Voluntary employee benefit offerings are becoming an increasingly important part of insurance broker workplace product sales, according to a survey released by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.
The Washington, D.C.-based association released the results of a survey done by Eastbridge Consulting Group Inc., which found that 94 percent of the association's commercial insurance brokers are offering those products.
The group's poll also discovered that many brokers felt selling such products was time consuming and difficult.
CIAB, whose insurance brokerage membership comprises the majority of commercial insurance placements in the U.S., indicates that the sale of voluntary benefits is growing rapidly. Only about 50 percent of the employee benefits brokers were selling voluntary benefits five years ago, according to Gil Lowerre, president of Eastbridge Consulting, in a statement.
In addition, 95 percent of the firms responding to the survey said they expect their voluntary lines business to increase in the future, and one-third of the respondents said the increase would be "significant."
Short-term disability and term life insurance were offered for sale in the workplace by the highest percentage of brokers, the survey showed, followed closely by critical illness coverage, dental and long-term disability insurance, CIAB said.
In terms of frequency, dental insurance, term life insurance and short-term disability were ranked as the top three voluntary products sold by the respondents, said the association. The survey also found that critical illness coverage is increasing in popularity.
Cancer insurance is offered by about 55 percent of the brokers, and long term care insurance by just under half of the respondents. These products were not among the most frequently sold products, CIAB said the survey showed.
Cancer and long term care insurance each were chosen as one of the most frequently sold products by only 17 percent and 14 percent of the respondents, respectively, compared with 45 percent for dental and term life insurance, 33 percent for short-term disability, 30 percent for long-term disability, and 24 percent for critical illness, according to the association.
The products sold least frequently in the workplace were auto, legal and homeowners or renters insurance.
The survey also offered some insight into why brokerages and agencies are not selling more voluntary products, said CIAB. Twenty-five percent of the respondents said they don't have enough time, while 22 percent said they did not think their customers were interested in the products.
Eighteen percent of those surveyed said they were not in the habit of offering voluntary benefits as part of their workplace product package, and 15 percent said they thought selling voluntary benefits required too much work.
CIAB said the survey asked what is needed to be successful with voluntary products. The three most frequently listed recommendations were: more assurances from carriers regarding administrative and bill capabilities; more enrollment capacity; and more expertise in cross-selling.
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