A fresh reminder about the role of voluntary benefits to fill coverage gaps within the larger context of job security and serve as a cost-containment tool for employers comes courtesy of a veteran broker seeking to spread this awareness among prospective clients.

In a recent news release, Jim Mooradian poses the question about how well-equipped working Americans are to pay their mortgage or other bills in the unfortunate event that they lose their job or become disabled. He cites disability coverage as increasingly more important to people’s financial security.

Mooradian also suggests that many employers and employees alike have never even heard of voluntary benefits. Still, he’s sanguine about the industry outlook.

“The increased interest in the voluntary benefit marketplace is real in this economy, and we look for a very active rest of the year with that trend continuing in 2010,” the founder of Jim Mooradian and Associates, Inc. in Boston predicted in a follow-up discussion.

While admitting it’s difficult to quantify demand for these products and services, he believes employers are looking at alternative scenarios as core benefits are adjusted in the face of cost pressures.

There’s no shortage of other anecdotal and statistical evidence to back up his claims. For instance, Eastbridge Consulting has recorded sales growth in the voluntary benefits market for the past five straight years.

Another such example involves John Roberts, president and CEO of Assurant Employee Benefits, who recently told Entrepreneur magazine that following a 30% sales spike in voluntary benefits during the fourth quarter of 2008 to the mostly small and midsize customers his firm targets, these products now represent one-third of new premiums compared with 25% the previous year. He predicted that those sales could reach the 50% mark before long.