Practice management

I know of an employer — which shall remain nameless — that began communicating its benefits enrollment period the day enrollment began. No, I’m not kidding. Yes, it’s a real company.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the Department of Health and Human Services to take action to preserve the role of professional health insurance agents and brokers as advisers and advocates. The National Association of Health Underwriters praises the NAIC for the move.

Consider the following statistics: Only 31% of financial advisers in the U.S. are women. Only 20% of women investors have a financial adviser, but 70% would like to work with a female planner. These numbers are even more impressive given that women possess at least half — if not more — of all private wealth in the country and control 80% of all household purchases.

In the current broker/client business model local relationships are clearly preferred. However, that does not take into account the new health care landscape. Consider the advent of insurance exchanges. If Massachusetts is an example, a state’s exchange could gain a 30% market share in 3-4 years. So the client may purchase a health plan online without a local broker; the broker won’t necessarily be the only access point for products. So the question becomes, what…

We are all in search of the next new client……that’s what hunters do! As we approach 2012, most of us are creating next year’s business plan. Typical items to be in included are: Gross Revenue Expenses Net Profit New Business Revenue And a host of other plans and objectives unique to your business. What is the one activity that will have the greatest impact on all of the above 4 items? …

Bereaved spouses who have a relationship with a financial adviser can find the support invaluable in recovering their family’s financial bearings, according to a new survey. The poll, conducted by the New York Life Foundation and the National Alliance for Grieving Children, surveyed 548 parents who lost a spouse or partner and who still had children under the age of 19 at home. …

The percentage of Americans who have health insurance through their employer slipped to a new low of 44.5% in the third quarter, a drop of over 5 percentage points in three years, according to a poll released last week.

The Employee Benefit Adviser App is a must-have resource for benefit brokers, advisers and consultants who help employers build and manage their group benefits programs, be they health, retirement, voluntary or non-insurance. Choose from our helpful apps and download them today!

Millennials are by far the most confident about their ability to make the right benefit decisions, with 96% feeling “highly confident” versus 66% of Gen Xers and 64% of baby boomers, according to a recent survey conducted by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. However, nearly 80% of employees spend less than two hours evaluating their group medical, dental, life and disability insurance options and those same Millennials are in danger of being uninsured, according to the survey.

Why would employers choose to continue to pay, on average, close to $10,000 per employee for benefits when they could get away with a $2,000 penalty for not offering benefits at all? George Lane gives insight to this question in today’s BeAdvised.

More than 30% of respondents say overweight or obese individuals should have to fork out more for health insurance, according to the most recent Thomas Reuters-NPR Health Poll.

Does your reputation allow you to set the rules of engagement and stick to them? Read in today’s BeAdvised why showing customer’s quality with a capital Q will earn their trust and loyalty.

Many of the nearly 1.6 million nonprofits and charities in the country are in need of advisory services. With assets growing at 8.5%, this group represents a healthy market for advisers looking to grow their client base, according to Gary Price, managing principal at Fund Evaluation Group.

Online expectations of insurers’ Web presences are higher than ever, according to a new report from Forrester Research, for a confluence of reasons; the economic instability has increased demand in certain sectors, insurance advertising is a billion-dollar venture, with most of it directing consumers to Web presences, etc. As a result, whether quote-seekers or self-serving policyholders, consumers expect sites to be available, easy to use and fast. And if a site doesn’t live up to these expectations, a competitor is only a click away.

More than two-thirds of wellness plan participants find the health care system easier to navigate with the help of an adviser, according to an OptumHealth case study.

Employee Benefit Adviser is ramping up its social media presence, bringing you the latest news in the benefits industry and fostering intense discussions on everything from new PPACA information to voluntary policies. Come join the conversation on our sites!

Your employees are well-skilled in the areas that help them do well on the job. But, unless they work in HR or the benefits department, they aren’t benefits experts. Benefits are there to support the needs of employees and their families. So, why don’t employees understand and value them more? Because they don’t understand them! …

Financial advisers are constantly on the lookout for new and more engaging and effective ways to market their services to prospective clients.

For benefits shops to not only survive but thrive, Mark Lacher explains why we need to make innovation a core business strategy and not a ‘cool buzz word’. In today’s BeAdvised he suggests three inter-related areas that should be used as a good starting point.

Email and websites are becoming outdated when communicating with health plan participants as social media moves to the forefront, says one industry expert at the annual International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefits Conference.