Voluntary Benefits / Worksite Marketing

Comment

Comment by Patricia Grace on August 6, 2010 at 11:07am

Please enjoy reading the August eNewsletter from Aging with Grace, the leader in eldercare employee assistance. http://bit.ly/czPDyM

Comment by Zeb M. Miller on August 2, 2010 at 7:09pm

Marketers of Voluntary Products - Worksite Marketing

Fellow Members - I'm looking for feedback and input from those of you involved in the marketing of voluntary products in the worksite market. I'd like to know what works for you in this market, what you would like to see more of from a carrier and if you could create your dream product what would it look like. I'm all eyes and ears and ready to listen to anything you have to say. Thanks for your time and your input.

Comment by Walt Podgurski on June 8, 2010 at 1:49pm

Career Enrollers – How To Increase Your Business!

Dear Career Enroller,

Many of the industry people I talk to see a declining role for face-to-face enrollment; hence, less of a demand for your specialty.

So the days of showing up and talking to the employees in a pre-arranged setting in exchange for a fair daily rate are still there, but they most likely will be reducing in numbers in the years ahead, and perhaps have done so already.

What do you do?

You adapt, you embrace change, you learn new skills, and you learn to market yourself in new ways.

At Workplace Benefits Mania 2010, there will be a special workshop just for career enrollers where you will be provided a personal business plan for developing new broker relationships in your geographic area.

Think about this one market development.

Benefit brokers are about to take a huge haircut on their commissions in a few months. One of the best revenue, and account acquisition and retainment strategies will be voluntary or employee funded benefits. Do you think benefit brokers, who now have to change their own business models, relish the idea of personally going in and talking to all the employees one-on-one?

Enrollment solutions are implemented on an account-by-account basis and some, but not all, are going to choose the Internet or other passive systems.

Your skill at employee communication and enrollment can still be a valuable asset, if you combine it with some additional knowledge and new relationship development.

Long-term enrollment trends are not your friend. The market share for personal enrollment services itself may be decreasing, but here is the good news: A smaller share, but of a larger market for voluntary benefits, means more opportunity than ever.

But it isn’t going to look the same as it does now.

Here is my personal guarantee. Come to the Las Vegas meeting and after participating in the entire event, this special workshop and the Enrollment Expo, if you don’t think you will make an additional $97.00 in the next year as a result, come up to me and let me know. I will make sure your $97.00 registration fee is refunded, no questions asked.

Here is the link to the meeting information and registration. http://www.workplacebenefits.org/wbm2010.htm

Sincerely,

Walt Podgurski, CLU

Comment by Walt Podgurski on May 31, 2010 at 10:24am

Mobile Apps For Benefit Brokers

Join us for a Complimentary Webinar on Monday, June 21, 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/577815528

Space is limited to 1,000 attendees.

The Workplace Benefits Association is working on a series of “mobile apps” for benefit brokers that will be introduced at Workplace Benefits Mania Tues., July 27 and Wed., July 28, Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, NV.

The June 21st complimentary webinar will preview and demonstrate how a mobile phone can be converted to a powerful sales tool in the marketing of employee benefits.

What’s At Stake?

The retention of your clients, your agency valuation, and even your very livelihood is at risk. If……you rely too heavily on core medical insurance plans as your primary engagement with clients.

The problem is the potential impact of healthcare reform on your client’s existing employee benefit strategy… and your revenues.

Things aren’t changing, they have already changed.

Are there solutions?

What are the leading agencies and brokers redesigning to preserve their client relationships and agency revenue streams?

You will learn how you can have access to tools that will not only sustain business, but actually improve your positioning and profits.

These are recommendations and procedures to “WOW” and “RETAIN” your clients… keep out competition… and gain new clients?

Introducing…the “Reinvent Benefits Briefcase Complement.”

1. An Employer PowerPoint Sales Presentation.
2. A Matching Employer Pre-Approach Letter.
3. A Matching Employer Telephone Approach Script.
4. A Matching Employer Sales Script.
5. An Integrated Employee Benefits Profile Checklist.
6. An Enrollment Expert Selection Guide.
7. Special Mobile Apps for Benefit Brokers.

Every one of these 7 tools have been updated and improved to “LEVERAGE” the changes that are part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Use of these tools are included in the July Workplace Benefits Mania meeting registration fee and can be used August – December at no additional charge.

