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January 20, 2012 at 09:27 AM
The voluntary short-term disability (VSTD) market is a great market, and that makes it a tough market.
Eastbridge Consulting Group Inc., Avon, Conn., talks about the difficulties VSTD players face in a report based on data from 19 carriers and 25 plans.
Eastbridge found that 97% of the companies that said they were in the employee-paid benefits market in 2010 said they were selling VSTD coverage.
That year, U.S. VSTD sales totaled $776 million, and the product accounted for 15% of all voluntary product sales.
About 45% of the carriers that participated in the Eastbridge survey told the firm they expect VSTD to be a growth product over the next few years.
But the fact that the market is such a big, competitive market means that the companies selling VSTD products must have great product features, marketing programs or other differentiators to help them stand out, Eastbridge says.
