Employee Benefit Adviser articles from June 2006

Employee Benefit Adviser archives from June 2006

We'll always have EBA.(Employee Benefit Adviser)
June 1, 2006... I thought I would be here for the long haul. I thought I would keep writing for you for the rest of my life or until legal retirement age, whichever came first. But I won't be. I will be leaving Employee Benefit Adviser June 9 to take...

You and your clients are part of the problem.(interview with Michael E. Porter from Harvard Business School, and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg, of the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... A new book puts it just that bluntly. Far from being victims of America's unrelenting and uncontrollable health care beast, employers, in fact, are feeding it, making it more inefficient and wasteful. At least, that's what a pair of...

9 /2 things advisers need to know when considering health care card programs.
June 1, 2006... How can the health care payment card enhance the current benefit offering? By simplifying claims processing and access to funds. A member can swipe the card and pay for health care at the point of service directly from their benefit...

Advisers weigh health options for their own staffs.
June 1, 2006... One of the most involved and time-consuming duties for a benefit adviser is helping clients come up with a health plan that achieves a balance between decent coverage and economic prudence. However, advisers themselves have to handle...

Finding the right candidate is tougher than it seems.(Arnoff and Associates)
June 1, 2006... As a recruiter for Arnoff and Associates Inc., a full-service employee benefits firm based in a Cleveland suburb, one of the most difficult jobs for which to recruit is a specific position in a niche market. The employee benefit sales manager...

Great service? RIMS members will make you prove it.(Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.)
June 1, 2006... Do you provide excellent service? Yes? Prove it. Officials at the Risk and Insurance Management Society want to help members do just that with the introduction of a new online tool. The Quality Improvement Process Wizard enables RIMS members...

Vision clarification.
June 1, 2006... Group vision sales have grown steadily and significantly over the last decade, with more than three-quarters of employers offering a program as of last year. Still, there is plenty of opportunity for advisers as overall cost sensitivity...

Advocating regularity for banks: Financial institutions that sell insurance look to federal legislation for standardization.
June 1, 2006... It's difficult to know for sure what sort of insurance regulatory system - state, federal or a hybrid - is appropriate for the industry. Almost every year since Congress passed the Financial Services Modernization Act, also known as...

Coverage for older dependents brings cost, admin worries.
June 1, 2006... Even as insurers and employers try to trim expenses by shifting costs and slashing fat, many states are raising the maximum age through which dependents can be covered on their parents' group or individual health plans. So far, about a...

Pension reform could pave the way to new adviser business.(Legislation)
June 1, 2006... Pension reform legislation, long in the works, most likely will see enactment later this year, after a conference committee works through the versions passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Certainly, a new law will...

Lawsuit could bring out the worst in broker, TPA dealings.(Brokerage Concepts Inc. sued by Performax)
June 1, 2006... There's always a possibility of service disruption during a carrier acquisition. Brokers also should look out for similar interruptions in the event of a lawsuit between two companies with whom they work. Such as, for instance, the ongoing...

CAA shows there is no need to go it alone in the Lone Star State.(Combined Agents of America)
June 1, 2006... The Combined Agents of America does not have the size or the presence of national broker coalitions such as United Benefit Advisors or Benefit Advisors Network. However, its members, all of whom are headquartered in Texas, are quietly acquiring...

Dealmakers.
June 1, 2006... * USI acquires Pettineo Insurance Agency. The acquisition is expected to bring USI approximately $1.3 million in annual revenue. Pettineo Insurance President Frank Pettineo says the deal allows him the opportunity to make national offerings...

Moving the Needle.
June 1, 2006... Broker coalitions make sense for some... In this issue, we asked two mergers-and-acquisitions experts to comment on the continuing trend of broker coalitions and alliances. Jack Kwicien is a managing partner for Daymark Advisors, a...

Just Rewards.(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. sells maximum number of short- and long-term disability insurance)(Segal Co. wins communication awards)(Raymond J. Ohlson of Ohlson Group wins ethics award)
June 1, 2006... *TAHU names Stan Foster 2006 Hollis Roberson award winner. Foster, president of Addison, Texas-based Foster Benefit Resources, has held a variety of leadership positions at the Texas chapter of the National Association of Health Underwriters,...

Twelve easy steps to communicating with those who can't hear.
June 1, 2006... Many of your clients and prospects cannot understand what you're saying. But it's not necessarily because your pitch is too esoteric. It's because they can't hear you. Studies suggest that 8% to 10% of Americans and nearly half of all baby...

E-newsletter.
June 1, 2006... No legal avenue for reimbursement, court rules Aetna has no legal recourse to recover excess disability payments from an Ohio computer programmer, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. In Charles Buchanan v. Aetna Life Insurance...

Brokers try to learn the painful truth.
June 1, 2006... Nobody likes to believe his clients will defect for any of his competitors. Don't kid yourself they do, for one reason or another. It's painful to think the loss of a client could be attributed to something you did. Still experts believe...

The importance of deciphering the message.
June 1, 2006... Remember the games Operator and Pass It On? You tell a story that goes around a circle and by the time it reaches the last person, you can barely detect that it's the same story. That's how it goes with communication. We all have selective...