Employee Benefit Adviser articles from December 2003

Employee Benefit Adviser archives from December 2003

For all things there is a season.
December 1, 2003... It's easy to appreciate the good times, when sales seem to fall from the sky, profits flow freely and businesses seemingly can do no wrong. Easy to appreciate, but not very instructive. The most meaningful lessons about building a...

LTC insurance providers try to come up with new twists.(long-term care insurance)
December 1, 2003... There's no doubting the need for long-term care insurance. According to a recent MetLife study, the average cost of a stay in an assisted living facility has reached $28,548 per year, making long-term care exorbitant for the average person. A...

Clients can gain from disability and EAP/work-life integration.
December 1, 2003... The business of providing employee benefits continues to shift focus and increase in complexity. Struggling with multiple years of double-digit increases in health care costs and a sluggish economy, large and small employers alike are being...

Benefit costs surge 6.5% as wage growth slows.
December 1, 2003... The annual cost of employee benefits surged 6.5% for civilian workers for the year ended in the third quarter, the largest 12-month increase since 1984, as overall compensation costs jumped 3.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ...

401(k) sales help brokers through hard times.
December 1, 2003... The economy has been down, but revenues are up for James Paul Connor, a registered representative and investment fiduciary auditor in Cincinnati, Ohio. "I'm swamped," he says. But while Connor sells business group life and group...

Consider more than rates when choosing disability carrier.
December 1, 2003... Producers face a challenging environment today as they help clients adjust their employee benefits offerings to compensate for double-digit health insurance rate increases. With employers' benefit dollars stretched, producers are naturally...

Absenteeism slow to capture management's attention.
December 1, 2003... Nearly three-fourths of employers concede that although tracking employee absences is important, other issues take precedence at their organizations. In fact, only 11% say it's a top priority. Those are among the findings from the joint...

Looking for an oasis: Value-added services and voluntary benefits are among the ways.
December 1, 2003... An arid economy has squeezed air out of employers' budgets and left brokers feeling the heat. But that doesn't necessarily mean distributors are not doing well. More accurately, it means that many have found they need to be creative to...

Love and marriage: Banks and insurers try to make brokerages work.
December 1, 2003... After several years of buying and working with insurance companies, it appears many banks and institutions are no closer to figuring out how to make insurance sales work for them. But the attraction remains strong, and relationship counselors...

Buzz from Baltimore: P&C is missing worksite link.(property and casualty)
December 1, 2003... Worksite marketers looking for the integral piece to make their businesses a success would do well to consider adding property and casualty (P&C) products to their group benefits rosters. That was the message conveyed and a topic that...

How to protect clients and yourself from insurance scams.
December 1, 2003... It can be your worst nightmare. Clients complain that employee health insurance is too expensive, and they want you to do something about it. At a marketing seminar, you learn about XYZ insurance, which offers excellent coverage, an extensive...

Deal Makers.(Assurity Life Insurance Company)
December 1, 2003... * Canadian-based financial services firm Manulife Financial and Boston-based life insurer John Hancock announced they would merge to create the second-largest life insurer in North America. For $10.8 billion, Manulife will buy John...

Making the "second sale" crucial to worksite marketing.
December 1, 2003... It might surprise a worksite marketer to know that selling an account does not necessarily mean much, at least, not according to B2E Marketing President Steven Fecko. Sure, selling an employer on a great product is half the battle. In...

BenefitNews.com Adviser.
December 1, 2003... Banks earned $1.73 billion on insurance in first half of year Insurance remains a highly lucrative business for banks, as detailed by a recent report by the bank insurance consulting firm Michael White Associates LLC. The 2003 Mid-year...

BenefitNews.com Connect.
December 1, 2003... Overall retirement participation suffers setback Has your retirement plan participation rate fallen in the past few years? If so, you're not alone. The newest report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) shows that between...

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