The Workforce Wants Legal and ID Theft Protection Plans for Financial Peace of Mind

Employees want to feel safe in their workplace. They trust their employers to keep them secure with locked doors and badge entries. They also hope their employers will keep them secure financially as well and provide them with a robust benefits package.

On behalf of LegalShield, Echo Research conducted the 2019 LegalShield Workplace Study to find out what employers and employees desire and need when it comes to legal and identity theft protection plans. The study showed that workplace demand for these benefits is only continuing to grow. Today’s workforce is looking for more than retirement savings and health insurance, although these benefits are still crucial. Recent inflation rates, the increasing costs of medical care, student loan debt and housing prices all contribute to American employees’ worries. Now, employees are looking to their employers to provide for their financial wellness benefits and peace of mind.

The 2019 LegalShield Workforce Study discovered two critical findings: In the face of rising trends, employers are growing increasingly committed to improving the financial wellness of their workforce. Additionally, employees have a significant interest in financial benefits, specifically legal services and identity theft protection plans.                                                                 

Employees’ Goals for Product Features in Protection Plans

According to the survey, 66% of employees think the quality of an organization’s benefits package makes a big difference in their choice of an employer. Employees’ priorities about benefits are changing as the needs of their outside lives change as well; legal and identity protection clearly fit into their new standards:

• 51% of employees believe employers should offer an identity protection benefit.
• 49% of employees believe employers should offer a legal services benefit.
• 61% of employees believe ID protection and legal services benefits increase their financial wellbeing.

Employees Clearly See the Value in Legal Services and Identity Protection Plans

Employee respondents see value in legal services and identity theft protection plans. Nearly half would like legal services offered as a benefit and 40% believe it would have a key impact on their overall job satisfaction, while more than two-thirds believe identity protection increases their financial wellbeing and more than half would like to see it added to their benefit package.

Impact of Legal and Identity Theft Issues on the Workplace

So why are legal and identity theft protection benefits so crucial to our workforce? 61% of employee respondents to the survey reported that they have faced a legal event. Many of them said that it impacted their productivity at work. More than half of employees hadn’t finalized their Will; only 11% had it prepared and executed; 43% had it prepared, but not executed.

• 61%: Faced a legal event in the last two years
• 39%: Made phone calls during the workday
• 34%: Distracted at work
• 30%: Took time off

 The threat of identity theft also takes a toll on employees’ peace of mind and ability to work.

• 59%: Distracted at work
• 47%: Made phone calls during the workday
• 44% Took time off work
• 35%: Concerned about ID theft occurring with greater frequency

 Overall, 89% of employees feel that owning an identity theft product would provide peace of mind knowing their identity is protected. Identity theft and legal plan features would increase 61% of employees’ financial wellbeing. 51% of employees believed their employer should offer identity theft protection in the benefit package. And 49% of employees believed their employers should offer a legal services plan in their benefit package.

Not all legal and identity theft protection plans are created equal though.

What Employers Look for in Legal and Identity Theft Protection Plans

That’s where financial wellness benefits come into play. In the survey, employers agreed on several factors that they deemed most important in a legal protection plan for their workforce:

• 86%: Reputable customer service
• 85%: Direct access to a qualified law firm
• 84%: Affordable family rate
• 77%: Comprehensive mobile app

 When it came to features that employers considered important in an identity protection plan, employers had similar goals:

• 84%: Affordable family rate
• 84%: Easy process to restore one’s identity
• 83%: Coverage for expenses related to identity theft
• 78%: Dark web monitoring alerts
• 75%: Comprehensive mobile app