Employee Benefit Adviser articles from June 2008

Employee Benefit Adviser archives from June 2008

Social strength.
June 1, 2008... Especially in an election year, potential improvements to our health care system often get plastered with politically charged labels. Suggest too much reliance on government and you're a bleeding-heart liberal. Put too much faith in the free...

Advisers benefit from strong employee communication efforts: Keep employees from running to HR with questions by helping employers launch an employee communication strategy.
June 1, 2008... A strong employee communication strategy benefits employers and advisers in several ways. If employees understand their benefits they are more likely to value them, which could lead to employee retention. If HR looks good, the adviser looks...

Sounding off about employee communication.(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... "The better the tools that the employer provides, potentially the less time employees will spend at the office - where they have high-speed internet access - on things other than productive work." - Tom Boone "It's important that whatever...

OMG I have no money: Texting demographic requires new approach.
June 1, 2008... Participants at the National Investment Company Service Association's East Coast regional meeting recently set their sights on how to convince the 80 million Generation Y members to save for retirement. A major hurdle facing employers and...

Savvy spending effects savings.
June 1, 2008... With recession fears mounting, more Americans are cutting back on spending in order to save money. Spending wisely or not spending as much ranks second as a savings strategy, only behind interest-bearing accounts, in a new poll from the...

Proposed 401(k) fee disclosure rules would complicate adviser dealings with clients.
June 1, 2008... Adviser concerns are mounting about planned ERISA changes. Some say DOL's proposed 408(b)(2) reglations - especially those dealing with advance compensation disclosure and conflict of interest reporting - are overly burdensome and redundant....

Mini-med interest forces brokers to abandon traditional objections: more and more brokers are overcoming their objections to mini-med and limited-medical programs and adding them to their roster of offerings - better serving their existing block of business in the process.
June 1, 2008... Brokers don't sell what they don't sell. And right now many advisers still lump mini-meds and limited-medical programs into the pile of products that they won't touch. The objections are familiar at this point: Why should I do it? Can I make...

Multi-year strategic planning remains the standard for better client retention.
June 1, 2008... In last month's article, we addressed how adding additional products, services and capabilities to your overall offering can help to increase your sales revenues and simultaneously improve client retention. By addressing the gaps in coverages...

On the road with Rob Nielsen - It's About Culture.
June 1, 2008... Well, we are now 90 days into the LeaderLabs odyssey. With over 40,000 air miles, 50 flight segments, and over 40 hotel nights, we have started to draw some definite conclusions. In working with the nine LeaderLabs partner firms from, one thing...

International health care alternatives may be greener, but not in a good way.
June 1, 2008... The heat fueling dinner-time health reform talk has risen in recent years as firebrands like Michael Moore and others have made their contribution to the discourse. For many the debate hinges on whether to stick with America's market-driven...

Moore, Tanner and now Reid...(T.R. Reid)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... While there are many others mining the international health care issue, The Washington Post's T.R. Reid is quickly establishing himself as a premier voice on the issue. He's a multimedia threat on the subject, having recently completed a...

Health care reform proposals should promote more provider competition.
June 1, 2008... One of the main contributors to our unsustainable health expenditure increases is the lack of competition and individual choice of health plans among employed insured Americans. The costly, uncoordinated, fee-for-service model among small...

EBA's 2008 "BEST" group dental rep...Guardian's Jeremy Enns.
June 1, 2008... At least one of Jeremy Enns boyhood dreams has come true. While he never made it to the bigs to play shortstop for the Texas Rangers, he did fulfill his early potential as salesman. Enns, a Florida-based group dental rep for the Guardian Life...

Become the complete benefit adviser by fully engaging the prospect.
June 1, 2008... Last month I introduced you to the concept of change and its relationship to the sales process. The only way to motivate the prospect to implement a change is by asking really great questions that identify what the prospect wants. The...

Getting to know HR.(interview with Alice Wheeler human resource director)(Interview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Some experts say the best way to sell benefits is not to talk about insurance at all, but to get to know HR. By better understanding the demands on benefit managers and HR execs, advisers can learn how to better appeal to their wants. ...

Do not go it alone, use existing communications to boost enrollment.
June 1, 2008... Once an HR gatekeeper allows an adviser access to the workforce it is time to begin employee communication and education efforts. Experts recommend advisers leverage the communication vehicles already in place by the client. It is also best...

Create or update your online identity to attract clients.
June 1, 2008... You only get one chance to make a first impression. That's why progressive advisers are fine-tuning their image on the Web - where many employers hunt for benefit services and information. While it has become increasingly straightforward...

Make the message pack a punch.(benefits communication creation tool)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... There are several interactive, Web-based tools that advisers can use for client and employee communications. One such product is called eShare Marketing, a benefits communication creation tool often sent by e-mail. Jeff Hill, president of...

How and why to be really bad at sales but really good at giving advice.
June 1, 2008... One of my employees was recently explaining to me the virtues of why a client should accept the offering of a particular product. As she spoke, I sensed she was trying to convince me that this solution made sense. The discussion continued and...

SEEING AGENTS IN A NEW LIGHT: Does it matter what you call yourself? Maybe. Michael.(employee benefits)
June 1, 2008... An employee benefits agent, producer, broker, adviser, consultant, worksite marketer and group insurance carrier rep walk into a bar... Unfortunately there isn't a punch line, but the premise itself is amusing enough for some. It is true...

Reaching new heights: HRAs put employees on their own to manage their health, but keep them close enough to guide their decisions and catch them if they fall. Now, the plans are reaching farther to save employers and employees money as the strategy branches into new plan designs.
June 1, 2008... As the consumer-driven health care movement continues to grow, it seems advisers can do just about anything with account-based plans that end in "A." The combinations of plans, fund roll-overs and deductible options have made the market...

EMPLOYERS SMITTEN ON CDHPS.
June 1, 2008... By 2009, nearly 55% of U.S. corporations plan on offering a consumer-directed health plan, reports Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health. After surveying 453 companies that employ 8.4 million workers, Watson and NBGH found that...

Out on a limb: A recent legislative skirmish raises some concerns about life post-President George W. Bush among the HSA faithful. Still, they maintain the products are too far along for a quick Democratic death.(health savings account)(Law overview)
June 1, 2008... Losing George W. Bush will have an impact on the HSA market. For the past six years he's been a vocal cheerleader. He frequently praises them on stages both large (the State of The Union address) and small. He's also offered a veto threat that...

GEORGIA INTRODUCES HSA TAX BREAKS ...
June 1, 2008... Even if high-deductible health plan advocate, President George W. Bush is leaving office, there are HDHP enthusiasts on the state-level who are ensuring these strategies will remain popular. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed two health...

HSAs may wither without their presidential champion.
June 1, 2008... Regular readers of EBA say that HSAs will wither once President George W. Bush leaves office. Responses to the question about the future of HSAs once Bush leaves ran the gamut. Here is a sampling of what readers had to say... * Many...

Serving up news and opinions on EBA's Raw Bar.
June 1, 2008... Make sure to check out Employee Benefit Adviser's Raw Bar online at eba.podhoster.com. It's where you'll find daily interviews with leading benefits professionals. A recent interview with Victor Lazzaro of medical tourism company,...