Workplace benefits now an absolute for insurance brokers

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The Affordable Care Act drastically changed the way insurance coverage is offered by employers. The goal was to extend benefits to those who didn’t have access to them in the past, including people who were self-employed, 1099 contractors, or businesses that have fewer than 50 employees.

Healthcare reform complexity can make it hard for employers to understand the decisions they need to make to provide comprehensive benefits to their employees.

The shifts combined with that intricacy have taken employers by storm. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And, that light is taking the shape of Workplace Benefits.

Employers of all sizes are adding supplemental benefits to help offset the cost of a high-deductible health plan, meet the demands of a diverse workforce, and remain competitive when attracting and retaining top talent.

As a result, advisors are not only selling more of these benefits, but they’ve become a necessary part of their portfolio.  As reported by Insurance News, there has been a 57 percent increase in brokers selling supplemental benefits to their employer accounts. That’s a large number, especially when compared to the last three years where it sat at 48 percent.

Before the ACA, supplemental offerings, often referred to as voluntary benefits, were considered a “nice to have.” Now, advisors are forced to bring in additional offerings and concentrate a little less on medical.

Premiums for traditional medical are usually employer-funded or shared between employer and employee while supplemental Workplace Benefits are generally paid for by the employee with pre-tax dollars.

  • According to a 2017 survey completed by East Bridge Consulting, a firm that specializes in providing counsel to the workplace and worksite industry:
  • The percentage of benefits advisors writing more than five cases annually rose more than 10 percentage points to 40 percent over the year-ago period.
  • The number of benefits advisors with more than 25 percent of their total benefit revenue coming from supplemntal products rose almost 10 percent this year over last year.

The percentage of benefits advisors selling $100,000 or less in voluntary premium dropped by nearly 10 percent year over year.

Healthcare is very different now than say, five years ago. Now, there are health maintenance organizations, Accountable Care Organizations, health savings accounts, reimbursements, and more. Even advisors’ commissions have changed. Now, selling additional benefits is absolute. They aren’t just filling the gaps in traditional medical care, and they are also filling the commission gaps for brokers.

Are you a Workplace Benefits advisor? Learn more about what it’s like to partner with and sell Wellfleet Workplace Benefits.

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