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Also in this issue:

• Cover
• A misleading report card
  by Gil Lowerre
• Worksite executives speak out on their top concerns and the future of the market
  by Bonnie Brazzell
• What’s in a name?
• Groupification continues
• Sales are accelerating... again
• Don’t miss our new employee study
• Groupification and core benefit carriers
• The next wave is on its way
• Enrollment satisfaction doesn’t satisfy
• The boomers are staying at work

Past Issues

• 2007
• 2006

Spring 2007 / No. 71

Don’t miss our new employee study

Carriers who want to succeed in the worksite market must consider the needs, wants, and expectations of brokers, employers, and employees when developing their marketing plans and strategies. The MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint Revisited study focuses specifically on one of these customer groups, the employee. This new study provides important information that every carrier can use to understand and improve their employee value proposition.

Some of the key findings of the study include:

• Employees have access to a relatively broad variety of products through their employers.
• Most products are paid for through a combination of employer and employee funds.
• Most employees don’t have a good sense of what they are actually paying for their medical and other benefits.
• Employees value having a choice of benefits although this seems to be somewhat less “critical” today than in the past, and somewhat fewer employees are willing to pay more for benefits to get more choice.
• Ownership of voluntary products has increased substantially since 2002.
• Life, disability, and dental insurance are the most commonly owned voluntary products.
• Over two-thirds of those who own a voluntary product own more than one.
• Satisfaction with the enrollment process has increased significantly since 2002.
• Among those who don’t own a voluntary product but have had an opportunity to buy, cost was the most important reason for not owning a voluntary product.
• Employees are most interested in buying voluntary products that help with the cost of health care expenses.

The survey was based on telephone interviews with over 400 employees from various sizes of employers and addressed such questions as:

• How have employees been impacted by the rising cost of health insurance?
• Has the cost of health insurance (and in particular their own contribution toward health insurance) impacted their voluntary product purchases?
• How do employees decide which benefits/insurance to buy? What are their priorities?
• What changes have occurred in employee attitudes over the past several years (since our 2002 MarketVision™ study and 2004 Rising Costs of Employee Benefits—The Employee Perspective were completed)?

The report will be available for purchase in early May. Reserve your copy now by calling us at (860) 676-9633 or emailing info@eastbridge.com.