Practice management

It’s time to nominate your outstanding colleagues — or yourself — for Employee Benefit Adviser’s 2012 Adviser of the Year awards! EBA’s Advisers of the Year are recognized for their stellar performance in sales, client service and overall impact on the profession.

New findings from Tiburon Strategic Advisors reveal some interesting facts about advisers’ appetite, or lack thereof, for headline grabbing products such as alternatives and exchange-traded funds.

Financial advisers are so uncomfortable speaking about life insurance that more than half (56%) simply don’t do it, according to a recent survey by consultancy Saybrus Partners Inc.

More than 75% of health care incentives are so small or poorly communicated that they go unnoticed by providers. As a result, more than $20 billion in incentives may be wasted annually, according to a study.

At least one-third of surveyed full-time workers lack long-term disability insurance, according to a new report that sheds light on an opportunity for brokers. Employees need education to protect their financial wellbeing and to better understand the risks they face and how they can choose the right coverage through the workplace.

The average cost of care for a typical family receiving health care through an employer-sponsored PPO plan in 2012 will cost $20,728, a 6.9% increase over 2011. Though this is the lowest rate of increase in 12 years, the $1,335 increase surpasses last year’s record of $1,319. This is according to the Milliman Medical Index.

Following a pair of bear markets, advisers know the days of buy-and-hold investors with 60/40 portfolio allocations are over.

One of the most difficult hires for any agency to make is to hire a new producer that will produce on par with your most successful producers. While I’m not suggesting giving up on that effort, I would encourage you to make sure you are reviewing your current production team and constantly rehiring the successful producers you already have. Huh?! - Well, not necessarily in the literal sense …

The New York Department of Financial Services has issued a mandate requiring New York life insurers to search the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Death Master File every three months in order to find beneficiaries of the recently deceased who are unaware they are eligible for benefits.

There’s no question that driving is getting safer. Collision avoidance and other safety features in automobiles are becoming more sophisticated and ubiquitous, having worked their way down from high-end luxury vehicles to family sedans and subcompacts. Now automated traffic law enforcement and telematics could further reduce fatalities and insured losses, and the promise of Google’s self-driving car could remove driver error as the primary cause of collisions and injuries.

Financial firms can ‘outsource’ almost any operation, from reporting to trade processing to customer support, to the computing cloud, anywhere in the world.

Half of Americans say they aren’t contributing to a retirement plan, but more specifically 56% of Americans ages 18-34 are more likely to be among those not saving, according to a recent LIMRA survey.

While the number of overall insurers included in the Fortune 500 diminished slightly yet again—from 49 in 2010 to 47 last year to 46 this year—Nationwide provided insurers with one more top-100 slot by moving up 27 spots.

Employee financial education can in fact improve employee engagement with retirement benefits and help them do a better job preparing for the future.

The annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends, which tracks major trends and attitudes on the subject of employee benefits, was recently released and it has a good news/bad news message for employers. EBA contributor Ron Leopold shares five ways progressive employers stand out in the benefits arena.

A recent survey by TD Ameritrade uncovers how much financial trouble a fiancé will tolerate before calling off the wedding.

One broker looks at how his company walks the talk with wellness programs and says how that can work for all your clients.

A majority of employees (90%) recognize the importance of group disability insurance and believe their employer should offer it, according to a recent Unum survey — but most (52%) do not understand this coverage. Not only does this present an opportunity for brokers to build their trusted adviser status with employers, it also has great potential to lead to more sales of the product. Because, despite their lack of knowledge about employer-provided disability insurance, 88% of employees surveyed think is it is personally important to be covered.

Investment products are "overly complex," and investors are feeling "overwhelmed" by the slew investment choices available to them, according to the MFS Investing Sentiment Survey.

An effective dialysis management program optimizes the way kidney dialysis is paid for and how treatment is provided. Read as Sam Fleet explains in today's BeAdvised how insurance brokers can help companies capture these savings by bringing them together with innovative benefit managers.