Leveraging The Group Sales Opportunity

Sell supplemental benefits of all kinds.
In an effort to combat the rising costs of employee benefit programs, employers increasingly are seeking to transfer costs to their employees. Supplemental benefits present a logical solution. They offer employees a convenient, economical way to obtain valued additional insurance coverages best suited to their particular situation, at no cost to the employer.

Term, universal and whole life insurance are popular voluntary coverages, as are critical illness and short term disability policies. Supplemental benefit products should work together seamlessly with other group coverages to provide maximum value. Placing additional lines of coverage with a single carrier offers a variety of advantages for the employer. Simplified billing and administration are important selling points, as is increased premium stability.

Your knowledge of an employers industry and corporate culture goes a long way toward making this sale. An intimate understanding of an employers workforce will help you establish the need for additional coverages and help you obtain the employers endorsement.

Sell supplemental disability plans.
Supplemental disability income protection traditionally has been a particularly desirable addition for higher-compensated employees, or those whose income consists primarily of bonus or other performance-related compensation. Group income protection normally covers base salary only; a supplemental plan helps complement the group plan, covering other forms of variable pay and providing a higher income replacement ratio.

Supplemental individual disability coverages are not just for executives and key employees anymore. Flexible, comprehensive products that can be adapted to suit an employees changing needs over the course of their career are applicable–and attractive–to a broader range of employees.

Employer-paid options afford employers an opportunity to recognize selectively and reward the contributions of key employees. Employers may also choose to make supplemental coverages available to their employees on a voluntary basis. These coverages involve no direct cost to the employer and offer employees access to superior protection at a substantial discount they could not obtain on their own.

Sell supplemental long term care insurance.
One of the fastest growing markets in our industry is long term care insurance. LTC insurance remains the largest untapped area for financial services growth in the country. In fact, fewer than 2% of working-age people have coverage for long term care expenses, and only a small number of retired people have it.

In practical terms, LTC functions as a continuation of disability coverage. It might be easiest for you to show customers the importance of adding LTC coverage to a group policy by first illustrating the strong, sequential link between disability insurance and LTC. Whereas disability insurance protects income during the working years, LTC provides long term preservation of assets during retirement.

Kyle R. Mercer is vice president and national practice leader for supplemental benefits at UnumProvident Corp., Chattanooga, Tenn.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, September 19, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.