COMMITMENT TO QUALITY    Agency's emphasis on quality management is reflected in its benefits offerings Once upon a time in the East, employers paid for employee benefits made of gold. No deductibles, little or no co-insurance, unmanaged prescription drug coverage and rich dental and vision care benefits. Those fairy tales days are over, says James D. Freyer Jr., chief executive officer of Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc., based in Syracuse, New York. The weakened national economy and changing business patterns in the Northeast have made employers more sensitive than ever to increasing costs and more ready than ever to re-examine their employee benefits plan designs. "Employee benefits costs increase every year," he explains, "and, as a result, employers are more careful about how they use their benefits dollars. They want their employee benefits plan to reach the broadest range of employees and to provide their business with a significant advantage over their competition in hiring the best talent." Haylor, Freyer & Coon was founded in 1928 as a four-person independent agency specializing in personal lines for local firefighters and their families. It has since grown to a national company with 200 employees in 10 offices in its home state and more than $28 million in annual revenue. Click here for the complete article …

VOLUNTARY'S ROLE IN ERA OF UNCERTAINTY, RISING COSTS    Voluntary benefits continue to offer opportunity for agents and brokers Interest in voluntary benefits is strong. Voluntary benefits that can help employees insure or reduce out-of-pocket health care-related expenses are enjoying consistent growth, says Marty Traynor, vice president of voluntary benefits at Mutual of Omaha. "We're seeing significant interest in critical illness, accident and supplemental medical indemnity products," he explains, "and in services that provide advice and guidance to health care consumers navigating a confusing system." Neal Lucchi, senior vice president, voluntary products, at HM Insurance Group, concurs. "Critical illness, in particular, has shown significant sales growth," he explains, noting that the number of carriers offering the product has grown, too. He says a March 2012 LIMRA survey reports that 85% of worksite carriers believe critical illness will experience the highest growth of any voluntary product this year. According to Robbie Nevers, RHU, director, worksite and voluntary marketing for Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company, higher employer health insurance costs are driving increased interest. "There is a tremendous amount of cost shifting going on in the marketplace," he explains. "Employers who traditionally contributed towards an employee's health care costs are now either reducing the amount they contribute or passing the whole cost to the employee." Click here for the complete article …

CHOICE & SIMPLICITY    Unum's voluntary strategy aimed at helping employees manage their total risks The success of a voluntary employee benefits program comes down to that moment when an employee pauses before a computer screen, or paper application form and decides whether to put an "X" in a product selection box. The employee asks, 1) Do I have a need? and, 2) Is this a good value? A recent study by the Consumer Federation of America and Unum answered the first question for disability insurance in statistical terms for the working population at large. The study revealed that 42% of consumers live paycheck to paycheck, and that more than 75% of consumers would face "severe financial difficulties" if they didn't work for three months because of illness or injury. Sobering disability statistics aside, it's human nature for employees who are considering a benefit purchase to "not want to think about" falling victim to a disabling injury or illness-or to believe they can avoid it. David Leopold, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Unum, addresses the affordability issue of all of Unum's voluntary products this way. "Some of the foundational elements of financial protection shouldn't cost someone more than $35 or $45 a month-not including medical insurance. For our products, an individual can have a meaningful foundation for life insurance, disability, accident and critical illness for half of what you might pay on your monthly cell phone bill." Click here for the complete article … RISKY BUSINESS: LACK OF LONG-TERM DISABILITY COVERAGE    A disability can destroy family finances, but a Sun Life survey shows that many employees decline LTD coverage If you knew that you were three times more likely to experience a long-term disability before age 65 than you were to die, you'd waste no time signing up for the long-term disability coverage offered at your workplace-or would you? According to a study released in May by Sun Life Financial, Inc., the answer is "Probably not." The survey was conducted for Sun Life by Kelton Research, which surveyed more than 2,000 full-time workers across the country to gauge their attitudes and choices with respect to the purchase of long-term disability insurance at the workplace. According to the report, 61% of the workers surveyed did not purchase long-term disability insurance that was offered to them at their workplace. Most of these workers who refused the coverage did not have long-term disability coverage elsewhere. What factors account for this apparent disinterest in buying a product that safeguards a family's income from the potentially devastating impact of a long-term disability? The title of the survey report aptly frames the issue: "Will workers in America hope to dodge the bullet, remain blind to the risks, or simply hide? Perceptions, misconceptions, and best practices about long-term disability." Click here for the complete article … CAPTIVES AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS    While concerns remain, employers need to be conversant with the options available Employers of all sizes have been feeling the pressure of rapidly escalating benefit costs, particularly in the employee health arena. Year after year, medical cost inflation exceeds the traditional inflation rate, sometimes by significant amounts. As a result, self-funding medical benefits is nothing new; it has become a favored option for just about every U.S. employer with 50 or more employees. It has proven to be an excellent, cost-effective method of reducing, to some extent, the double-digit medical cost inflation factors that have plagued this line of coverage for the past 30 years. In addition to cost reductions, self-funding requires a few actual plan changes to be implemented. These changes are, for the most part, transparent to employees. One of the few issues surrounding this approach has been the availability and affordability of stop-loss coverage. As a result, it was only natural that employers would be interested in gaining an element of control over this all-important coverage. For the past two to three years, this is a topic that has been on the to-do list of many human resources directors. On a related note, captive owners, primarily risk managers and CFOs, have also been looking for ways to make better use of their captives. Since early 2000, a few captive owners have been using their captives to reinsure some of their parent's employee benefit programs. To date, these have been typically limited to term life, AD&D, and long-term disability coverages. It should be noted that using a captive for these types of coverages, which are considered ERISA-related coverages, can be an onerous task, since it requires the approval of the Department of Labor (DOL). As a result, there are only about two dozen corporations that have taken the time and expense required to qualify under the DOL regulations. Click here for the complete article …  Click here to unsubscribe This message was sent by The Rough Notes Company, Inc., 11690 Technology Drive, Carmel, Indiana, 46032 1-800-428-4384