Under the duress of health reform and increasing benefits costs, the relationship between carriers, brokers and employers is rapidly changing.
Mike Fish, vice president and head of the voluntary business segment for The Hartford's Group Benefits, and a speaker at the 2012 Benefits Selling Expo, explains how these three points on the benefits spectrum can work together to provide better solutions for workers.
"The broker's job historically has been to consult with their clients to determine the best solutions that would work for their clients and employees," Fish said in a video interview with BenefitsPro. "However with the recent advent of heightened regulatory requirements from the states, as well as health care reform at a national level, that consultative element is becoming even more critical today."
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The challenge for employers is that they're looking to reduce benefits costs for their employees while attracting and retaining top talent, Fish added. So they don't want to eliminate benefits, but rather find creative ways to provide benefits options to their employees.
Rounding out the trifecta of employee benefits, carriers are looking for ways to provide innovative products to brokers and their clients. One example is the shift toward voluntary benefits. "[Employees] need to understand exactly what is being offered to them. The days of where employers made all the decisions for employees and paid the cost are long gone."
The most important thing brokers can offer to employers is education, Fish emphasized.
"Education and communication is critical for employees to make informed decisions. From the carrier perspective, we're doing a lot of work to provide the broker solutions that focus on educating the consumer and hopefully once they're educated and informed, [the consumer] can make the right decision."
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