Voluntary

It’s November, which means three things: open enrollment, turkey dinners and long-term care. Today (Nov. 1) marks the beginning of Long-Term Care Awareness Month, a concentrated push to get employees thinking about how they plan to receive and fund care in their later years.

Only a tiny percentage of pet owners in the United States have insurance for their pet, but according to the American Pet Products Association, about 62% of U.S. households have a pet. Clearly, the pet insurance is a market ripe for growth. "The message there is in the opportunity to increase participation for consumers and for groups," says JoAnne Novak, VP, business development with Hartville Group, Inc., and its flagship brand ASPCA Pet Health Insurance.

Sun Life Financial Inc. recently enhanced its emergency travel assistance service for group basic life customers by adding identity theft protection.

Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company recently enhanced its Resource Advisor member-assistance service to include Beneficiary Companion and Identity Theft Victim Recovery Services programs at no additional cost to customers.

One pet peeve of employers, brokers and carriers is that employees don’t spend enough time reviewing their benefit plans during open enrollment.

The boundary between voluntary and employer-paid benefit sales is disappearing in an increasingly competitive climate where more brokers are abandoning territorial patterns, suggests new research from Eastbridge Consulting Group.

Despite offering consumers invaluable financial protection, life insurance and disability insurance lost a popularity contest to dental and vision coverage in a new study released by Sun Life’s employee benefits group.

Although normally you can put a finger on the underlying issues leading to certain types of racial/ethnic disparities — the ones for medical disparities are well documented, for example — I admit that new survey results from LIMRA regarding racial disparities in consumers’ emphasis on the importance of life insurance have me stumped.

Chances are, you have concrete criteria (and perhaps some softer considerations) you’re looking for when you’re selecting a broker. Ever wonder what criteria your broker looks for when they shop for a vendor for you?

Let’s keep it real: There’s a recession. So, raise your hand if you’d jump at the chance to win $1,000. You? Thought so.