Making The Most Of Life And DI

KANSAS CITY - Too many of your business clients regard employee benefits such as life and disability insurance as an expense to manage instead of a key part of their employee offerings.

That’s the word from Kevin Curran of Employee Benefits Subject Matter Experts, who discussed “Ancillary Optimization” at today’s National Association of Health Underwriters annual convention.

Curran advocated the idea of benefits brokers providing a deep analysis of life and disability insurance to their business clients instead of merely helping them shop for a plan with the lowest rates.

Curran outlined how to conduct a comprehensive life and disability plan audit with business clients. He described how to focus on the strategic alignment and coordination of group insurance plans with paid time off, executive benefits, individual planning, business continuity planning and operating agreement structuring.

“Instead of presenting products and price, do more of a consultation with clients,” he said.

What frequently is overlooked in the life and disability insurance discussion, he said, is that employers don’t consider what death or disability really means to the employee, the employer and the company.

Brokers must ask the right questions in order to get the life/disability discussion going with employers, Curran said. Those questions should include:

• “What are your earnings?” Some employees may be salaried only but others may be paid through commissions, bonuses or other non-salaried means. All of those earnings should be considered when figuring out the right amount of life/disability insurance to be offered.
• “What about paid time off programs?” How do dollars continue to flow into the company when workers are off the job due to disability.

It all comes down to brokers sitting down with business clients and guiding them into a discussion of how the company stands to lose business if an employee dies or becomes unable to work.

“And then you must help employers figure out what they want to do and how you can help them reach that goal,” he said.

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at Susan.Rupe@innfeedback.com. Follow her on Twitter @INNsusan.

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