Brokers Flourish In Voluntary Market

By Staff Writer

August 30, 2005 at 08:00 PM

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Employee benefit brokers increased their share of the worksite market for the second year in a row, Eastbridge Consulting Group Inc. reports.[@@]

Benefit brokers increased their share of worksite benefits sales to 36% in 2004, from 34% in 2003, according to Eastbridge, Avon, Conn.

Career agents' share of sales also increased, from 25% of total worksite revenues in 2003 to 28% last year.

"Classic" worksite brokers, who sell voluntary benefits almost exclusively, saw their share drop to 13% of total worksite sales, from 19%, Eastbridge reports.

Worksite specialists, which are large marketing organizations, watched their share fall to 8% of sales, from 10%.

Occasional worksite vendors, or insurance generalists that sell voluntary benefits from time to time, accounted for 8% of the market, up from 4%, while sales by multiline agencies fell to 3%, from 7%.

Gil Lowerre, president of Eastbridge, notes that a total of 56% of 2004 worksite sales came from producers for whom worksite is a secondary line.

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