Sales and marketing

AXA S.A. is entering the U.S. employee benefits market, citing its assessment that employers with between 20 and 200 employees are under-served.

The many tradeoffs that health insurers had to make from both a regulatory and plan-design standpoint in order to adapt under the Affordable Care Act appear to be paying off as the landmark legislation approaches its five-year mark.

Agentreview.net launches this month, aiming to give consumers one location to find and critique local insurance agents.

Commentary: Want to grow your business? Then never ask a client for a referral, says columnist Nelson Griswold. Referral marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies, but it must be done the right way, he adds.

Commentary: The market place has changed and your role must adapt. Columnist Jack Kwicien proves his point through an analogous set of market dynamics.

Commentary: Step up your game or your clients may choose to become your competitors, says the head of Pittsburgh Business Group on Health

EBA is looking for industry leaders age 35 and younger to be featured our April issue.

When it comes to private exchange operators, Array Health differs from most, in that the technology company powers many insurers’ private exchanges, including Highmark Blue Shield in Pittsburgh and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. The company’s CEO shares how private exchanges are changing the way health care is sold in the United States.

It was just a year ago that VSP Global and Google, Inc. teamed up to offer Google Glass prescription lenses and frames at a subsidized price. But Google Glass’s announcement last week that it was halting sales of the product raises questions about VSP’s future role.

Commentary: To survive the ongoing thinning of the herd, columnist Nelson Griswold asks what are you planning to do differently in 2015 to remain relevant to your clients and grow your business?

Commentary: There are a lot of innovative options that have been implemented by those who are being proactive and who are changing their roles as employee benefit advisers. Columnist Jack Kwicien shares their competitive advantage.

Commentary: In sales, there’s often too much boasting and not enough doing. Sales expert John Graham shares seven steps to boost your bottom line.

Commentary: While agents providing these value-added services have disrupted the market and changed the nature of the benefit sales game, they were but a precursor to the far bigger disruptor taking over huge chunks of the benefits marketplace, says columnist Mel Schlesinger.

Commentary: Not holding producers accountable does immeasurable damage to your culture and morale, says columnist Wendy Keneipp, who shares how to build a plan to keep your producers productive today.

Commentary: How to win the game by exiting the technology arms race — and saving money in the process. Tech expert Joe Markland shares 8 guiding principles.

Commentary: If you work with businesses that have high-income earners, you have an opportunity to sell IDI policies on a guarantee issue basis, which creates many advantages for the insureds, the employer and you.

Commentary: Benefit professionals still struggle to have a seat at the table with a company’s big decision makers. Workplace expert Brad Karsh shares five tips on how to get the C-suite to take notice.

How one brokerage’s dedication to community service strengthens its business and ties to its clients, changes lives, and honors the legacy of its people-focused founder

It’s been a year of massive growth for private exchanges, with estimates of more than three million people receiving employer health benefits through them by mid-2014, according to business management consultancy Accenture. Yet, 2015 is expected to see even more growth and acquisitions.

Industry hopes for a streamlined broker licensing process took a major hit Tuesday when the Senate adjourned without passing legislation that aimed to ease the ability of brokers to sell insurance in states across the U.S.