Join us for a Complimentary Webinar on Monday, June 21, 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/577815528

Comment by Walt Podgurski on May 27, 2010 at 8:04am

New Complimentary eBook Brings the Employer Perspective to Marketing Voluntary Workplace Benefits

Note: If you are a student of the business, you will appreciate the complimentary offer from Donna Rhodes Joseph and Peter Tobiason below. As we approach this Memorial Day holiday, you may have a few extra hours to download and read this 56-page eBook.
Walt Podgurski
Workplace Benefits Association
www.workplacebenefits.org

Free eBook Now Available to Every Voluntary Workplace Benefits Advisor, Broker and Provider

Greenwich, CT – As the economy shows signs of recovery, employers are looking to Voluntary Workplace benefits to attract and keep the best talent while controlling benefits costs. A new complimentary eBook shows advisors, brokers and providers how to successfully market Voluntary Workplace benefits to all size companies by revealing how employers decide to offer these benefits to their employees.

The authors, Donna Rhodes Joseph and Peter Tobiason, are Employee Benefits advisors who are uniquely positioned to understand and explain the employer perspective. For over three decades, they were employee benefits leaders at one of the world’s most complex companies.

Their eBook, “Making Voluntary WORKPLACE BENEFITS A Valued Feature of Every Employer’s Benefits Program” (Rhodes-Joseph & Tobiason Advisors, LLC – www.rjtadvisors.com), answers the question: What’s the best approach to enrolling more employees in Voluntary Workplace benefits plans?
Voluntary Workplace benefits round out a company’s employee benefits program − employees get to choose what best fits their needs. The principles examined in this book work for small businesses and the largest companies because the life needs of their employees are the same.

“If you only have one take-away from this book, it should be to become the employer’s trusted partner when providing Voluntary Workplace benefits,” said author Donna Rhodes Joseph. “Communicate regularly with your clients, working with them to help strategically manage their benefits program.”
The authors want every advisor, broker and provider who markets Voluntary Workplace benefits to get started today using the 5 key steps outlined in their book. So, as a special limited time offer, this valuable eBook is available for immediate download at no charge at http://www.rjtadvisors.com/voluntary_benefits.

About Rhodes-Joseph & Tobiason Advisors, LLC

Rhodes-Joseph & Tobiason Advisors, LLC is an employee benefits advisory firm helping medium to larger employers, benefits plan brokers, vendors and other service providers, private equity, financial advisors and employee benefits professionals. The company delivers value to its clients through creative and innovative approaches to employee benefits, providing in-house, large employer perspective to facilitate the dialogue between companies and their service providers. They offer advisory services, M&A transactional support, staff training and coaching for benefits professionals’ career growth. Headquartered in Greenwich, CT, the company provides services throughout the U.S. and globally and is a woman owned and managed business. www.rjtadvisors.com

Comment by Walt Podgurski on May 16, 2010 at 4:57pm

WHITE PAPER - Business Benefits of Industry-Specific Mobile Applications
Sponsored by: Research In Motion Limited

This sentence pulled from the 1st paragraph explains exactly why the Workplace Benefits Association is so interested in developing Mobile Apps for Benefit Brokers.

The growth of mobility-enabled applications is driven essentially by the same factors that are driving IT and business process change, namely the need to be more responsive, optimize the efficiency of staff resources, and shorten the cycle time of key processes throughout their value chain.

You can download the entire 9-Page PDF report at:http://www.blackberry.com/solutions/pdfs/Business_Benefits_OISMA.pdf

Comment by Walt Podgurski on May 11, 2010 at 10:47am

Voluntary Benefits Specialist

American General's Benefit Solutions team is looking to fill four Voluntary Benefits Specialist positions:

Atlanta
Los Angeles
Chicago
Northeast (NY, NJ, Boston or Philadelphia)

Position Description:

This field-based role has the responsibility to position, promote and deliver the company's voluntary benefit strategy to external producer segments. Reporting to sales management, Voluntary Benefit Specialists will support internal sales teams to help achieve each region's production goals. Voluntary Benefit Specialists will collaborate with marketing, product development, underwriting and various service centers to assist in the ongoing development of our voluntary benefit strategy, processes and capabilities. 

Additional duties include the following:
Increase awareness, productivity and sales among existing distribution sources for voluntary (employee-paid) products
 Promote our capabilities and value proposition
Identify and attract new production sources
Maintain awareness of competitive issues, trends and opportunities within the market

Position Requirements:

College Degree or business equivalent
Minimum of two years experience in the insurance industry working specifically within the voluntary and/or worksite market
Strong working knowledge of voluntary products, processes and enrollment methodologies
Excellent verbal and written communications skills
Ability to build relationships and motivate others
Ability to work in a fast paced environment
Willingness to travel

About Us:

Benefit Solutions , www.americangeneral.com/benefitsolutions, is a division of American General Life Companies and the marketing brand under which group employee and affinity member benefit insurance products (including life, accidental death & dismemberment, disability, dental vision, cancer insurance and critical illness products) are offered to our customers.

Benefit Solutions helps individuals and families manage the present and protect their future as a one-stop provider of affordable and innovative employee benefits. By working with a diverse range of business partners, we market a comprehensive suite of ancillary insurance product solutions and services all conveniently accessible through an employer and/or affinity group. We are proud to provide innovative and competitive benefit solutions that are smart, affordable and easy to understand.

