Practice management

Financial advisers sometimes puzzle over how to effectively reach and serve black and Hispanic clients. A Vanguard study released recently suggests they can start by drilling home a simple message: emergency savings accounts are a must.

U.S. hospitals are ripping out wall-mounted toilets and replacing them with floor models to better support obese patients. The Federal Transit Administration wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and braking. Cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more a year than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960.

In kasina’s yet-to-be released 2nd annual study, findings indicate that about 87% of asset managers and insurers use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, but very few are experiencing increased sales.

With age comes wisdom supposedly, but even as more Americans are living longer they are not financially prepared for their retirement years and also lack life insurance.

Despite employees’ lack of knowledge about employer-provided disability insurance, almost all respondents recognize the importance of this insurance and desire its coverage, according to a survey released Monday.

5:00 a.m. My morning routine: about 30 minutes of yoga, then breakfast. While I eat, I use my iPhone to check any emails. I rely on Google Reader to keep up with many publications and look for something to post on our blog.

Creating a benefits strategic plan for your clients (50 lives and larger) is a great way to engage clients in a discussion about what are they trying to accomplish with their benefits program and expenditures over the next three to five years. Your clients are going to be coping with all the market dynamics and the rippling effects of regulatory compliance, so what they need is a process for managing change. And you can be their "change agent."

How well is your agency managed? Is it being managed to generate maximum top-line revenue and maximum bottom-line profit?

Benefits sales technology can help you sell more. It's a proven fact, but unless you've tried the right technology and someone trained you how to make the technology sing like a song bird, you would not know.

If you are like most of the group health insurance agents that I speak with you sell new groups one of three ways: 1) You wait for the occasional referral; 2) You call companies asking for a chance to quote on their health plan; 3) You call companies asking for an opportunity to stop by and introduce yourself.

The pending implementation of the Department of Labor's new rules on fee disclosure was one of several topics that had hundreds of financial advisers, consultants, fiduciaries, IRA experts and record keepers gathered in the Big Easy, at the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries 401(k) Summit buzzing with nervous anticipation.

If businesses were people, most of them would be feeling a bit under the weather these days. A host of nagging issues continue to nip away at their health - the economy, sagging profit margins and rising benefits costs, just to name a few. But many companies are getting some relief now that they've added wellness programs to their benefits offerings. And your clients can, too - with a good benefits communications strategy that helps their program succeed.

As advisers continue to look for ways to become more of an asset to their clients, medical tourism is a field that continues to evolve and grow, often saving employers and employees tens of thousands of dollars in the process.

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.

Sure, there's the obvious medical, dental, life, disability, 401(k). Over time, things such as legal, auto/home and, yes, pet insurance, have been added to the list of employee benefits.

The sale of asset-based long-term care insurance protection continues to grow significantly, reveals research by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

Republicans on Thursday issued a politically charged report that quoted President Barack Obama's corporate advisers as predicting his 2010 health care overhaul would raise — not lower — the cost of care.

Owners of insurance agencies — long a community mainstay — need to start pondering their futures now or they may become irrelevant, said the chairman of The Big "I".

Richard H. Thaler, a professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and co-author of the best selling book Nudge, set out to with a former student to investigate their hunch that teams overvalue picking early and pay too much for top draft picks, including trading other picks.

As a sales leader, it’s critical for brokers to understand how to help their team realize their potential and become the most effective salesperson. Kevin Trokey explains why brokers should commit to all four steps to become one of the most valuable resources in their organization.