The Benefit Broker segment continues to grow and increase its share of voluntary sales, according to Eastbridge

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (June 8, 2010)

According to the 2009 version of Eastbridge Consulting Group’s annual U.S. Worksite Sales Report, the Benefit Broker segment again claimed the largest percentage (52 percent) of voluntary/worksite sales in 2009 of any other producer segment. Total sales for the year were $5.397 billion, and Benefit Brokers accounted for over $2.8 billion of that total.

Benefit Brokers increased their share of voluntary sales from 46 percent in 2008 to 52 percent in 2009. “The trend just keeps moving toward the Benefits Broker being a larger and larger portion of this business,” says Gil Lowerre, president of Eastbridge.

The following chart shows the share of sales for each distributor segment and the segment’s increase over 2008 results.

In terms of total sales, only one of the five segments did not show growth in 2009—the Career Agent segment. “Even companies that historically sold voluntary through their own dedicated career producers are selling more through brokers, especially Benefit Brokers,” adds Lowerre.

The U.S. Worksite Sales Report estimates sales for the entire voluntary industry, with detailed data on the performance of 60 worksite marketing carriers, both group (voluntary) and individual (worksite) carriers/products. This is the largest number of carriers included in any industry sales report.

Parties interested in participating in next year’s study are advised to email Eastbridge at info@eastbridge.com. All participants receive a free copy of the complete findings, including company-specific results.

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