ARMED WITH INFORMATION    Biennial survey equips this South Carolina agency with local employee benefits trends As group health plan premiums continue their steady rise, many agents and brokers struggle to expand their books of employee benefits business-not only to capture the revenue they generate, but also to provide health care cost containment tools to long-time property/casualty insurance clients. At Rosenfeld Einstein Insurance in Greenville, South Carolina, employee benefits has always been the cornerstone of the agency, its largest source of revenue, and its most important business niche. And cost management techniques, including self-funding, high-deductible health plans, and wellness programs are agency service mainstays. Over the years, the agency's benefits expertise has also driven growth in property/casualty insurance revenue. Founded in 1933 as a life and health insurance agency, the agency first accommodated its commercial clients' need for property/casualty insurance by farming the coverage out to other brokers, says principal Howard Einstein, grandson of founder William Rosenfeld. "But quality wasn't easy to maintain when the business was out of our control. So the agency soon decided to acquire its own property/casualty expertise and become a full-service broker." Click here for the complete article …

WELLNESS PROGRAMS AND THE BOTTOM LINE    Studies reveal a definite relationship Most employee benefits agents and brokers know that the key to building a successful and sustaining wellness program is convincing your clients' top executives that wellness pays in real financial value. As thrifty chief executive officers and chief financial officers watch every penny, making the case for workplace wellness isn't always easy. Economics continue to be a barrier to building successful health programs and helping them reach their full potential in encouraging healthful lifestyles and improving productivity. However, the latest wellness and health management research reveals that senior executives are paying more attention than ever, and employers are learning more about how to make their programs successful. The latest Willis Health and Productivity Survey, conducted by the Willis North American Human Capital Practice, indicates that wellness programs are becoming more popular-and have greater support than ever from senior executives, even the leaders of relatively small employers. The global insurance broker surveyed nearly 2,000 executive participants late last year, with about 71% representing employers with 500 or fewer employees. More than half of the respondents (53%) said their companies had some sort of wellness programs. However, about 57% of those employers said their programs were "basic," focusing mostly on education and consumerism. Click here for the complete article …

FROM START-UP TO STALWART IN 15 YEARS    Privately owned AlwaysCare Benefits carves a niche in dental & vision Agents and brokers who value private ownership, entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to customer service do not usually look toward their insurance carriers as role models. Publicly owned insurance companies are the norm, both in property/casualty and employee benefits. On the benefits side, a few huge, monolithic, public-owned insurers dominate the market for the core product-employer-paid health insurance. Thankfully, there are corners of the benefits field, particularly on the voluntary side, that are more open to insurers of all sizes and philosophies. One privately owned company, Starmount Life Insurance Company and its sister company, AlwaysCare Benefits, present the kind of business model that could, indeed, prove inspirational to independence-minded agents and brokers. Since breaking into the employee benefits field in the mid-'90s, the family-owned company has built a base of more than a half-million benefits customers (members and dependents) for its group dental, vision, accident, life, disability and critical illness coverages. Starmount and AlwaysCare Benefits are licensed in 48 states and write benefits business through independent agents and brokers primarily in the Midwest, South and Southeast. The majority, but not all, of their business is written on a voluntary basis. Starmount has earned an issuer credit rating of bbb+ and a financial strength rating of B++ from A.M. Best Company, and has been on Inc. magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the nation for three of the past four years. AlwaysCare has a long-standing partnership with another insurance company which allows it to write all lines of employee benefits on A- rated (Excellent) paper as well. Last year Starmount and AlwaysCare moved to a newly constructed home office building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Click here for the complete article …

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