While wellness programs may have become the norm in most companies, those businesses that offer incentives to their employees may see greater savings when it comes to group health insurance, according to the Incentive Research Foundation.

In a recent survey, the IRF found that employees who were promised incentives if they participated in workplace wellness programs were much more likely to join in. Those companies that do not offer incentives for health habits saw less than 20 percent of their staff take part in wellness programs, while those that do offer incentives found that four in five staff members participated, according to the source.

Because those who live healthy life styles will likely spend less when it comes to health insurance, ramping up wellness program incentives may be well worth the investment for many companies, the source explains.

"The U.S. is spending about $2.5 trillion per year on health care," Robert Stotz of IRF explained. "As much as 75 percent of that is spent on preventable conditions, so the potential savings through preventative health care measures that include workplace wellness programs could be as high as $1.9 trillion per year."