Employee Benefit Adviser articles from May 2005

Employee Benefit Adviser archives from May 2005

Learning how to know your audience.(employee training)(Column)
May 1, 2005... It apparently is the Achilles' heel of the benefits advisory world: Brokers just do not know as much as they used to. I heard this from a number of people as I researched a story that appears in this issue, headlined "More brokers...

Clients show interest in LTD coverage for 401(k) contributions.
May 1, 2005... Amid growing gloom over employees' poor preparation for life after work, products that encourage retirement fund accumulation are looking especially shiny to employers and advisers. One insurance product gaining particular note allows...

DB products make a comeback among micro-employers.(defined benefit)
May 1, 2005... While defined benefit plans are going the way of the dinosaur among large corporations, they are evolving nicely at small firms. Tax law changes now allow owners to put aside much more tax-deferred income into defined benefit plans, making...

Advisers try to ease health care consumer discontent.
May 1, 2005... A recent University of Michigan study underscores just how dissatisfied consumers are with their insurers. Interestingly, however, advisers tend to have different ideas about who is to blame and what can be done to remedy the situation. ...

Ongoing fee concerns warrant a review of DOL guidance.(Department of Labor)
May 1, 2005... In the past year, the attorneys general and insurance commissioners in over 30 states have begun investigations of the commission arrangements between insurers and brokers and consultants of employer-sponsored group health insurance plans. At...

Info Sources.
May 1, 2005... As a service to readers, EBA furnishes the names, location and telephone numbers of organizations whose products and services are highlighted in each issue. Page numbers identify where organizations are mentioned. 401kExchange, Lake Worth,...

ARC receives certification from CPAs for information control.(certification of Administration Resources Corp. by American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
May 1, 2005... It's tough to find a good third-party administrator. You know, one that won't bungle the job, posting personal medical information in the breakroom and ignoring COBRA deadlines. What's a broker to do? Administration Resources Corp. has an...

Fear Factor: Advisers try to chase away plan sponsors' dread of over a widely.
May 1, 2005... Until recently, retirement concerns have centered on increasing every opportunity for employees to save for retirement. From structures designed to offer as many investment options as possible, plans have evolved into designs meant to make it...

Living benefit riders are all the rage in annuities.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The tinkering with annuity products over the past few years has yielded a number of twists, with one of the latest being a living benefits rider. Such product developments have done much to broaden the market for annuities as well as to...

No Silver Bullet: Strategic alliances with TPAs, wholesalers, accountants and others can be tremendously helpful to brokers - provided you know how and when to use them.(third-party administrators)
May 1, 2005... Brokers and advisers agree there are benefits to allying yourself with experts in services outside your own comfort zone, but there are no easy answers as to when and with whom you should team up. That's because there is no...

Advisers brace for attorneys to hang suits on fees.
May 1, 2005... K rispy Kreme is just the latest brand name to top-line a complaint about its retirement plan holding too much company stock. The doughnut maker joins Enron, Lucent and oth-ers at the table of fiduciary irresponsibility. However, many...

More brokers struggling to fill employer needs.
May 1, 2005... In an increasingly expensive and demanding benefits world, employers need more from their brokers than the lowest price available on insurance. Demands may vary, but to succeed, brokers, advisers and consultants have to qualify the needs...

People in our profession: "Gator Bert" shows his teeth on employee benefits.(beliefs of Bert Reames of Bert Reames Insurance Services and Bert Reames Investment Advisors)
May 1, 2005... When Brown & Brown bought the former Hilb, Rogal & Hamilton's Daytona Beach operation several years ago, Bert Reames decided it was time for a change. And in a profession where you rise or fall by the bottom line, he decided age was one number...

Wachovia bolsters insurance biz with Palmer & Cay.
May 1, 2005... The recent merger between the nation's fourth-largest bank holding company and the 15th largest insurance brokerage and benefits consulting firm offers renewed evidence of the convergence of the financial service and insurance industries. ...

Moving the needle.(mergers and acquisitions)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Beginning with this issue, we ask experts with in-depth knowledge of mergers and acquisitions to give us their impressions of our Deal of the Month. We start with Rob MacKethan, principal and founder of Agency Advisors, a provider of...

Dealmakers.
May 1, 2005... * Cunningham Lindsey International acquired Axis USA. Axis provides specialty adjustment services to Fortune 500 companies. Cunningham expects the deal to enable it to broaden the adjusting services it currently provides. The new company will...

How to build your business in the small 401(k) market.
May 1, 2005... Advisers looking to expand their businesses would do well to think about the small 401(k) market. By putting in the time and effort to become retirement plan specialists, advisers may find the small market rewarding. "There are significant...

Knowledge leads employees to automated benefits.
May 1, 2005... To add value to their offerings, insurance brokers are increasingly bringing automated benefits administration solutions to their customers. Given employees' growing acceptance of Web-based applications, many clients have turned to the Web to...

Correction.
May 1, 2005... We inadvertently ran the wrong picture in the Tips on Technology column that ran in the April issue of Employee Benefit Adviser. This is the correct photograph of Ray Seaver, a registered broker and partner in benefits technology company...

E-newsletter.(Insurance Industry)
May 1, 2005... Willis and Spitzer settle Willis Group Holdings followed the lead of Aon Corp. and recently settled with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and state insurance department officials, who were investigating the broker firm for taking...