About 28 million small businesses in the U.S. have fewer than 500 employees, and small businesses make up more than 99 percent of U.S. employer firms, according to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.
When it comes to employee benefits, because these employers are considered small, it might be easier to provide them with a smaller, limited set of choices.
But, the truth is, these small employers want the same flexibility and options large employers have, and at a competitive price.
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Finding benefits carriers that can handle your smallest clients' business isn't always easy.
Whether the case is 40 lives or 400 lives, the work to install and service the case is similar. So, gaining efficiencies is essential.
But the challenge is to do that without sacrificing flexibility and options.
In the past couple of years, some carriers have chosen to move up market. They're shifting their focus away from the smallest small businesses and, in doing so, leaving the small-case market with fewer carrier options.
Other carriers are staying in the small-case space, but have implemented changes that allow them to be more efficient, such as standardized options, packaged plans and limited features.
Or, they've centralized sales and/or service to reduce the expense of serving small-case business. But, together, these approaches eliminate the very nature of the things small businesses thrive upon.
Recognizing the need to operate differently in the transactional business of employee benefits, some carriers have developed scalable ways to meet diverse employer needs.
They build systems and adapt processes to accommodate a range of needs and drive increased efficiency, cost savings and functionality.
The greatest opportunity for organic growth–selling benefits to employers who have never offered them before–is in the small-case market.
In fact, according to a LIMRA study, only 47 percent of small businesses (2-99 employees) in the U.S. offer employee benefits to their employees, the lowest level in two decades of LIMRA research.
Reaching out to this market with unique benefit solutions from carriers who have systems and processes scaled to their needs can help you build your book of business and offer something competitors may not be able to provide.
Work with carriers that have figured out the value of scalability.
These carriers offer a breadth of options, choices and flexibility–backed by local sales and service.
The scope of the experience they offer differentiates them from the pack.
They know how to blend these elements to provide a robust offering, at a competitive price, and with excellent service that is scalable for the smallest employers.
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