Benefit Brokers are increasing their voluntary sales productivity, according to a new Eastbridge report.

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (July 12, 2016)

The voluntary industry has seen slow but steady growth of brokers selling voluntary over the years based on results from a joint survey by Eastbridge Consulting Group and Benefits Selling, now BenefitsPro. Both parties have teamed up for the past several years to explore broker views on the voluntary market and how their sales are progressing in that market. In the recently released 2016 report, Brokers and Voluntary Benefits—Sales and Competition Are Up Spotlight™ Report, more brokers participants reported selling voluntary products—and selling more of it. Some of the key findings in this year’s report include:

• Over one-third (38 percent) of all brokers said they “actively sell” voluntary, up from 21 percent just two years ago.
• Benefits Brokers, in particular, are selling more voluntary than in the past. The percentage selling $100,000 or more of voluntary in 2015 was 34 percent, up from just 23 percent in 2014.
• About 30 percent of all respondents are feeling high or somewhat high levels of competition for voluntary sales, with some broker segments feeling this even more than others.
• Some broker types are feeling more competition from “electronic brokers” rather than traditional brokers.
• Brokers continue to add more non-traditional voluntary products (ID theft, pet insurance, legal plans, discount cards) to their portfolio.
• Brokers still expect private exchanges to grow in importance even though most only using these less than five percent of the time today.

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