Over the years, we have reported on the growth of voluntary and its increasing popularity amongemployers, employees and brokers. Today, almost all brokers offervoluntary products, but many still only sell voluntary defensively,offering these products when asked, or in order to shift clients'benefit costs, or when a competitor approaches an existingclient.

But this picture is changing. Based on our marketing practicessurveys, roughly 30 percent of traditional employee benefit brokers(EBBs) now offer voluntary offensively, positioning productsbased on employee needs, and using them as key tools in theirclients' benefit strategies.

Since the birth of the ACA, brokers have reported their intentto shift more of their focus to voluntary sales. In particular,traditional employee benefit brokers planned to use voluntary salesas a key strategy in replacing lost medical revenue.

Yet for years, most voluntary sales growth from the EBBpopulation resulted from new brokers adding voluntary to theirportfolio, rather than productivity increases from those alreadyselling voluntary. But starting around 2012, productivity beganaccelerating.

Over the last three years, the average employee benefit broker'svoluntary sales have increased an estimated 8 percent per year, or26 percent in total. And it is a logical inference that half ofthese brokers grew even faster. Looking at all employee benefitbrokers, their aggregated voluntary sales grew at roughly twice thegrowth rate of the overall industry.

An increasing percentage of EBBs have discovered that voluntarynot only has important revenue potential, but it has a strategicrole in adding value to clients and in meeting the needs of adiverse employee population. And, as in most things, the earlyadapters have been raking in a disproportionate share of thebenefits.

But others are quickly moving in that same direction. Brokersurveys highlight the increasing competition among brokers in thevoluntary space.

Congratulations to those brokers who are established and haveproactive voluntary business practices. But, this is not the timeto grow complacent. It is the time to expand your voluntary valueproposition and points of differentiation. And for those who arenot yet there, it's time to play catch-up. Fast.