All statistics point to growth in the voluntary market, especially in the past 8 years. According to Eastbridge Consulting Group, voluntary sales hit $6.9 billion in 2014, fueled mostly by benefits brokers.

"Since 2008, there has just been such a boom in growth. We think there is a lot of opportunity in the small group market space," Hesler said, citing statistics that "tell a compelling story of the opportunity here":

• Firms with less than 50 employees make up 38 percent of the working population;

• Employees at the smallest companies rate their benefits and understanding much lower than larger firms;

• Many small employers believe they can't afford rich benefits programs or comprehensive benefits education.

And, as far as generations go, millennials are the one to watch. It's not only because they will make up nearly half the workforce in the next 10 years but because they are often wrongfully viewed as a generation that doesn't care about benefits.

"Younger employees value benefits just as much as older employees, and actually more, according to some reports" Hesler said. "The media might say otherwise, [talking about] generation gaps, but I think otherwise. I don't think it's as big as they thought."

For brokers, he said, the goal is to make benefits communication for those workers "simple, modern, and personal."

"[Millennials] don't want the insurance lingo we are used to speaking. They want an easy engagement process, face-to-face enrollment, flexible products, and easy-to-use tools."