Brokers not selling much voluntary should also re-examine their belief that they need products which offer a better value than those in the market today. These brokers must understand that the employee, not the employer, is the primary customer for voluntary and that employees judge value differently than do employers and brokers. On employer-paid plans, for example, a big “value” factor is the cost of the product, which is why brokers strive to find the lowest price for the employer. But on the voluntary side, employees consider many other factors such as choice, convenience and affordability (not just price) in their evaluation of voluntary.

Brokers who think that today's voluntary products don't offer good value need to take another look. Many carriers provide good-value products that employees want to buy.

Lastly, some brokers who don't sell much voluntary feel they need new or different products that address unmet market needs. Again, these brokers should re-think their reasoning. Employees definitely have unmet needs when it comes to benefits, but new products are not needed—at least as far as employees are concerned. All of the products employees are interested in purchasing on an employee-pay-all basis are currently available in the market. So, while new products are always good to have, there are plenty of unmet needs that can be satisfied by products already offered on a voluntary basis.

There's no doubt that turning a blind eye and ear to the data which proves increased interest in voluntary can hurt a broker's business. It's time for those brokers to re-examine their practices and learn from those that know what their voluntary customer (the employee) truly wants. And it's time to start selling more voluntary.