Please apply online at: http://aignet.aig.com/hr/careers and search for Requisition IDs, AGBSDC-VBSNortheast, AGBSDC-VBSDallas, AGBSDC-VBSAtlanta, AGBSDC-VBSWest (for LA) or e-mail your resume and cover letter to; resumes@aglife.com.

Comment by Walt Podgurski on May 8, 2010 at 7:55am

Monday is the Q&A follow-up session with Rob Shestack, our first Workplace Benefits Association "Worksite Rockstar."

This webinar is open to both members and non-members and if you have listened to his interview that we did in February, you realize that Rob is succeeding in the marketplace for good reason.

He is on top of his game and you will be sure to benefit by participating in this call - there aren't many chances to have a conversation with a thought leader such as Rob.

Here is the link to register. Date: Monday, May 10, 2010, Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT, Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/397183481

Comment by Susan Watts on May 2, 2010 at 2:12pm

Have you been turning down enrollment cases due to lack of bilingual enrollers?

Now there is a database available to you for a nominal fee.

Benefit Consultants Link has over 110 bilingual enrollers with their current email, home city and state, phone number and languages they speak.

There are over 90 that speak Spanish. Also have Arabic, Chinese, Cantonese, French Creole, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, and Italian.

Included in the fee will be any future bilingual enrollers that sign up.

This will be offered electronically for $39.99. Can be paid by mail or PayPal.

If this is what you need please contact me for further information.

Susan Watts
1196 Yacht Club Blvd.
Indian Harbor Beach, FL 32937

Comment by Walt Podgurski on April 30, 2010 at 12:18pm

Reinventing The Distribution Of Employee Benefits

Healthcare Reform is going to have an unsettling impact on employee benefit brokers. A provision regarding The Affordable Care Act will require insurers to pay a minimum of 85% on patient benefits (care or quality improvements) depending on certain group demographics.

What is considered a patient benefit as opposed to administration costs, marketing expenses, etc. are still being evaluated, (some insurance companies have already begun the process of reclassifying what is or is not a patient benefit) but it seems certain to most industry analysts that the agent or broker is going to take a haircut on their commissions in at least two ways.

• First, the insurance company is going to have to squeeze costs somewhere to comply with the percentage of premiums used for benefits mandate and agent commissions look very vulnerable.

• Second, as people and organizations move to the exchanges that are being set up, there may not be any commission paid to agents and brokers at all on those blocks of policies.

Why the value that an agent brings to the transaction is not being recognized is puzzling and perplexing to the professionals that have been serving their clients in an extemporary fashion; but it is what it is and many recognize the need to face the reality that the time for them to reassess their business model has arrived.

Several strategies are being reviewed by brokerage firms to offset the potential loss of revenue that is going to occur.

1. First will be an increase in a trend to move more to a fee based approach, charging for consultation on the design and implementation of a comprehensive employee benefit strategy and programs.

2. Second will be a repositioning from “healthcare broker” to “benefits broker.”

3. Third will be to expand the types of programs offered to clients. In particular, voluntary benefits that are employee funded are expected to become even more popular with employers, employees, and agents. Life insurance, disability insurance, critical illness Insurance, long-term care insurance, legal plans, and even pet insurance are already popular. They will increasingly become part of a menu of benefits that employees can choose to pay via the employer through payroll deduction.

Another trend that may accelerate is the use of technology and social media” Walt Podgurski, CEO of the Workplace Benefits Association.

“One example would be the use of mobile apps developed specifically to help employee benefit brokers in their marketing and communication activities.”

“Another example of how technology is being employed for change is to use the surge of interest in social media to research exactly what brokers need and want in the area of mobile apps and other tools that will be of assistance in an evolving marketplace through the use of a reinvent benefits theme” Mr. Podgurski continued.

“For example, a reinvent benefits group has been set up on LinkedIn, tweets have been published on Twitter, posts have been placed in insurance focused social media sites such as insurance campus; all in an effort to capitalize on the useful ways technology can gather data and help reshape an industry in months compared to the years and even decades they might have previously taken.

H. G. Wells, English author, historian, & utopian (1866 - 1946) said it years ago: “Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative. “

The Workplace Benefits Association is an organization of over 6,000 corporate and individual members engaged in the marketing of benefits that involve the relationship between an employer & their employees, a business & their customers, and an organization & their members. www.workplacebenefits.org or www.reinventbenefits.com

InsuranceBroadcasting.Com is a next generation media organization facilitating the exchange of information between insurance industry professionals utilizing the improvements available from emerging technology to deliver meaningful information. www.insurancebroadcasting.com
Walt Podgurski
CEO
888-282-1765
walt@insurancebroadcasting.com

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