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Medical companies are the latest entrants into the voluntary market according to a recent Eastbridge study.

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (October 30, 2007)

There’s no doubt that medical carriers are becoming formidable competitors in the voluntary market. Today, almost every medical company is offering or looking at offering voluntary products—that according to results from a recent Eastbridge Frontline Report. Some offer only selected products, like dental or vision, while others offer a broad array of voluntary products.

“These results come as no surprise given that the benefits broker is the fastest growing segment of producers in this marketplace,” says Gil Lowerre, president of Eastbridge Consulting Group. “Medical companies are realizing how important these products are today and, more importantly, how important they will be in the future.”

The report, Medical Companies and Voluntary Products, surveyed 40 plus medical carriers and found that over 30 already offer some voluntary products. Another five either have access to these products through a subsidiary or are in merger talks with companies that offer voluntary. “For most of these carriers, voluntary accounts for a very small percentage of overall sales, including medical sales (usually five percent or less),” comments Bonnie Brazzell, Eastbridge vice president. “But as a percentage of ancillary product sales, voluntary sales can account for between 25-70 percent of sales.” Much of this depends on the length of time the carrier has been selling in the voluntary market.

Those carriers that do not yet offer voluntary site lack of management support and administrative requirements as the primary reasons. These same carriers, however, all indicated that they are likely to enter the voluntary market in the near future.

Eastbridge Frontline Reports provide timely data on hot or new topics. Because the facts are often still emerging or are in transition, Frontline Reports are brief summaries of the facts as they were when the data was collected. The reports are only available to Information Partners, Insight Customers, and participants. Companies interested in becoming an Insight or Information Partner Company can call Eastbridge at (860) 676-9633 or email info@eastbridge.com.

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving insurance and financial services organizations in the United States and Canada.