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A few weeks ago, my husband and I met with a financial planner for the first time. Setting up the appointment was my idea – I suppose three and a half years of constant exposure to press releases entailing Americans' alarming lack of retirement preparedness will do that to a person.
Anyone doubting the sustainability and projected growth of mobile technology should take heed of these statistics from technology and communication leaders Qualcomm Life and Virgin HealthMiles.
The last week of March was a busy one here at EBA HQ. With the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments on the constitutionality of health care reform's individual mandate in our own backyard, EBA couldn't miss the opportunity to head down to Capitol Hill to check out the scene for ourselves – and bring you the latest news on the proceedings in the process.
The concept of value-based benefit design is still an evolving one, but it boils down to the market's effort to determine how to best derive value out of a health care plan, says Stephanie Elliott, director of activation strategies at UMR. EBA spoke with Elliott and client Rebecca Shipley, director of total rewards at Vail Resorts, about the success Vail has achieved in a few short months by using VBBD with its unique employee base.
Throughout his 35-year career in the employee benefit business Larry Brodsky has come across few opportunities to introduce a product to an employer that is both new and almost universally appreciated. The president of Lawrence S. Brodsky Agency in Palatine, Ill., found such a product about two years ago after a Web search for pet insurance introduced him to Pet Assure. Not an insurance program – but a discount plan for pet owners.
It used to be commonplace to find employees of Las Vegas-based Insurcorp at the casinos at 2 a.m. Not to blow off steam after a long workday, but to continue it, conducting benefit meetings for graveyard shift staffers.
Aon Hewitt isn't letting health care reform dictate its business model. If anything, it's the other way around. In addition to publishing an influential report on the implications of health reform for large employers, CEO Kristi Savacool has been to the White House several times in recent months to discuss the company's retiree health care exchange and upcoming active employee exchange model. "We have been on the front line," says Savacool, "really influencing the development of health care reform, influencing our clients with respect to how they put their own health care strategies together."
In some ways, the perspective a number of employee benefit brokers and advisers take on social media in the workplace reminds me of views held by many employers – at least in the beginning – on the value of workplace wellness programs. Both social media and wellness have their enthusiastic, devoted supporters, as well as skeptics who question the level of time commitment required to be successful and the resulting return on investment, which can be difficult to track.
While the ever-rising cost of health care continues to be a top concern for employers and employees alike, there is at least one employee benefit headed in the opposite direction. "I always facetiously use the phrase 'life is cheap,' says Bob Harnett, vice president of Lutherville, Md.-based Silberstein Insurance Group. "Life insurance on an employer-paid basis has gotten to be very inexpensive."
Aon Hewitt isn't letting health care reform dictate its business model. If anything, it's the other way around. In addition to publishing an influential report on the implications of health reform for large employers, CEO Kristi Savacool has been to the White House several times in recent months to discuss the company's retiree health care exchange and upcoming active employee exchange model.
Obamacare. Or is it ObamaCare? However you spell it, if you're in the health care advisory business you shouldn't be saying it.
From carriers to brokers, enrollers to consultants, the message was the same to the more than 600 attendees gathered Tuesday in Atlantic City, N.J. for the Workplace Benefits Renaissance: Voluntary benefits are a mounting source of opportunity for those who are prepared to take advantage
A couple of years ago Kris Allison was running Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, a well established employee benefits brokerage that offered a respectable level of financial services. Darin Gibson was managing a rising financial services firm with a decent book of benefits business. Today their companies, now Burnham Benefits and Burnham Gibson Financial Group, are a united team with one-stop shopping for their growing client base in Irvine, Calif., and satellite offices across the U.S.
The theme of this month's issue is strategic partnerships. It's one of my favorite issues of the year, and not just because the nerd in me enjoys the way exploring the importance of finding the right partner ties into Valentine's Day.
Over the course of 15 years of working on all sides of the benefits table – from HR specialist to administrator to carrier account manager – Sher Sparano observed the health care process enough to see the lack of resources that HR departments had in handling their employees' benefits.
My father has owned his own company for as long as I can remember. The name and central product have changed a few times over the years as he's sold one business or another and developed new products, but its always been in the IT field.
The leading industry trade organizations expressed disappointment after the December 2 Department of Health and Human Services release of the final medical loss ratio rule failed to remove broker commissions from the administrative side of health reforms MLR calculation.
Historically, wellness has been associated primarily with weight loss, and since many of us slip right into a food coma come Thanksgiving and don't emerge until multiple holiday parties have left us loosening a belt notch or two, it's no coincidence that EBA features our annual Wellness Challenge issue on the eve of resolution season
In these days of increasing reliance on electronic communication and high-tech Internet applications, in-person meetings have never been more important for Darrell Phillips. By holding regular face-to-face meetings with the 4,000 employees at his 41 501(c)(3) and governmental hospital plan clients across the state of Kansas, Phillips' mission is three-fold: 1) Build trust with the employer; 2) Serve the purpose of the programs by helping employees take advantage of their benefits; and 3) Let employees know they have access to a resource who truly cares about them.
As a new mom with an 18-month-old and a one-month-old, I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of what it means to feel parental pride. However, I definitely experienced something akin to it as I was reading through the nomination forms for EBA's 2011 Employee Benefit Adviser of the Year.