Employee Benefit Adviser articles from April 2006

Employee Benefit Adviser archives from April 2006

Old health care cost adage tweaks broker interest.
April 1, 2006... Many advisers let us know last month that the old adage about 20% of participants being responsible for 80% of a plan's health care costs was slightly off. In fact nearly 1/3 of respondents said that the sickest fifth of the workforce is only...

Bringing up baby.
April 1, 2006... Imagine it - 85 years. Can you picture your business existing for 85 years? I can't. I can't even picture myself existing for 85 years. But Armfield, Harrison & Thomas have done it, by adjusting to the times and to the needs of their...

Advisers try to help fight against Part D disinterest.
April 1, 2006... Confusion over the newest Medicare benefit creates an opportunity to educate clients and employees. Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services take a rosy view: More than 25 million people had enrolled in the program by...

Health insurance audits lead to lower expenses.
April 1, 2006... Health benefits are among most companies' largest expenses, and these costs are increasing rapidly - by an average of 45% over the last three years alone. Simultaneously, insurance companies have declared record profits, averaging annual...

Small plan market shuffle creates opportunity.
April 1, 2006... As more aging employees begin to realize they are financially unprepared for retirement, financial advisers' expertise is in widespread demand. The market opportunities are less consistent, however, as advisers define their sweet spots and...

The right voluntary benefits provider brings a new income stream.
April 1, 2006... Given the high cost of health insurance, people might assume that brokers are earning an easy income. If that's not your story, you're not alone. In these days of high health insurance inflation, most brokers are finding that major medical...

Choosing a partner for the long term.(benefits partner)
April 1, 2006... What factors should you consider when choosing a voluntary benefits partner? * Trust: You'll be opening your accounts to this partner and its benefits team, so trust is important. Investigate the company, and then spend time with the...

Mandates, Jedis and gimmes, oh my: Experts outline successful technology adoption strategies.(technology adoption for employee training)
April 1, 2006... Conventional wisdom says that benefit advisers must leverage recent technology advancements to remain competitive in the changing, service-now group insurance market. But there are a multitude of products available, including agency...

Building bridges: Employers finally are starting to see the links between disability, wellness and behavioral health. Advisers need to cross that bridge, too.
April 1, 2006... Wellness is not simply a health issue. It also is a disability matter - and one to which employers and advisers may finally be waking. The integration of health care and disability coverage is not new; numerous organizations over the past...

Helping your clients avoid disabling decisions.
April 1, 2006... It's no wonder that today's consumers have a tough time making decisions. After all, they're faced with choices from the moment they get up in the morning to the moment they go to bed at night. So many can lead to confusion. Chances are you've...

Carrier waits for courts as adviser concerns about Anthem grow.(Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield allegedly interfered with efforts to control clients' health care costs)
April 1, 2006... Earlier this year, Tom Quigley got what he thought was good news. A lawyer in the Kentucky Attorney General's office sent him an e-mail saying that he was opening an investigative file regarding his firm's complaints about Anthem Blue Cross and...

Who should bear the responsibility for bringing down costs?
April 1, 2006... For decades, comprehensive health insurance has blinded the majority of Americans to the real cost of care. Unaffected by the financial consequences of our decisions, we have no concept of value when it comes to health care. Insurers have...

Necessary elements for shared responsibility.(consumer involvement in choice of medicare plans)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Whether you are selling high-dollar comprehensive major medical plans or lower-cost, limited-benefit medical plans, there are three elements your offering should include to promote shared responsibility. Access to reliable and objective...

Marking a Milestone.(Company overview)
April 1, 2006... Armfield, Harrison & Thomas has remained one of a shrinking number of independent insurance agencies for far longer than most other firms have existed - partly because of executives' decision to swing from the property and casualty field toward...

Just Rewards.(Starmount Life Insurance Co)
April 1, 2006... *NASD fines, suspends Long Island, N.Y. annuity brokers. The securities regulator fined David Lerner Associates $400,000 and suspended the firm for 30 days for violating New York's regulation 60. The reg requires two interactions with a...

Hub bulks up Northeast benefits biz, tweaks bank-insurance trend.(Hub International.)(Norriston, Pa.-based Citizens Clair Insurance Group)(Brewer & Lord, of Norwell.)(Feitelberg Insurance in Fall River.)(eBenefits Group)
April 1, 2006... In a new twist on the trend of financial institutions entering the insurance brokerage business, one bank has admitted that it cannot make the cultural dichotomy work. Therefore, Citizens Financial Group, reputed to be the nation's...

Moving the Needle.(Citizens Financial Group Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Michael White is president of Michael White Associates LLC, a bank insurance consulting company. For more information, visit www.bankinsurance.com: Insurance was a relatively small piece of Citizens' overall business. Compared with...

Dealmakers.
April 1, 2006... *Willis Group adds to Canadian force. Robert Kudzman, Dania Fawaz, Sylvain Dicaire and Daniel Giroux were recently hired by Willis Canada in Montreal. Both Fawaz and Dicaire came from Marsh, Kudzman comes from Jones Brown and Giroux was...

Becoming competitor-proof by defining "great service".
April 1, 2006... Over the past few years, I have spoken at various association meetings and group health insurance agencies about differentiating yourself from your competitors. Prior to my talk, I will randomly ask agents to tell me why a consumer should do...

EBA chooses Benefits Day winner.(Employee Benefit Adviser)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Last month, EBA asked its readers to send in their ideas for the perfect National Employee Benefits Day card, which fell this year on April 3. The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans created the day in 2003 to commemorate...

E-newsletter.
April 1, 2006... Cancer and pregnancy complications lead disability claims Cancer continues to be the leading cause of long-term disability, constituting 12% of LTD claims, according to disability insurance provider UnumProvident. The other leading...

How nutritious is alphabet soup?(relevance of high qualification in professional life)
April 1, 2006... You've spent the money, invested the hours, expended blood, sweat and tears, and now you're an RHU. Or a ChFC. Or a CLU. But do your clients care? Think about it. Employers presumably choose their brokers based on the services they...

Get smart: Benefit advisers need new training opportunities.
April 1, 2006... If you work in any of the hundreds of employee benefit firms across the country, learning your job and moving to more responsible positions can be a challenge. The answers to certain job training questions tell a great deal about the quality of...