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Thought Leadership — Analysis
Why Ask Why? Understanding What’s Behind Employers’ and Employees’ Decisions to Offer and Buy Voluntary Benefits Can Impact Your Success in This Growing Market
November 2024
It’s no secret that the Voluntary Benefits industry is bigger than ever: Both sales and in-force premium hit record highs last year, riding the wave of a four-year growth trend.
5 keys to a successful voluntary benefits open enrollment
October 2024
Here are five key strategies to drive stronger participation in your clients' benefits programs during this year's open enrollment.
Is Crossing the Pond Possible for Voluntary Benefits?
September 2024
The United States has a long history of successfully exporting parts of its culture abroad, from hamburgers to hip-hop. But the same can’t be said for employee benefits, especially voluntary benefits.
Supplemental Health Products Step Into Limelight
July 2024
Life and disability insurance are the perennial divas of the voluntary benefits marketplace, but they’re far from the only players on the stage.
Voluntary benefits sales reach historic highs
June 2024
Benefits advisors are benefitting from a boom in the voluntary market.
Supplemental Health Products Step Into Limelight
July 2024
Life and disability insurance are the perennial divas of the voluntary benefits marketplace, but they’re far from the only players on the stage. Supplemental health products including hospital indemnity, accident and critical illness are taking more active roles in many employee benefits packages.
5 things you should know about AI and voluntary benefits
May 2024
Technology is the fastest changing — and fastest growing — aspect of the voluntary benefits industry.
Gig Workers Offer Big Benefits Opportunity
May 2024
Carriers looking to expand their markets to serve underpenetrated populations may be overlooking a key demographic: gig workers.
2024 voluntary survey: Brokers sing praises of voluntary business
May 2024
The 2024 annual BenefitsPRO/Eastbridge voluntary survey shows continuing enthusiasm for the voluntary/worksite market
Is Artificial Intelligence a Smart Move for Voluntary Carriers?
April 2024
Voluntary benefits carriers have been cautiously dipping their toes into new technology tools that help streamline operations and improve customer service. Eastbridge’s recent “Application Programming Interface and Artificial Intelligence Carrier Practices” Frontline™ Report shows nearly two-thirds of carriers support API data exchange...
Connecting the voluntary dots… and data
April 2024
There are many reasons why your clients in the voluntary benefits industry should be using application programming interface technology.
Gig workers offer a new voluntary sales opportunity
March 2024
There are at least 1.6 million gig economy workers in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's just 1% of the country's workforce.
Emerging opportunities in the voluntary market
January 2024
Benefits advisors can tap into new sales by helping employers explore new and expanded benefits plans.
New Year’s Wish List... New Year’s Resolutions We Wish Voluntary Players Would Make
January 2024
Losing weight, exercising more and saving money are perennial entries on many people’s lists of new year’s resolutions. All worthy goals, but don’t stop there.
Are takeovers part of your voluntary strategy?
December 2023
This article offers five things voluntary benefits advisors need to know to succeed in a takeover environment.
Identity Theft Insurance Offers Protection in an Increasingly Digital World
December 2023
Online shopping, cell phones and credit cards make life easier for millions of Americans but they also make it easier to fall victim to identity theft and fraud.
How good enrollments get in the way of great enrollments
November 2023
Employees give high marks overall to their voluntary benefits enrollments, but employers and theier benefits advisors may be missing opportunities to increase satisfaction and participation.
Different strokes for different folks
October 2023
Autumn is prime time for some of America’s favorite pursuits: college football, the World Series and… annual benefits enrollments.
Break with tradition
September 2023
We all have our traditions, like parades, picnics and fireworks. Or the family recipe that appears at every holiday meal, even if no one really likes it.
Big get bigger in voluntary market
July-August 2023
THE PANDEMIC IS mostly in the rearview mirror. And while it’s too soon to say we’re back to normal, research shows several major growth trends.
Nuances of the mid-size market
June 2023
YOU MAY HAVE HEARD the famous French saying, “Vive la difference,” used to express appreciation of diversity—often between men and women, sometimes between cultures and opinions.
Small business is big business
April-May 2023
IF BUILDING A bigger client base is your plan, it pays to think small. U.S. companies with 10–99 employees account for more than 90% of businesses and 30 million employees, more than any market except firms over 10,000 employees.
Matching Clients and Carriers
February-March 2023
TO PARAPHRASE AN old TV advertising campaign: When you talk, people listen.
3 questions you should ask your benefit technology partners
December/January 2023
WITH THE HOLIDAYS on hand, maybe you’d like to give your clients a great gift. As tempting as a fruit-of-the-month club membership might be, here’s a suggestion that’ll last much longer: a benefits technology partner with capabilities and services that match their needs and those of the benefits carriers you use.
