Recently I had the pleasure of speaking at the third annual WorkComp Advisory Group's “Knowledge and Networking” event. (The organization works with independent agencies to develop sales strategies, centered on but not exclusively targeted to Workers' Comp.)

I spoke on the challenges faced by both the publishing industry and independent agents. But while my presentation was no doubt scintillating to the attendees, they were probably more interested in what WorkComp co-founders Frank Pennachio and Susan Toussaint had to say about upcoming industry trends and strategies. They focused on three: the producer-performance gap, the influence of big data and health-care reform.

From the attendees' perspective, perhaps the most disturbing of those trends is the last.

Most WorkComp Advisory clients are midsize agencies that serve small to midsize customers. Pennachio is concerned about the gradual creep of multinational brokers into the Employee Benefits and Health Care arena, starting with the largest corporate buyers of benefits. But technology, buyer need and economy of scale could soon enable big brokers to target the 50-employees-and-under businesses—the independent agent's bread and butter.

Using private Health Insurance exchanges as the enticement, the biggest brokers could soon be “buying their way into your clients' offices,” Pennacchio said.

He noted that both Aon Hewitt and Arthur J. Gallagher are getting into the Health Insurance exchange business. Aon Hewitt announced it will assist individuals with questions they have about the plans offered and will be compensated with fees and commissions paid by insurers that participate in its program. According to Mike Christie, senior vice president of exchanges for Aon Hewitt, “There is a lot of work employers no longer will have to do.”

This is great for companies, especially because under the current model of an employer-sponsored defined-contribution plan, tax law still allows deductibility if the company works with a private exchange, such as those run by Aon Hewitt and Gallagher. If an employee goes to a state exchange for an individual policy, the employer loses this deductibility. Additionally, by working with a big broker's private Health Insurance exchange, employees can just go to a website and have the broker administer their coverage, and they can call a 1-800 number if there's ever an issue.

It's not so great for independent agents, whose business relationships might be compromised if big brokers get into smaller business.

“Some midmarket agencies think that health-care reform won't affect them, but this trend will,” Pennacchio said. “Instead of wringing their hands about health-care reform, the big brokers are leveraging it as a business strategy. With technology, health-care reform and their power, they'll be able to engage with employers of all sizes—and you'll have them in your shops.”

Big brokers are also acquiring Employee Benefits-only agencies. According to MarshBerry, which provides consulting services to agencies, Employee Benefit deals so far this year have accounted for 50 percent of the transactions completed by the Top 3 brokers. This means they're buying access to accounts they would have never gone after in the past, Pennacchio noted.

The situation could develop along the lines of ADP and Paychex's entry into the Workers' Comp insurance business. Fifteen years ago, when these payroll companies began referring customers to a 1-800 number for Workers' Comp quotes, agents considered them “ankle biters.” Today, they're opening agencies of their own and getting contracts with the same carriers as independent agents.

So what can independent agents do to respond to this wake-up call? “Get out of the transactional approach to business and prove your value to your clients,” Pennacchio said. “Transactional business is threatened by technology. It's happened to travel agents; insurance agents are no different. If you've played the transactional game and it's worked, it was only because the big brand-name brokers didn't want your business. Now they can be in the door electronically.”

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Will Health-Care Reform Help Big Brokers Steal Your Business?

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