As the CEO and Co-Founder of League Inc., a health insurance company that is reimagining the world of health insurance with an innovative digital platform that is consumer centric, Mike Serbinis is an expert in all things entrepreneurship and health insurance. Prior to founding League, Mike was the founder and CEO of Kobo, the popular ebook company and founded the cloud storage company, DocSpace which was one of the first in this space.

Since offering health benefits to your staff can be a big draw for new and current employees but can often be a road that’s hard to navigate for entrepreneurs, we caught up with Mike to get his insight and learn more about League.

What makes League’s benefits different?

Three things: our experience, our economic model and our integrated offering. This is an industry that hasn’t changed in 100 years. We are not a traditional benefits provider, we’ve re-imagined employee health benefits to put the consumer’s needs first.

So what does that look like?

For employees, we provide a digital, mobile-driven user experience with no annoying paperwork. We offer a Health Spending Account (HSA), for the health coverage you need (like physio, osteo or dentist) and a Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) for the coverage you want (your gym membership, triathlon training program or yoga mat). We have chat functionality so you can ask any benefits-related question and get a response within minutes.

Taking that further, League just last month introduced our Health Concierge, a trusted resource for consumers to connect with a registered nurse to ask questions, receive health-related information and better navigate our complex health system – at the touch of a button.

For employers, we provide a seamless end-to-end experience for administration and plan design, but also help them create a culture of health in the workplace. League’s Health@Work programs include everything from onsite screenings or flu clinics to massage treatment to fitness classes and seminars.

League’s integrated solution brings together all health and wellness needs onto one platform, to allow employers and employees to maximize their healthcare investment. Ours is a defined contribution model that removes the intermediary so more of a business’ spend makes it to their employees.

When it comes to health benefits for small businesses, where can entrepreneurs start?

Small businesses (SMBs) have been overlooked by traditional health benefits providers who generally focus and design product for large enterprise clients, leaving entrepreneurs and small business owners with limited options to provide to their employees. League is bringing enterprise-scale benefits and offering customization for entrepreneurs and SMBs to tailor benefit packages for their workforce.

Why do you feel it’s important that start-ups offer employees benefits such as League?

It’s important to enable consumers to make informed decisions about their health and for most, access to the coverage and services they need comes through their employer – no matter their size. Small and medium businesses deserve the same access to health services as enterprise employers – because your employees work hard too.

How does League work with small businesses? And why is it a good option?

League is a partner for employers to maximize their health investment. Every small business is different and deserves a unique health benefits offering for its employees. Similarly, employee health needs evolve over time. Most often brokers only show up during the renewal period, but small businesses are looking for support with their health and benefits packages year-round.

League provides employees with flexibility to meet evolving needs and provides employers with more financial control. Health benefits are a big investment for small businesses and they need to be sure that this investment reaches their employees.

When you’re strapped for cash starting your business, should health benefits be a top priority or what would you recommend?

It’s true that employees are a company’s most valuable asset. Employees today are expecting their employer to better support them in their health needs and will actively seek out those employers that understand this. Today, health benefits are a company’s competitive currency to attract and retain top talent. The key is to find a model that doesn’t put caps and restrictions on what employees can use – which is wasted money for any employer. Consider Health and Lifestyle spending accounts that allow each employee to spend their health dollars on the services they need the most.

What’s your advice when it comes to employee benefits for entrepreneurs/small businesses?

What you’re looking for is not the same as the company next door. We’re happy to help create a benefits plan that fits your team – personalized, flexible and digital. You should expect nothing less from your benefits provider.

Those companies that are looking for these kinds of benefits are ones that value the talent they’ve hired and are looking for new ways to keep them engaged. With such a fierce competition for talent, leveraging health benefits as an employee retention and satisfaction tool, on top of viewing benefits as a necessity, companies will be able to derive more value for their spend.

For more information about League, click here.

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