Voluntary

• Future Alzheimer's epidemic puts spotlight on eldercare options

  Testifying recently at a hearing by the Senate Special Committee on Aging, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner gave the nation a glimpse into what the future may hold for employees with aging parents or spouses.

• Clarity of vision

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• Mini-med interest forces brokers to abandon traditional objections

  Brokers don't sell what they don't sell. And right now many advisers still lump mini-meds and limited-medical programs into the pile of products that they won't touch. The objections are familiar at this point: Why should I do it? Can I make any money selling it? Won't they confuse workers and sour my client?

• Commuter benefit opportunities grow

  Responding to workers' frustration with soaring prices at the gas pump, employers are beefing up commuter benefits as a way to offer some financial relief, reports the Society of Human Resource Management.

• Burning Question: Voluntary overload

  Last week's burning question elicited some strong responses on the subject of medical tourism. The majority of respondents feel medical tourism will take off. However, those who think the movement has promise were split on whether it had already taken off or it would take off eventually.

• Identity theft service providers turn conference hall into the octagon

  A pair of identity theft players moving into the worksite looked as if they were going to turn the expo hall of a recent conference into their personal octagon.

• Crack the LTC code by overcoming objections or just avoid them through story telling

  Individual LTC sales are climbing. So are group sales. It's all upside right now for LTC, except for those who aren't seeing their sales spike. Much of the benefits sales force is still getting familiar with not only LTC the product, but also the LTC sales experience.

• Benefits Binge

  Whether advisers started selling it defensively to fight off an Aflac rep or if they were eager, early adopters, over 90% of employee benefits brokers now have some form of voluntary product in their portfolio, says Eastbridge, a consultancy focusing on worksite marketing.

• Divining dental

  While you might have more on your mind than just dental, there are plenty of experienced, educated and intelligent professionals in benefits that spend most or even all of their time scrutinizing this corner of the employee benefits market. One such group is the National Association of Dental Plans. The group just recently released its state of the dental benefits union, a 50+ page summary report that highlights and details all the facts, figures and trends dentists, carriers, brokers and employers need to know to make sense of the dental benefits marketplace. But information alone isn't enough. We're hunting for dental benefits wisdom.

• Worksite market players wrestle with core issues as industry grows, thrives

  The 20th meeting of the Workplace Benefits Association, held in Orlando in February, offered an opportunity to pursue some questions and concerns that people both inside and outside of the worksite and voluntary employee benefits market have about the industry.

• Add Voluntary.com inBrief to your newsletter repertoire

  Employee Benefit Adviser is proud to announce an addition to the inBrief family of newsletters. Voluntary.com inBrief will bring you original content relating to all aspects of voluntary benefits -- from question and answer sessions to case studies and important compliance information.

• Identity theft players turn expo hall into the octagon

  A pair of identity theft service providers angling to crack the worksite market looked as if they were going to turn the expo hall of a recent conference into their own personal octagon.

Most Popular

• Employee dietary habits affect productivity

  Employers striving for a more productive workforce may want to begin their mission in the cafeteria. Employees with balanced diets have 10 times more energy, compared to workers with poor dietary habits, reports ComPsych Corp. in its 2008 Health & Productivity Index.

• Voters split over health care reform solutions

  Republican and Democratic voters have displayed differing views on the nation's health care problems in the primaries, says the New England Journal of Medicine?s report, Health Care in the 2008 Presidential Primaries.

• Talent trumps technology in the HR department

  How can advisers help their clients improve business processes in the HR department? By supporting high-tech solutions that help their people be their best. Human resource executives have consistently ranked technology and systems implementation as their top priority in HR service delivery. In 2008, however, employers report that their talent agenda is taking center stage.

Most Forwarded

• Taking off: Expectations for medical tourism continue to soar

• Separating self-funding fact from fiction