Practice management

Advisers who provide a variety of distribution methods, year-round support and targeted messages help employees better understand their benefits, which leads to increased participation.

Commentary: The health care cost crisis needs to be addressed now. Enter applied predictive analytics.

With its streamlined technology platform and no fee business model, Zenefits has created quite a stir in the benefits industry. Should brokers be scared or should they be thanking Zenefits for pushing the envelope?

There are three types of brokers: the transactional broker, the Zenefits-style broker and the new school premier broker — but soon only one of them will be successful.

Employee financial stress can often be overlooked by the C-suite. Yet, some industry experts say it can have a major impact on the company’s productivity and profitability. Financial education should be considered a pivotal component of any employer’s wellness program.

Health reform has put a spotlight on ben admin and HRIS systems, but there are many factors to consider when choosing a new platform, experts say.

Focusing on the end result of what voluntary benefits can do for an employer makes the proposition of introducing the products a no-brainer, says Willis’ Mike Meredith.

Waiting to see how private exchanges play out is no longer a business strategy; and to succeed, brokers must change their business practices, speaker at EBA/EBN Private Healthcare Exchanges conference says.

Benefit advisers have an increasing responsibility to keep client data secure, says Tinker Kelly, president and CEO of VEBA. He explains practical prevention tips and what to do if a breach occurs.

Spousal exclusions are usually implemented as a cost-saving tactic but they can be a difficult sell to employees whose spouses may be affected.

Not according to employers, who are turning to brokers to help them navigate the ACA, explore technology capabilities and administer group plans, a new study finds.

The honor recognizes extraordinary contributions such as significantly increasing a firm’s sales and/or market share, providing strategic consulting to help clients achieve their highest goals, fostering employee benefit innovations, advocating successfully for adviser causes and, in general, elevating the status of all women in the profession.

Commentary: As a broker offering these benefits to your employer groups, it is important to become proficient in voluntary benefits or choose to outsource this expertise.

Michael Turpin, the former CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s Northeast region, shares his thoughts on the new landscape and the potential impact the deal could have on benefit brokers and the insurance industry.

Commentary: Brokers need to embrace technologies that allow them to work faster, smarter and more cost-effectively — here are 6 ways to streamline your business.

With just three major insurance companies, brokers must distinguish themselves from carriers, create additional approaches to serve clients and develop alternative risk approaches to health benefits, industry experts say.

Anthem Inc. struck a deal to buy rival Cigna Corp. for $48.4 billion, wrapping up almost a year of contentious negotiations and potentially creating the largest health insurer in the U.S.

Commentary: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejects a previous decision that the interns were employees and establishes a new standard for determining whether interns are employees.

Worksite voluntary benefits are gaining in popularity on standard ancillary benefit offerings, but the adviser’s sales approach to each needs to be varied.

As a value-added reseller, Apprize Technology sells and services to brokers three different benefit administration platforms, what many call a private exchange— bswift, benefitsCONNECT and Infiniti HR. Gary Wert, Apprize’s president, discusses why Apprize and other resellers may have to turn away business in the fourth quarter and why some brokers aren’t building their own exchange, but rather using a reseller.