Thought Leadership Archive
2022 Published Articles
Change is Good
November 2022
Same old, same old? Not when it comes to benefits. According to our The Employer Viewpoint report, more employers — 62% compared to 44% two years ago — plan to make changes in the next 12–18 months.
Decisions, decisions
October 2022
Ahh, fall. The weather is getting cooler, college football is on the field… and benefits enrollment season is right around the corner.
Big getting bigger
September 2022
If trends in voluntary sales were put to music, it would be a ballad with many verses, but a repeating refrain. We recently reported that the largest carriers continue to dominate the market, with the top 15 accounting for approximately 72% of total voluntary/worksite sales in 2021—unchanged from 2020.
Bigger isn’t always better
July/August 2022
“New and improved” is such a common marketing theme for consumer products that it’s gone beyond cliché
to become fodder for jokes and memes. Still, most companies in every industry—from laundry soap to luxury cars—are constantly looking for ways to make their products seem new and, well, improved.
Choose products by value, not price
June 2022
“You get what you pay for.” It’s a Most important factors in choosing a carrier cliché because it’s true. Whether you’re choosing a restaurant, kicking the tires of a new car or trying on shoes, a lot more goes into your decision than price.
Beyond the integration buzz
April / May 2022
If “claim integration” was a social media topic, it would be trending right now. Integration is becoming increasingly common and is creating a lot of buzz in claims practices these days. According to recent Eastbridge Consulting Group research, a majority of carriers offer some type of claim integration service between medical, traditional group and voluntary product lines.
Let’s talk enrollment
February / March 2022
You've heard the saying about a tree falling in the forest when nobody’s there to hear it. Let’s apply that to benefits enrollment: If you wow your client with a comprehensive and affordable benefits package, but few employees sign up, is the benefits program a success?
See it my way: Why it pays to take the employee view of benefits
January 2022
Voluntary benefits are an increasingly important part of a competitive benefits program. But let’s be honest, compared to major medical and other group benefits, voluntary sometimes requires a little more work to make it, well, work.
2021 Published Articles
Voluntary portfolios continue to expand: Are you up to speed?
December 2021 / January 2022
The diversity of products offered atworksites continues to expand. While traditional life, disability and even supplemental health products are now mainstays in most brokers’ voluntary portfolios, “non-traditional” products like identity protection, pet insurance and legal plans are also now more commonly offered, desired and owned. More than 70% of brokers today regularly sell one or more non-traditional products, and between half and almost three-quarters offer identity theft protection.
Voluntary claims integration: Beyond the buzzword
November 2021
The concept of voluntary benefit claims integration is generating a lot of buzz. More carriers are offering it, employers are seeking it, but what does it mean? And what do brokers need to be aware of as they discuss it with clients?
Entering enrollment season: What have we learned from 2020?
October 2021
As we enter the peak season for voluntary benefits enrollments, it’s natural to wonder what to expect, given the continued disruption from the pandemic. What methods and communication/ education campaigns will be most effective for employees as we evolve into a diverse mix of in-person and virtual enrollment scenarios in the workplace?
COVID-19’s impact on voluntary sales: Part 3
September 2021
This is the last in our series on voluntary sales results for 2020. The first article looked at overall sales for the year, while the second reviewed sales by product line and platform. This column spotlights distribution segments.
COVID-19's impact on voluntary sales, part 2
July/August 2021
IN A PREVIOUS column, we reported that voluntary new business annualized premium (sales) for 2020 was $7.463 billion, down 15.5% over 2019 sales. This article highlights sales by product line and platform.
Stuck in the middle?
May/June 2021
IT’S COMMON FOR benefits professionals to reference all the nuances between the large and small ends of the voluntary market. The number of carriers used per enrollment and the top products offered are just a couple of the easily discernible aspects of these market segments. However, the mid-market (employers with between 100-999 employees) is a distinct segment with particular preferences and characteristics.
Voluntary products in a COVID-19 world
Plot Points, March–April 2021
AS COVID-19 CONTINUES to change the benefits landscape, employers anticipate continuing to make changes to their benefits packages. Eastbridge research found that, as a result of COVID-19 changes, almost a third of employers—a percentage similar to that reported in 2018—are planning to add new voluntary benefits and/or move employer-paid products to voluntary this year.
Engagement is key to achieving good participation
Plot Points, January–February 2021
PARTICIPATION RATES FOR voluntary Most important factors limiting participation products have been stable in 2020, according to a survey of voluntary carriers. And although this survey preceded the results of the fourth quarter of 2020, the findings are still useful.
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