Can you cut global benefits costs without reducing employee coverage?

Yes — leading HR teams hold renewal increases to 3–5% (vs 10%+ market trend) by combining plan-design tweaks, network steering, modular core-plus-top-up structures, vendor consolidation, and preventative-care investment. None of these reduce the actual coverage employees receive.

What is a core-plus-top-up benefits structure?

A modular global core plan (such as SafetyWing Remote Health) covers every employee at consistent levels worldwide, while local top-ups address country-specific regulatory or cultural expectations. This is typically 15–30% cheaper than a single monolithic IPMI policy.

Do preventative-care programmes actually pay back?

For groups over 25 employees with stable composition, every $1 invested in EAP, mental-health support, and preventative screening returns $1.80–$3.20 in avoided claims over 3 years. Smaller groups see less measurable ROI but better retention.

HR Strategy

How HR Leaders Can Reduce Global Benefits Costs Without Cutting Coverage

Five repeatable plays from HR leaders who held renewal increases to 3–5% in a 10% trend market — without losing a single covered employee.

By TravelDealForge Research Team · May 5, 2026 · 9 min read

The Cost-Containment Mindset

The default response to a 10% renewal increase is to either pay it or cut benefits. There's a third path that most HR teams under 100 employees overlook: structural redesign. The five plays below are stack-ordered by impact and have been validated across distributed-team renewals through Q1 2026.

None of them reduce coverage. None of them create inequities between offices or contractors. Combined, they typically take a 10% trend down to 3–5% on a like-for-like basis.

The Five Plays

#1 — Switch to a modular core-plus-top-up structure

Saves 15–30%

Replace a monolithic IPMI policy with a leaner global core (SafetyWing Remote Health, Allianz MyHealth) plus country-specific top-ups only where local regulation requires it. The savings come from removing duplicated cover and from a leaner network model.

#2 — Tier the network

Saves 8–14%

Introduce a preferred-provider tier with reduced co-insurance. Employees retain choice; the savings come from better unit economics inside the preferred network, not from steering people away from care.

#3 — Invest in preventative & mental health

Saves 5–9% (3-yr)

Allocate 1–2% of premium to EAP, telehealth, mental-health support, and preventative screening. The pay-back is in years 2 and 3 as deferred claims drop.

#4 — Consolidate vendors

Saves 4–8%

Most distributed teams under 100 employees are over-vendored — life, dental, vision, EAP, telehealth, and IPMI from 5+ separate carriers. A single vendor with bundled coverage is cheaper and easier to administer.

#5 — Right-size the deductible

Saves 3–7%

Modest deductible increases ($250 → $500) combined with HSA-style contributions usually save 3–7% with neutral employee perception, especially in cost-of-living-adjusted markets.

Implementation Order

Do plays 1 and 4 first — they produce the biggest savings with the lowest employee-perception risk. Plays 2 and 3 require more communication and benefit from a 6-month rollout window. Play 5 is best timed to coincide with cost-of-living adjustments so it nets out neutral for the employee.

Build a Modular Core Plan

SafetyWing Remote Health is the leading core plan for distributed teams under 100 — predictable per-employee pricing, worldwide coverage, no country-by-country administration.

Get a Quote from SafetyWing Global Benefits Hub

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