With the recent news from HHS about the Medical Loss Ratio concerning agent commissions in insurance products, brokers are beginning to understand why they need to have other saleable services in their bag of tricks. It doesn't take a math major to figure out that to make money, you need to provide products that pay you to sell them.

Granted, voluntary benefits are one way to see an increase in your paycheck, but don't rely strictly on major medical insurance or other insurance plans to fill up your quiver when you need all the available arrows you can deliver to clients. In order to survive financially, you need to think outside the box.

Typically, when employees are offered a dental insurance product, many turn it down as a benefit they are willing to pay for, especially if they're part time or a lower wage worker. According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, while 67.3 percent of full-time workers and 14.9 percent of part-time workers are offered some type of employer-sponsored dental coverage, either as a stand-alone policy or as part of their medical plan, only 52.7 percent of full-time workers and 8 percent of part-time workers participate in an employer-sponsored dental plan.