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June 24, 2004 at 08:00 PM
Worksite Sales Help Brokers Meet Complete Client Needs
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Worksite sales have experienced explosive growth in recent years. In fact, worksite selling is one of the few areas in the employee benefits industry that is truly growing.
There are many forces driving this growth, including the rising cost of health care, the shift of both benefit funding and decision-making to employees, and the intense competition for clients (and client loyalty) among producers. Since the forces driving worksite growth are not expected to wane, the expansion is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.
While worksite selling has its roots with many of the carriers that sell individual products through either career agents or independent retailers, it is the group employee benefits carriers that have been behind the large increases in total worksite sales over the last few years.
The rapid growth of voluntary group products is related to a change in attitudes about worksite sales: specifically, the growing acceptance of selling group voluntary products among employee benefits brokers. Where employee benefits brokers may have avoided worksite benefits in the past, today nearly 90% are incorporating voluntary group products into their marketing strategy. Why?
There are many reasons, but 3 stand out:
o Employers are asking for voluntary benefits, primarily because their employees are asking for access to these benefits.
Brokers have realized that offering a robust portfolio of voluntary benefits provides value to their clients and increased client satisfaction.
Voluntary benefits are an ideal cross-selling tool, producing additional sales from a broker’s existing client base and diversifying the broker’s income from reliance on employer-paid, core benefits.
If you are looking for ways to increase your chances of success in the worksite market and to take full advantage of the boom by selling group voluntary products, there are a number of things to keep in mind:
1. Keep products affordable. Employees are being asked to share an ever-increasing portion of their health care costs as well as nonmedical benefits. It is imperative that you keep a cautious eye on the wallet-share of your group. Employees find peace of mind when they are able to purchase some level of protection, even if they know it is not comprehensive.
2. Address health care costs. Offer clients benefits that address the skyrocketing costs of health care. Dental, vision and long term care top the list of benefits employees would like added to their offering. A good long-term client strategy may be to add the health-related benefits now and follow up with the traditional voluntary life and disability benefits once the employer and employees are familiar with the benefits of voluntary coverage offerings.
