Driver health benefits drive change.
ClearConnect Solutions is thrilled to partner with Benefits for Trucking, a third generation family-owned agency dedicated to helping the trucking industry face its challenges head on and thrive. Scott Grandys (President and Co-founder of ClearConnect Solutions) is working hand-in-hand with Benefits for Trucking President and Founder, Zach Swartzendruber, to keep America’s freight moving! By supporting the transportation community with customized health insurance and benefits, we can foster a network of healthier drivers and provide access to preventative and treatment-specific healthcare that they need and deserve.
As we discussed in a previous blog article featuring our fitness and health ClearMarketplace partner, Supply Chain Fitness, “The transportation and insurance industries are challenged with finding new ways to combat old AND evolving problems; while often overlooked, driver health and wellness is a big one.” Working together with Supply Chain Fitness and made widely accessible on our ClearMarketplace, Benefits for Trucking is helping drivers stay healthier, longer with access to top quality medical care.
In today’s post, we argue that insuring the person behind the wheel and providing them with preventative care is as integral to the success of the transportation industry as insuring and maintaining the vehicle itself.
A Snapshot of Driver Health
Truck drivers today can face an uphill battle when it comes to longevity and quality of life. As Dr. Mark Manera of Supply Chain Fitness reminded us in The Evolution and Future of Driver Health and Fitness: An Interview with Health Expert, Dr. Mark Manera, long hours-of-service behind the wheel, a sedentary lifestyle while driving, and limited options for meal preparation can eventually take a toll on truck drivers. Combine these factors with the risk of injury on the job, and the reality of a career behind the wheel sets in. Mark rattled off some statistics that are alarming and little known across the industry.
“The life expectancy of drivers is sixteen years less than the average person.”
Dr. Manera continued, “Obese drivers file two times as many workers’ compensation claims and miss thirteen more days per year due to injury. Obstructive sleep apnea (with obesity being a contributing factor) doubles drivers’ crash risk, and higher BMI (body mass index) increases driver fatigue associated with crashes.“
Drivers are facing a health crisis. According to the CDC, seven out of every ten long haul truck drivers are obese, and the myriad of related illnesses that follow paint a bleak picture when it comes to obtaining their CDL to start a career on the road.
The data makes it clear: Truck drivers require access to top quality, affordable healthcare. And that’s where Benefits for Trucking steps in.
Benefits for Trucking – Healthcare Benefits for Truck Drivers
Benefits for Trucking is a healthcare benefits and insurance services agency developed for the transportation industry – providing customized solutions for fleet owners, owner-operators and drivers. The company was founded in 2021 by Zach Swartzendruber, a 3rd generation agency owner who resides in Minneapolis, MN. Benefits for Trucking is the offspring of a decades-long family passion for insuring and supporting the trucker lifestyle. Since 2021, they have experienced enough growth to support truck drivers across all regions of the United States.
Their mission is to curate benefits and enrollment plans that meet the needs of small to mid-size trucking companies, including family-run shops and multi-state regional carriers, offering enrollment to as few as two employees.
Healthcare Plan Features
Benefits for Trucking understands healthcare and curates customized health benefits options for company employees and independent contractors/ owner-operators, regardless of size.
Driver benefits features include:
- Affordable health insurance plans with zero deductible (Dental, Vision, Disability and Critical Illness)
- Life insurance benefits
- Flexible contributions from 0 – 100%
- Large nationwide health networks
- Nutrition and fitness programs by Supply Chain Fitness
Healthcare Benefits, Benefiting Everyone
Healthcare benefits can have an immediate and lasting impact on driver recruitment, retention, and the overall health of the industry. According to the American Transportation Research Institute’s Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry – 2022 Report presented to the American Trucking Association, driver retention is the seventh highest ranked issue this year facing the trucking industry – and it ranked second in 2021. Of the top strategies proposed to address driver retention, health insurance and retirement benefits was ranked second, demonstrating a widespread interest in comprehensive benefits as a potential solution to driver retention. Further, the America Transportation Research Institute’s 2022 Operational Costs of Trucking analysis concluded that:
“80 percent or more of participating motor carriers provided a suite of benefits to their drivers including health insurance (93%), paid vacation (87%), dental insurance (84%), and 401k (82%). In addition, the percentage of fleets providing health and dental insurance and 401k increased in this year’s analysis, corroborating that fleets believe this is an important component in retaining drivers.”
The research reflects the increasingly widespread understanding that a healthy truck driver benefits package may not only minimize workers’ comp claims, reduce missed-work days, and enhance driver morale, but will likely improve driver retention, thus enriching the company culture, increasing profitability, and ultimately sustaining the transportation industry.
ClearConnect Solutions President and Co-founder Scott Grandys remarks,
“We are very excited to partner with Benefits for Trucking! Driver health and crashes are extremely closely connected. By offering professional drivers a cost efficient healthcare option that betters their health, this not only increases their life expectancy (which is generally 16 years less than the average American), it also saves lives because healthy drivers are safer drivers.”
Show Drivers You Care
Make health care benefits a mainstay for the trucking industry. Start to shift the health crisis that today’s drivers face, and empower truck drivers to live healthier – and longer – lives. In doing so, you’ll not only transform driver culture for your company, but you’ll make a lasting impact on an industry that America depends on and that deserves our help.
Show drivers you care.
Learn more about customized healthcare benefits for your employees and independent contractor drivers at https://clearconnectsolutions-benefitsfortrucking.com/.
Sources:
Supply Chain Fitness and ClearConnect Solutions Announce Driver Health and Fitness Partnership, ClearConnect Solutions
The Evolution and Future of Driver Health and Fitness: An Interview with Health Expert, Dr. Mark Manera, ClearConnect Solutions
Long-Haul Truck Drivers: Obesity Can Take You Off The Road, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry – 2022, American Transportation Research Institute