65% of Employers Prioritize Benefits to Win Talent War, Survey Shows

Brown & Brown Reveals Results of Inaugural Health and Benefits Strategy Survey

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06/03/2025 - 09:00 AM

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Brown & Brown announced today the key results from its inaugural Brown & Brown Employer Health and Benefits Strategy Survey, 2025. Based on responses from more than 760 employers with at least 200 U.S.-based employees across a broad spectrum of industries and geographies, the survey provides insights into the current and future strategies employers are implementing and considering for their employee health and benefits plans.

To get a sense of employer mindset, the survey first asked employers to select their top five strategic priorities related to health benefit programs. ‘Attracting and retaining a competitive workforce’ was the most highly ranked at 65%. This was followed closely by controlling both employee and organizational health benefit costs (62% and 60%, respectively).

“The findings from our inaugural survey further exemplify the balancing act many employers face,” said Chana Bieker, senior vice president and national account leader for benefits at Brown & Brown. “Offering competitive health benefit programs that meet the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce while at the same time managing ever-increasing costs requires a holistic and multi-year strategic view of benefits that goes well beyond traditional cost shifting to employees.”

To address the top priority of attracting and retaining top talent, many employers indicated they were using or investigating programs to address the much-publicized mental health issues facing today’s workforce. Employers are implementing, or are considering for 2026, Centers of Excellence to enhance mental health support (41%), improving provider quality (41%) and increasing provider access (44%). Other areas of focus and investment to strengthen the attractiveness of benefit offerings include expanding fertility coverage, offering paid parental leave and strengthening disability coverage.

Along with these investments, employers identified equally important strategic opportunities to control costs over the next three years. The most popular method was to perform a medical and/or pharmacy RFP (81%). Additional cost-saving initiatives identified by a large majority of respondents include evaluating medical stop-loss captives (76%), utilizing various audits and assessment tools (75%), adding or enhancing transparency tools (71%) and introducing virtual primary care (70%).

Given the increasing share of prescription drug benefit costs in overall employer health care spend, the survey asked employers about GLP-1s coverage and their use for weight loss by plan members. While 70% of employers surveyed say they cover GLP-1s for weight-loss, 78% of this cohort currently have control measures in place, ranging from standard formulary restrictions to site-of-care stipulations. For 2026, 85% of these employers are considering additional GLP-1 weight-loss restrictions, such as required step therapy and lifestyle management programs.

Executive Summary

Please download an Executive Summary of the Brown & Brown Employer Health and Benefits Strategy Survey, 2025 by visiting https://www.bbrown.com/us/insight/employer-health-and-benefits-strategy-survey-executive-summary/.

Upcoming Webinar

Members of the media and other interested parties are encouraged to register for a webinar about the survey results on Tuesday, June 17, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET. Register here: https://www.bbrown.com/us/brown-brown-employer-health-and-benefits-strategy-survey-2025-results-review/

About the Survey

The Brown & Brown Employer Health and Benefits Strategy Survey, 2025, gathered responses from 760 employers. Participating employers had at least 200 employees based in the U.S. The survey explores a wide array of key strategic issues and opportunities facing employers who sponsor employee health and benefits plans. The survey was fielded from October 24 through December 6, 2024. The margin of error is +/- 4%.

About Brown & Brown, Inc.

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) is a leading insurance brokerage firm providing enhanced customer-centric risk management solutions since 1939. With a global presence spanning 500+ locations and a team of more than 17,000 professionals, we are dedicated to delivering scalable, innovative strategies for our customers at every step of their growth journey. Learn more at BBrown.com.