Practice management

When meeting with a prospect or client are you clear about what's important to them? Steve Kloyda shares a fly fishing tale in today’s BeAdvised and describes why you not only have to select the right bait but you have to hit the bullseye.

As the effects of the recent financial crisis continue to spread across the globe, financial stress is an issue for both women and men.

Consumers, facing worries over being able to afford adequate health care, want their employers to do more to help them improve their health and get the most from their employer-provided health and wellness plans, according to a new survey.

Have you taken a chance to reflect on your adviser practice? With 2011 coming to an end, BeAdvised contributor Robert Arnoff shares four ethical questions to keep in mind for 2012.

As another open enrollment season comes to a close, millions of consumers are finalizing their benefits packages for 2012. Unfortunately, more than half of insured adults are confused with several important aspects related to choosing a health insurance plan, reveals a survey released Monday.

Humans are complex and fascinating beings. And, they make decisions based on many factors – including things that aren’t rational. That’s what makes it so challenging to engage people in wellness programs and activities. Most of us want to be healthier and we certainly know why it’s important. So, why aren’t more of us living healthier lives? …

The leading industry trade organizations expressed disappointment after the December 2 Department of Health and Human Services release of the final medical loss ratio rule failed to remove broker commissions from the administrative side of health reform’s MLR calculation.

As we are approaching the end of 2011, I thought it would be appropriate to provide some commentary about a winning strategy that we have seen forward-thinking benefits advisers, brokers and voluntary benefits firms employing in the marketplace.

Semantics are supremely important in making or breaking certain lines of insurance.

With serious concerns about medical commission cuts and maintaining top-line revenues, 58% of brokers and consultants are embracing two specific initiatives EBA contributor Nelson Griswold explains in the December issue.

Just when you thought you understood hosted solutions and software-as-a-service, the technology industry has moved on to cloud computing. Over the last two years there have been all kinds of announcements of cloud computing companies with a wide variety of capabilities, the most notable being Apple's announcement in May of its iCloud offering.

So I have to tell you, the November EBA really got me fired up. In a good way.

I would like to discuss with you the building blocks of a successful sales culture. Let us start with values and morals. Then we will move on to thoughts which lead to behavior. Behaviors establish a culture, the backbone of your organization.

I want you to imagine that you are sitting at your desk and you get the following call:

Long-term care is a "problem every-body will face and no one wants to talk about." But with the shelving of the CLASS Act by Congress, planning for long-term care is becoming part of the national conversation - and that presents an opportunity for brokers.

Following the Eastbridge Consulting Group report earlier this year that showed a decrease in voluntary benefits sales during 2010, it has been refreshing to see that, according to recent insurance carriers' annual surveys, employees' interest remains strong.

Nearly two-thirds, 63.8%, of plan sponsors have changed the investment lineup in their 401(k) plan in the past year, up markedly from a mere 20% in 2008, according to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America.

While 88% of small business owners do not think it is right for the government to force a state resident to buy health insurance, more than 90% of them do not intend on purchasing health coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

With new cost-basis reporting requirements in effect for the 2011 tax year, Charles Schwab is warning investment advisers to brace for a hectic tax season and prepare for a flood of questions from clients who for the first time will receive a revised 1099-B form packed with new transaction information.

Consumers who receive a financial needs analysis are more likely to buy life insurance, and purchase larger face amounts, than those who don’t receive an analysis, according to LIMRA’s 2011 U.S. Buyer-Nonbuyer study.