My Recruiting Blog

When many individuals are searching for new employment they consider the benefits offered by each company. Because of this good human resource departments put a lot of thought into the different benefits they offer. Offering such programs helps with office place moral which, more often than not, encourages employees to be more productive. With health and life insurance packages becoming common place, many companies have begun offering less traditional benefits.

One such service that several companies have begun to offer is legal insurance. With many American’s having little to no knowledge of the legal system and their rights, the ability to consult an attorney without having to spend their entire pay check is extremely helpful. These services usually cost an employee anywhere from $6 to $25 a month. At $36 a year, an individual is entitled to phone consultations and for $300 a year an attorney will most likely take care of an uncomplicated divorce.

Most individuals sign up for these plans believing that they will come in handy when they are ready to write their will. Instead the bulk of the insured end up using the legal insurance provided by their human resources department when something goes wrong. Being able to contact an attorney over a credit problem, a teenager who has gotten in trouble with the law, or an elderly parents estate issues can give one a huge piece of mind during a troublesome time.

Like all insurance plans, there is a downside to most of the legal insurance programs offered by employers. Many of these plans only offer consultations for divorces and many do not come into affect until six months later. Some plans do not pay upfront for a lawyer’s services, reimbursing the insured at a later time. None of the plans currently offered enable an employee to sue their employer, no matter what the situation.

With in the last year there has been a six percent increase in the amount of human resource departments offering legal insurance. With the divorce rate rising and more Americans finding themselves in sticky legal situations, these plans give employees comfort and are therefore, great benefits for any company to offer.

Labels: human resources