Employee enthusiasm for voluntary products is expected to be higher in 2010 according to the latest Confidence Index survey by Eastbridge Consulting.

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (February 23, 2010)

The latest results of Eastbridge Consulting Group’s Voluntary Industry Confidence Index survey show that confidence in the future of the voluntary industry continues to improve.

One of the key measures used in calculating the index is expectation regarding employee enthusiasm towards voluntary products.  Seventy-one (71) percent of respondents in the most recent survey expect employees to be more enthusiastic about voluntary over the next 12 months. This measure is up 11 points from year-end 2008, and the overall mean for this question was 3.76, up from 3.53 in 2008.

“While we realize this question does not go to the ‘source’ (employees), we do feel that those in the industry – especially brokers—have a sense of how employees are feeling so we watch this measure,” says Gil Lowerre, president Eastbridge.  “In the most recent survey, brokers were more positive than were carriers, with 83 percent expecting increased employee enthusiasm during the next 12 months,” adds Lowerre.

The Voluntary Industry Confidence Index study is conducted semi-annually and includes responses from individuals active in the market—carriers, brokers, and vendors. Like other confidence indices, the index is a single number that compares the current results to a baseline measure. The first Confidence Index survey was completed in December of 2005; the results from that survey serve as our “base” year (meaning the index was at 100 for that year).

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving insurance and financial services organizations in the United States and Canada.