Even in a flat economy, U.S. insurance companies still provide employees with paid time off, despite industry-wide shrinking pay increase budgets and pay freezes, according to the 2010 Compensation Data Insurance survey conducted by Compdata Surveys, a compensation and benefits survey data provider.

Results show that exempt employees with less than 1 year of service earn an average of 5.7 vacation days, while non-exempt employees earn 5.1 days.

More than 75 percent of the insurance organizations offering paid vacation to employees use years of service to determine the number of days an employee can accrue. Exempt employees with 5 years of service average 14.3 days of vacation, compared with employees with 10 years of service (17.5 days), and employees with 20 years of service (21 days). Both exempt and non-exempt employees are granted an average of 3 personal days and 7 sick days per year.

While insurers generally allow carryover of vacation days from one year to the next, 90 percent limit the number of days that can be carried over. The study shows exempt employees can carry over up to 16.4 days of vacation, while non-exempt employees are allowed to carry over up to 15.6 days.

“In retaining top employees, many organizations are finding enhancements to time off programs may be a viable alternative to granting pay increases,” said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys. “Until effects of the economic recovery can be felt, it will remain important for companies to be creative and make the most of their compensation budgets.”

Special Reports /

Insurers Still Offering Paid Time Off as Employee Incentive

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