Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

As of the end of June, 39 new approvals have bumped the number of annual limit waivers to 1,471. The one-year waivers are designed to help organizations delay provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

As the health insurance landscape changes, so do middle market companies’ views on their relationships with brokers. The majority of companies surveyed by TNS, a Kantar Group company, view their employee health insurance broker or agent as a valued partner. In 2014, most companies — including smaller and larger companies — will be relying more heavily on their brokers to help them navigate through the choices offered under reform. This is evidenced by 75% of companies who think their health insurance broker will play a more important role in their relationship over the next three years.

The story of President Barack Obama's mother's fight with insurance companies as she suffered from cancer is still compelling, despite a recent book's suggestion it was embellished during the campaign, a White House spokesman said.

Selected from the most impressive field of applicants we’ve ever received; please join EBA in congratulating Darrell Phillips, president of DPI Benefits in Manhattan, Kan., our Employee Benefit Adviser of the Year! Phillips wowed the selection committee with his unwavering client advocacy, 100% retention rate and superb customer service.

Here’s a recent list of personnel accomplishments in the insurance industry.

As major market changes loom, one report says health insurance providers that wish to access this giant pool of potential customers will need to shift toward a consumer-focused model.

Although the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on July 12 tabled their support of H.R. 1206, a bill that would exclude insurance agents’ compensation from the medical loss ratio equation, “there’s a lot of work still to be done on this issue and we look forward to our continuing work with the NAIC, HHS and Congress to find a suitable solution,” says Brianne Mallaghan, director of communications for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

Advisers should work closely with health insurers to improve service fundamentals that drive employer satisfaction and commitment to benefit sponsorship, suggests new research that also identifies the best-performing vendors.

Writing out retirement income plans is a great way for financial advisers to increase client satisfaction, gain more referrals and ultimately increase assets — yet few of them do it, according to a new study from Fidelity Investments.

As controversy continues to brew over the validity of a McKinsey survey finding 30% of respondents would likely drop employee health care coverage in the years following the implementation of health reform’s state exchanges, a survey on the same topic from Lockton reveals a more conservative estimate: nearly one in five employers (18%) say they will consider terminating group coverage.