Inour last article we discussed how some employee benefit brokersare moving ahead of the pack in their voluntary efforts. But whatabout those brokers who are not yet at the same level ofdevelopment? Many brokers know they should embrace voluntarymore—especially as commissions for health insurance are squeezed byhealth care reform—yet they still sell very little voluntary.Why?

The most frequently mentioned reason is that they don't believetheir accounts would be interested. On the contrary, there'ssignificant evidence from numerous sources that employers areindeed interested. About two-thirds of all employers with 10 ormore employees offer at least one voluntary product and the numberis even higher in businesses or accounts with more than 100employees.

What's more, few of those offering at least one voluntaryproduct stop at one. Most employers today offer three or morevoluntary products.