Benefits Selling Magazine September 2011
Cover Story
Tougher than the rest
As a wide-eyed freshman in college, still clinging to his teens, Tom Schifano’s father packed up his New Jersey family and moved them to the dusty plains of rural Indiana
Storeylines
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Congress doubles down on the double dip
It’s back to school time, again.
Employers Speak Out
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Brokers remain crucial to allaying employer fears
The rising cost of health insurance looms large among business decision makers.
Benefits Newswire
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Passive enrollment is a risk, experts say
Statistics from HighRoads’ latest industry survey on open enrollment reveals 71 percent of respondents conduct passive versus active enrollment practices, therefore enabling employees to automatically renew most of their own plans.
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Health spending expected to outpace GDP
The U.S. health bill will account for 19.8 percent of the nation’s spending by 2020
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Employers expect to add voluntary benefits
Most employees can expect to see voluntary benefit options added to their benefit plans thanks to new regulatory and economic issues.
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HSA participants more diligent 401(k) savers
If you participate in health savings accounts, then you likely think more about retirement.
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Docs: Get annual mammograms at age 40
“If women in their 40s have annual mammograms, there is a better chance of detecting and treating the cancer before it has time to spread than if they wait two years between mammograms.” – Dr. Jennifer Griffin
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Health care labor market slows down in second quarter
Mirroring the broader economy, the strength of the national health care labor market remained mostly stagnant in the second quarter of 2011, as measured by the Health Workplace Solutions Labor Market Pulse Index.
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Passive enrollment is a risk, experts say
71 percent of respondents conduct passive versus active enrollment
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Paid vacation most common benefit
Most full-time workers can plan a getaway thanks to their employer, but getting paid when you’re sick is more of a problem.
Source List
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Universal Life Insurance Source List
Universal Life Insurance Source List
Feature Content
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How to help employees make informed benefits decisions
Consumers generally consider choice a good thing. And usually it is. But can having too many choices actually lead consumers to make a poor decision—or even no decision at all?
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The entertainment value
Effective communications must begin with a rethinking of what people—not employees—read, what they gravitate to, and what engages and motivates them.
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Life insurance’s changing landscape
Here's a question: In an economic downturn, you would put a priority on paying for a) food, b) housing, or c) life insurance?
What's Next
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Segment sales: don’t blame the broker
In the past two columns, we’ve looked at overall voluntary sales for 2010 and sales by product line and platform. In this final column on 2010 sales, we look at results by distributor segment.
Competitive Advantage
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Know what an employer wants
One of the key concepts in managing customer relationships is listening to the voice of the customer. For brokers, that front line customer is the employer.
Special Feature
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2011 Employer Survey
With a poor economy, sad unemployment rates and that little issue called the debt ceiling to worry about, health care reform isn’t the first indicator influencing decisions about employee benefits. At least that’s what employers say.
On Second Thought
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Mammas don’t let your babies grow up to be brokers
Insurance agent—half doctor, half lawyer
Columns
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Don’t be afraid to cross-sell
Why is it that 16-year-olds can be taught to sell acres of deep fried potatoes to hamburger buyers, but many sales professionals find it difficult to even suggest to a health insurance client they might want to consider dental coverage or group life or disability?
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Universal life: the flexible option
Life insurance ownership is at a 50-year low—yet half of Americans recognize that they have a need for insurance.
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Want better life enrollment? Try communication
Most would agree some level of life insurance coverage is better than no none at all. But to really meet the needs of employees, the focus should be on the adequacy of coverage.
Departments
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Weaver: What I’ve learned
Matt Weaver, Broker on Record
