Innovative Business Opportunities Now Available to Independent Employee Benefits Advisors Through Digital Insurance And GoCo.io

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Biotech Week -- Digital Insurance and GoCo.io are introducing an innovative business opportunity, which enables select independent employee benefits advisors to join GoCo.io and use advanced technology to differentiate their firms by expanding their capabilities and enhancing client service. This novel arrangement unites three elements in a combination not yet offered in the marketplace: local brokerage capabilities; GoCo.io's sophisticated human capital management solution offered at no cost to employers; and the power of Digital's shared services platform and national resources to provide employee benefits solutions, including compliance management, for the broker's small employers (see also Digital Insurance).

"As our industry rapidly consolidates, sole proprietors and very small benefits advisors are playing defense every day, trying to hold on to the accounts they have," says Mike Sullivan, chief growth officer for Digital Insurance. "The marketplace has progressed to the point where employers expect their brokers to offer integrated software solutions, yet smaller firms lack the capital and manpower to invest in and deploy these resources. This fresh approach offers a tremendous opportunity for experienced brokers to align with a world-class software team who values what they do and realizes clients need the best of both worlds."

Brokers participating in this relationship will operate under the GoCo.io banner and serve as the sales force in their market for this unique combination of services. Their clients will benefit from the simplicity of using one human resources system to manage employee benefits administration, onboarding and off-boarding, along with other HR functions. In addition, GoCo.io's solution can be integrated with any existing payroll system. Unlike many other "free" HR software products, GoCo.io's team performs the integration with other HR data sources -- including payroll -- providing employers seamless implementation. In addition, client service will be enhanced through Digital's platform of resources, ensuring compliance with government regulations and access to benefits only available through a national company.

"Our approach is a dramatic evolution of the model Zenefits introduced, which solely focused on software," says GoCo.io CEO Nir Leibovich. "We've designed even more elegant technology, combined it with Digital's best-in-class benefits solutions, and we're now offering this to the market through established local benefits advisors who provide personal service. Our software enables advisors in the small group arena to future-proof their business, while obtaining a dynamic competitive advantage by providing greater value to employers. This extraordinary opportunity will be available to only a select set of advisors who will experience geographic exclusivity and retain considerable autonomy, yet gain assets they would otherwise not be able to attain." The primary focus of a prospect's business must be employee benefits; they should be highly motivated to grow an established client base; and they need to be a good cultural fit.

In 2015, Digital invested in GoCo.io, a Houston-based technology company, and is deploying the tech firm's human capital management solution with many of Digital's 30,000 small and mid-sized clients.

Digital also is continuing its active acquisitions mode, seeking to buy local and regional employee benefits firms in key U.S. markets. This latest endeavor -- creating a broker network for GoCo.io -- came about because Digital Chief Growth Officer Sullivan had been approached by a variety of advisors interested in selling their firms to Digital, but were too small for consideration.

"Digital has built a reputation for growth and innovation while simultaneously partnering with brokers," says Sullivan. "Because we have talked at length to GoCo.io about the same strategy, we are in an ideal position to address the needs of small brokers through our relationship with the tech firm. In reality, there are individuals and small firms that may be a better fit to join the GoCo.io team for myriad structural reasons."

Leibovich further explains, "Pairing local brokers with offerings from GoCo.io and Digital delivers a disruptive model to the marketplace - something that companies like Zenefits can't easily or effectively replicate. In our view, the road is littered with firms that have looked to replace the benefits broker with software. It is neither a practical, nor to date, a successful strategy. We look forward to aligning with benefits advisors with the right attitude, energy and intelligence to become part of the future of GoCo.io and this industry."

Independent employee benefits advisors interested in learning more should visit http://info.goco.io/broker. About GoCo.io GoCo.io, based in Houston, Texas, creates technology solutions that reimagine the way companies interact with their employees. By creating delightful user experiences, the technology transcends operational value and helps small and mid-sized businesses transform their culture. GoCo.io's modern web platform streamlines critical business operations, including employee onboarding and off-boarding, document management, HR compliance and benefits administration. The founders have an impressive track record in the tech industry, notably launching MarketZero, Inc., a gaming analytics platform later acquired by gaming giant Zynga. Soon after they founded Arpeggi, Inc., a GE-backed company that developed bioinformatics solutions for human genome sequencing and analysis, which was acquired by biotech firm Gene by Gene. About Digital Insurance Digital Insurance is the largest employee benefits-only company in the United States. Distinguished by its focus on innovation, advocacy and education, the company creates greater value for employers and inspires individuals to become more engaged healthcare consumers. Its main division, Digital Benefit Advisors, offers experienced, local market experts in communities across the country, providing innovative solutions and expanded services to help companies meet their strategic business objectives. Headquartered in Atlanta, Digital has 800 employees throughout the country and serves 30,000 companies, partners with 275 leading brokers and manages nearly $4 billion in premiums. Digital Insurance has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of America's fastest-growing companies every year since the honor's inception in 2007. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160713006108/en/

Keywords for this news article include: Software, Technology, Digital Insurance.

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