|
"Voluntary is fundamentally a retail business." |
|
What type of enrollment method gets the best results? |
|
The voluntary business is an important economic bellwether. |
|
Take a look at 2010 sales results by distributor segment. |
|
Take a look at how the economy affected product line sales. |
|
For the first time since tracking began, voluntary/worksite sales suffered a decrease. |
|
Voluntary work site benefits sales slid last year due to layoffs and economic worries. |
|
How do we improve our 5% conversion rate? |
|
In the voluntary market, conservation takes many forms. |
|
The majority of benefit managers say they use a broker for their benefits package. |
|
Take a look at the list of criteria employers use to evaulate carriers. |
|
The recession is over and the economy is on the mend. The equities markets are improving and lending is starting to show signs of life, but workers are still hurting. |
|
Do you offer many choices in your voluntary portfolio? |
|
Brokers who believe voluntary is unnecessary have missed the boat. |
|
Enrollment plays a central role in the sales process. |
|
Employers are motivated by whether their employees are interested in voluntary options. |
|
The world is changing. Fast. Brokers need to respond and for almost all, voluntary will be part of that response. |
|
Our last two columns discussed the results of our Annual Worksite Sales Report. This month, we wrap up our review of the 2009 sales results with a look at distribution. |
|
Voluntary life sales accounted for 24 percent of all voluntary
sales in 2009, according to the U.S. Worksite Sales report. |
|
Voluntary worksite sales increased 3.3% in 2009. |
|
Eastbridge's annual U.S. Worksite Sales Report for 2009
was recently released, and despite the recession, the results
look quite favorable for the voluntary market. |
|
Voluntary benefits have grown consistently over the last
10 to 12 years (since we've been tracking them), and 2009
was no exception. |
|
It's no surprise that voluntary coverages are spreading
throughout the landscape. |
|
It's not news that the level of stress in human resources
departments have been rising for years, especially during
open enrollment time. |
|
More Employers Expected to Offer Option |
|
For years we've asked brokers in our research surveys what
platform they prefer for their voluntary products. |
|
A recent Eastbridge study revealed some interesting tendencies
among employee benefits brokers. |
|
Brokers can help employers provide the best options for
employee-paid benefits. But what does "best of breed"
mean for voluntary products? |
|
Many businesses succeed or fail based on their ability
to master a "Goldilocks" ingredient. |
|
Take a look at the selling behavior of the four phases
of broker maturity. |
|
Last month we talked about sales growth in the voluntary
market in 2008. This month we're going to look at the product
trends. |
|
New voluntary sales (United States) totaled an estimated
$5.225 billion in 2008, an increase of just under four percent
over 2007 results. |
|
The increase in voluntary sales at U.S. work sites shows
the line is recession-proof.
Copyrighted A.M. Best Company, Inc. 2009
All Rights Reserved, Reprinted with Permission |
|
Brokers writing voluntary cases with traditional group
carriers are far more likely to be taking over an existing
case than are their individual counterparts. |
|
During a recent industry meeting, we were repeatedly asked
by attendees if we thought the new COBRA subsidies are going
to negatively impact voluntary. |
|
The plan administrator can control the success or failure
of your voluntary efforts. |
|
Brokers have to rethink their approach to account-level
advice. |
|
Brokers selling voluntary can be divided into two camps. |
|
HR officers are changing their attitudes toward their benefits
programs, signaling a shift in benefits management. The
tipping point is at hand. |
|
Voluntary/work-site insurance carriers recorded another
year of healthy growth in 2007. |
|
Eastbridge president, Gil Lowerre, is named to the Benefits
Selling 10 most influential players in the benefits
industry. |
|
There are signs that carrier attention is expanding, focusing
more on support for brokers, employers and employees, and
hopefully ending the belief of many brokers that they were
being forced to choose between two evils. |
|
In the employer-paid benfits arena, success is defined
at the account-level sale . After that sale, the typical
sales rep often hands off the case to an account manager
or an enrollment coordinator to handle the implementation. |
|
As voluntary sales soar, we will see more products, options
and designs, with more manufacturers, vendors and administrators
squeezing into the marketplace, adding more choice and flexibility
to benefit packages. |
|
The voluntary market is growing rapidly and becoming the
heart of the benefits business. Unfortunately, not all brokers
take full advantage of the ongoing transition and, surprisingly,
it’s the larger and smaller brokers who lag furthest
behind the curve. |
|
Brokers miss the chance to move into voluntary benefits
because they view them as an afterthought instead of an
opportunity. |
|
Learn how seven of the top ten sellers experienced double-digit
sales growth in 2006. |
|
Look at how the Eastbridge predictions made in 2002 about
the voluntary benefits market are panning out. |
|
Competition has been intense in the worksite market for a
number of years and it shows no signs of letting up. |
|
Brokers of supplemental life insurance understand the desire
of employers to maintain attractive benefits offerings while
keeping control of benefits costs and have expanded their
voluntary life offerings. |
|
Brokers selling voluntary benefits need to be sure their portfolio
is broad enough to satisfy the growing appetite employees
have for voluntary products. |
|
Worksite carriers recorded another year of growth in 2004
with new U.S. worksite sales totaling an estimated $4.22 billion. |
|
An expert predicts benefits industry changes by 2020 for brokers,
carriers and third-party administrators. |