platform provider should consider.
From Point-in-Time Products to Holistic Wellness Ecosystems
The evolution of supplemental health benefits has been remarkable. We’ve moved far beyond the simple point-in-time protection products of the early 1990s. Today’s landscape is defined by a push toward “holistic wellness” and 360-degree coverage that encompasses health, financial wellness, and overall well-being.
This shift is being driven by multiple converging factors: record-high inflation adding to healthcare costs, rising out-of-pocket expenses creating demand for gap-filler products, workforce mobility requiring more flexible coverage, and multinational employers seeking consistent packages to attract top talent.
The result? 96% of brokers expect continued growth in employee demand for voluntary products³, with many predicting double-digit sales growth.
Investment Activity Spans the Entire Ecosystem
One of the most encouraging aspects of our discussion was learning about the breadth of investment happening across the market. This isn’t just a story of large carriers dominating—there’s genuine innovation occurring at every level:
Large Carriers like MetLife and Aflac are investing heavily in digital platforms and streamlined processes, offering integrated value propositions to large employers⁴,⁵.
Mid-Market Players such as Trustmark Benefits are finding differentiation through specialized solutions like wellness integration⁶.
Insurtechs are attracting significant private equity backing, with companies like Sidecar Health reaching near-unicorn status ($165 million Series D funding)⁷ and Spring Health gaining investment from established players like Guardian Life⁸.
The Technology Strategy Divide: Modernization vs. Greenfield
Perhaps the most interesting strategic question facing carriers today is how to approach technology transformation. Our conversation revealed two distinct paths:
Legacy Modernization: Established carriers are focusing on modernizing existing systems using low-code tools, API integration, and digital front-office capabilities.
Greenfield Development: Newer entrants are building digital-first, cloud-native solutions from scratch, emphasizing great architecture and AI integration without legacy constraints.
Both approaches have merit, but success depends on execution and addressing the right customer needs.
Critical Technology Gaps Are Holding Back Scale
Despite all this investment and innovation, Ronak identified two major gaps preventing many organizations from scaling effectively:
Enrollment Engine Limitations: Many systems still rely on manual processes for evidence of insurability rules, resulting in fragmented experiences and inability to leverage modern APIs for personalization.
Billing Complexity: Complex billing structures and lack of flexibility in coverage options create friction. As one client memorably told Ronak: “Supplemental health won’t scale on Excel-based spreadsheets.”
The potential impact of addressing these gaps is significant—some organizations are seeing 70-80% reduction in manual effort through proper automation⁹.
Differentiation Comes Down to Execution Excellence
With so much activity in the market, how can carriers truly differentiate themselves? Ronak’s answer was straightforward: it comes down to execution across five key areas:
Product Strategy: Offering customizable, flexible, “pick your coverage” products that are easy to understand
Digital Experience: Providing mobile-first experiences for the Gen Z and Gen Alpha workforce
Channel Strategy: Developing strong partnerships across employer markets, brokers, and digital marketplaces
Holistic Wellness Messaging: Positioning offerings as comprehensive wellness solutions
Financial Discipline: Using data and AI for personalized pricing while maintaining profitability
Looking Ahead: The Bundled Future
Our discussion concluded with a look toward the future, where bundling supplemental health with other benefit offerings through digital exchanges will become increasingly important. The winning formula appears to be integrated product menus combined with trusted human advice—a hybrid model that leverages both technology efficiency and personalized guidance. The supplemental health market represents one of the most dynamic opportunities in insurance today, and whether you’re modernizing legacy systems or building from scratch, the key is focusing on execution excellence across product, experience, channels, and technology.
At Vitech, we’re excited to support organizations navigating this transformation. Our V3locity platform is designed to help carriers streamline operations, accelerate product launches, and deliver the personalized, modern experiences that today’s market demands. The supplemental health transformation is here—the question is not whether to participate, but how quickly and effectively you can execute your strategy.
Watch the Full Conversation
Want to dive deeper into the trends shaping the supplemental health market? Watch our full discussion with Everest Group’s Ronak Doshi for more insights and strategies to help carriers thrive.
Sources
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International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, “2025 U.S. Employer-Sponsored Group Health Plan Cost Projections”
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Business Group on Health, “2025 Health Care Survey”
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Optavise, “2025 Voluntary Benefits Broker Survey”
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MetLife Investment Management, “Digital Platform Strategy”
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Aflac Annual Reports and Investor Communications (publicly available)
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Industry Analysis Reports referencing Trustmark Benefits’ wellness integration strategy
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Sidecar Health, “$165 Million Series D Funding Announcement”
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Spring Health, “Series C Funding & Unicorn Status”
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BigChange, “Job Management Tools and Automation Impact”
