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August 2014 | Benefi ts Selling | BenefitsPro.com18
THIS IS THE LAST IN OUR SERIES of columns on the industry results for 2013. � e � rst article looked at overall voluntary sales for 2013, and the second shared sales by product and platform. � is � nal article spotlights sales by distribution segment.
Total voluntary sales for 2013, according to our annual U.S. Worksite/
Voluntary Sales Report, were $6.644 billion.
Bene� t brokers continued to lead the way in driving the sales increases. � e segment generated about $3.76 billion in new voluntary sales and saw their share of the market increase again from 56 percent in 2013 to 57 percent this year. Over the past 10 years, bene� t brokers have increased their share of total sales from 41 percent (in 2003) to the current 57 percent.
As seen in the past, career agents had the second highest share at 19 percent, but this share decreased from 21 percent in 2012 and is down from 26 percent 10 years ago.
As the chart shows, all segments experienced increases with the exception of the classic broker segment, which lost some sales premium.
Voluntary sales up again in 2013
■ The annual U.S. Worksite/Voluntary Sales Report is available only to carriers in the voluntary market that participate in the survey. For more information about participating in next year’s survey, contact us at [email protected].
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Gil Lowerre can be reached at (860) 676-9633 or [email protected]. Bonnie Brazzell can be reached at (803) 738-1236 or [email protected].
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SALES BY DISTRIBUTION SEGMENTSSegment 2013 Sales (millions) 2012 Sales (millions)
Benefi t brokers $3,762 $3,381Career agents $1,289 $1,254Classic brokers $806 $823Worksite specialists $552 $483Occasional producers $235 $89
2013 SALES MIX BY DISTRIBUTION SEGMENT Benefit brokersThey typically focus on employee benefi ts, particularly traditional group benefi ts. Some are actually benefi ts agencies inside of a commercial lines agency. Voluntary products are generally offered as an additional line.
Occasional producersThese producers are insurance generalists. They have a small agency that sells insurance products other than voluntary/worksite or group—usually individual or property/casualty. Worksite products are a small part of their operation.
Career agentsThey work primarily for a single company and sell that company’s voluntary/worksite products. Afl ac and Colonial reps are examples.
Classic brokersThey focus on voluntary sales. Their operations may be small or medium sized, and they typically sell directly to employers and usually provide some support services to their clients but often these are through third parties.
Worksite specialistsThis segment consists of large marketing organizations whose primary focus is voluntary sales. Benefi ts communications is a key service offered by this group. Most specialists work primarily on cases brought to them by other brokers who need their expertise in voluntary.
Occasio
nal
Special
istsCla
ssics
Career
Agent
s
Benefi t
Broker
s
57% 19% 12% 8% 4%