Over the years, we have reported on the growth of voluntary and its increasing popularity among employers, employees and brokers. Today, almost all brokers offer voluntary 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 existing client.

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

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