Taking Control Of Health Risks Pays Off    New health care law not viewed as a deterrent to growth Not this year-and maybe not for a few years. But eventually employee benefits revenue will surpass property/casualty insurance revenue at his firm, says Brian Long, president of Seubert & Associates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That doesn't mean that property, liability and workers compensation insurance sales and risk management consulting are in decline; rather, employee benefits and related services such as employee wellness and regulatory compliance are skyrocketing, he explains. And they are likely to continue growing as health reform laws go fully into effect in a couple of years. Employers are only starting to recognize the link between employee benefits management-something with which they all struggle-and other concerns, he says. "All employers are interested in better management of their employee benefits programs. But they are just starting to understand that there is a direct connection between employee health and workers compensation costs-among other employee expenses." The agency has about 85 employees, including 16 in employee benefits. It provides insurance and employee benefits management for about 2,000 clients ranging in size from 50 to 1,000 employees and generates about $150 million in premium volume. About 32% of revenues now come from employee benefits premium and services, but Long, also an agency principal, says that proportion is growing. Click here for the complete article …

OFFERING SOMETHING PERMANENT    American United Life taps into a need for a time-tested product No matter what changes may come to employee benefits menus in the years ahead, life insurance will remain a cornerstone benefits product. The mix of life coverages offered, and consequent sales opportunities, however, could be broadened. Term life has always been a dominant product in benefits plans, whether the employer or the employee is paying the premium. Term will continue to make sense for any work force because it can provide high limits of coverage at a low cost. Permanent life insurance (with cash values), which is far more expensive and complicated, has been thought to be better suited to sales outside the employer market. But is it really? According to LIMRA (Life Insurance Marketing Research Association), U.S. adults owning individual permanent life insurance has fallen from 59% in 1960 to 35% today. Most workers obviously are relying heavily on their employer as the source for their life coverage. Brian Lauber, chief marketing officer and vice president of employee benefits of American United Life Insurance Company, (AUL), a OneAmerica Company, says the lack of permanent life ownership shows that needs are not being met. "Life companies market to upper middle income and upper income people, which is a very small portion of the population," says Lauber. "For other people, no one is giving them any guidance on how much life insurance they should have or what type of product they should be buying. Yet, they say they know they need it." Click here for the complete article …

COMPETING FOR TALENT    What is the price of providing health insurance-versus what will it cost me to drop it? There has been a lot of talk of late about employers getting out of the business of offering benefits, or at least the medical insurance business. You've probably seen studies such as the McKinsey & Co. study that found that 30% of all employers will "definitely" or "probably" stop offering their workers health insurance when mandates take effect in 2014. Yet other studies, such as the one performed by Workforce Management and Business Insurance, have found that most employers won't drop their health insurance. Their survey found that 52.5% strongly disagreed that dropping coverage (and accepting a $2,000 fine per full-time worker) would be the right strategy, with another 15.3% somewhat disagreeing. Most employers are evaluating their decision based on two factors: 1. Will it be cheaper for me to continue to provide medical insurance or to drop it and pay the fines? 2. Do I have the resources and understanding to deal with the increased compliance issues that will result? Both questions are opportunities for you to help guide your clients and prospects to the answers that are right for them. However, be sure that you are able to give unbiased advice and not just drive them to the decision that works best for you. (If you are dependent on the commissions from medical insurance, it is unlikely that you can truly offer unbiased advice. If you don't have opportunities to generate revenue from offerings other than insurance and aren't moving to a fee-based compensation model, start moving in that direction now before your clients have to make their final decision.) Click here for the complete article …

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