counselor provide consistent and compliant presentations of the voluntary (and
core) products. These enrollers never
stray from the script, are always punctual
and never create problems.
By providing consistent reliability
and performance, the VBC eliminates the
employer’s fears about enrollers meeting
with employees, a primary sales breakdown point for many employers … and
their brokers.
Perfect working conditions
One of the most devastating — and
frustrating — breakdown points in the
voluntary benefit sales process is failure
to get good working conditions for the
enrollers, i.e., sufficient access to the employees. Without mandatory one-on-one
meetings of at least 15 minutes, even the
best enrollers cannot generate sufficient
participation and premium.
Brokers, and even many enrollment
firms, are notoriously bad about getting
proper working conditions, often afraid
to push the issue with the employer. Yet
poor working conditions almost always
doom a voluntary benefits case to low
participation and premium.
Working online during open enrollment, the virtual benefit counselor is
guaranteed one-on-one access to each
employee for as long as is needed to effectively present and enroll the product.
Enrolled online by the VBC, a voluntary
benefit case will never fall apart due to
bad working conditions.
Results rivaling worksite
The most important test of any voluntary
benefit enrollment system is results. In
the case of voluntary benefits, this means
participation in the offering and premium
sold. This has been the fatal flaw in self-serve enrollment systems to date.
Online self-service enrollments featuring a VBC have produced participation
— and premium — rivaling the most successful one-on-one worksite enrollments.
Case studies demonstrate the effective-
83
THE PERCENTAGE OF AMERICAN EM-
PLOYEES WHO THINK MORE HIGHLY OF
EMPLOYERS THAT OFFER VOLUNTARY
BENFEITS, SAYS WELLPOINT INC.
ness of online self-serve enrollment
guided by the VBC. The effective product
communication and high-level decision
support can drive participation of 30 to
90% or greater. Here are three examples:
Employer 1: Hotel management
company
• Enrollment type: Open enrollment of
core and voluntary
• Eligible employees: 450
• Voluntary offering: cancer, permanent
life, accident with disability income
• Participation in one or more of volun-
tary products: 56%
• Average premium per employee buying: $448
• Total voluntary premium generated:
$112,896
Employer 2: Nursing home chain
• Enrollment type: Open enrollment of
core and voluntary
• Eligible employees: 8,000
• Voluntary offering: critical illness, STD,
accident
• Participation in one or more voluntary
products: 44%
• Average premium per employee buying: $467
• Total voluntary premium generated:
$1,643,840
Employer 3: New casino
• Enrollment type: Open enrollment of
core and voluntary
• Eligible employees: 1,368 (new hires)
• Voluntary offering: accident, cancer,
permanent life and STD insurance
• Participation in one or more voluntary
products: 94%
• Average premium per employee
buying: $511
• Total voluntary premium generated:
$657,146
When worksite won’t work
As an enrollment professional, I believe
in the face-to-face enrollment model.
Nothing is more satisfying and effective for all parties — broker, employee,
employer, carrier — than a well-executed
one-on-one enrollment with professional
benefit counselors. One-on-one worksite
enrollments remain the most versatile and
effective method for selling insurance and
providing value-added services for the employer. But when traditional one-on-one
enrollment meetings are not acceptable or
not feasible — with large and multi-state/
multi-location employers, for example
— online self-service enrollment guided
by a VBC is the ideal method for enrolling
voluntary benefits.
For employers who currently use their
human resource information system or
benefit administration online enrollment
platform for open enrollment, the most
advanced VBC technology can easily “bolt
on” to the existing platform, providing
effective communication of benefits and a
superior open enrollment experience.
Most employers and most brokers
have embraced online self-service enrollment as the new benefit enrollment
standard. At long last, thanks to the VBC,
the voluntary benefit industry can fully
embrace online enrollment technology
without sacrificing participation and premium production. EBA
Griswold, a former senior executive with a national enrollment firm, is a leading authority on
cross-selling voluntary benefits. His firm, Bottom
Line Solutions, Inc., consults with agencies and
carriers on cross-selling and voluntary benefits.
He can be reached at (615) 656-5974 or nelson@
cross-sellsolutions.com.
