Texas and California have the highest voluntary sales for the seventh year in a row, according to an Eastbridge report on state-by-state results

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (July 8, 2021)

Florida, New York, and Illinois rounded out the top five states for voluntary sales, according to Eastbridge Consulting Group’s ninth annual U.S. State ESI and EPI Data report.  Compared to the 2019 results, all of the top five states are the same and maintained the same positions.

However, the states that are the leaders in total voluntary sales volumes only tell part of the story. Evaluating the relative sales penetration (voluntary sales per employed population) is a better indicator of the future sales opportunity in each state. To this end, Eastbridge developed the Eastbridge Sales Index (ESI) which is calculated based on a rolling three-year average of voluntary sales reported by carriers, divided by the employed population for each state. For this year’s survey, the rolling average included 2020, 2019 and 2018 voluntary sales results. 

“Of the top five states in voluntary sales, New York and California have more untapped potential for additional voluntary sales compared to Texas and Florida. This is indicated by their relatively low ESI numbers meaning that there are still many employees not yet covered,” adds Eastbridge President, Nick Rockwell. 

New York has an ESI of 47 and California, 44,  well below the national average of 58. Eight of the top 15 states for total voluntary sales with below average ESI numbers present similar potential. On the other hand, North Carolina and Texas have relatively high ESI numbers of 80 and 72 respectively and therefore represent less opportunity to cover additional employees relative to other states.  

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving companies focused on the voluntary/worksite benefits market in the United States and Canada.