Practice management

Commentary: If you listen to your clients — and I mean really listen to what they’re saying and not saying — you’ll know exactly what they need and what they’re willing to spend money on, says columnist Wendy Keneipp.

Commentary: Add these talking points to your next plan review to ensure the year gets off to a good start, says adviser Michael Clark.

New business for validated employee benefit producers decreased over the past three years. Organic growth for independent brokers has also slowed. However, mergers are on a record-setting pace.

It all starts with a business plan and honest answers to some tough questions about the state of your company, says columnist Jack Kwicien.

Employee education is critical to health care cost management, says United Benefit Advisors’ Les McPhearson, who addresses rising plan costs in the company’s annual health plan survey.

Implementing top-tier plans poses unique obstacles for advisers and their employer clients.

Commentary: Without building a better plan, continued participation will wane and the program as a whole will fall short of employer health initiatives, says adviser Tim Olson, who shares five steps that will lead employer clients to an improved plan.

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Digital Insurance announces investment in tech company GoCo it hopes will transform not only the way the firm does business with small and mid-size employers, but will also raise client expectations of the benefit industry as a whole.

Commentary: Advisers focused on life insurance and financial planning are missing an opportunity to stand out by introducing DI into the discussion.

Commentary: Executives are starting to acknowledge that engagement alone won’t drive long-term results.

In an exclusive interview, EBA’s 2015 Adviser of the Year Tim Olson describes “the single biggest thing” advisers should avoid if they want to grow their business. Also, Olson, managing partner at The Olson Group, shares how advisers can make money on licensing fees with little outward spend.

A new company founded by two former Munich Re Stop Loss executives is selling stop-loss insurance directly to self-insured employers, aiming to eliminate brokers from the equation altogether.

Commentary: Adviser Vinnie Daboul offers a three-step process to overcome the elements that pose the greatest threat to a broker’s business.

Commentary: Three costs to your business that go beyond monetary loss and have a direct long-term impact on client relations.

Commentary: Changes will attack the costs of health care and trickle down to benefit brokers. These outsiders may or may not see the broker as a valuable resource in their future world, says Joe Markland.

Commentary: Gone are the days of century-old insurance carriers’ dominance at conferences and expos. In are new products, new technology, new vendors and new partnerships. As a result, unique ideas and models are thriving, says Zenefits’ Tim Cerimele.

A new hotline for agents and brokers will not be able to answer specific questions from agents about their clients, disappointing broker organizations, which expected a hotline similar to what navigators have.

To date, adoption of private benefit exchanges by employers has been modest, but Holley Maher, partner at St. Louis-area brokerage MRCT, sees them as a highly relevant solution. And, despite issues Healthcare.gov has caused for brokers and consumers alike, the site is changing the health care landscape, says Maher, whose company operates its Smart Benefits Marketplace using bswift technology.

As private exchanges continue to evolve, industry insiders say the integration of accountable care organizations could be the ‘next big thing' in the exchange world; one that could be a big win for employers.