Since even before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act started to take shape, the public at large voiced strong opinions about it—both in support and opposition. This was even more prominent in the employee benefits community as many brokers had concerns (rightfully so) about how it would shape their business.

Mike Galardini, a sales executive at Wexford, Pa.-based JRG Advisors is one broker who's looked at the challenges and adapted to the new landscape so his agency could not only survive, but thrive, as well. Now he wants to help the broker community, especially the small and medium-sized brokers, adapt, too.

“The larger brokers will survive. That's not a problem,” Galardini explains. “But the smaller brokers or the medium-sized brokers who might not have the support staff—they might need help navigating the new arena, and we want to help them continue to be successful. They're so important to the depth and health of the industry.”

This dedication to the industry's survival is a common thread when talking to Galardini. It's obvious he genuinely cares about the image and success of not just his own firm, but about the perception the general public has of the insurance industry as a whole. And that's probably why he and his team at JRG are working so hard to redefine just what it means to be an employee benefits broker. That's why they're taking their level of service beyond what some traditional brokers have historically needed to display in the days leading up to PPACA.

“Before, specifically when it came to major medical group insurance, a human resources director or a small business owner were the primary clients of a broker,” Galardini says. “We take the approach that the employee is also a client—especially with the confusion about the public exchanges—not to mention all the other changes this reform has wrought.”

A lot of brokers pay lip service to personal customer service, but Galardini and his team go beyond the conference room enrollments and reach out to employees individually.

“Our vision is more of a one-on-one approach with each individual employee,” he says. “With the birth of the public exchanges and medical underwriting going away for individual insurance, we feel employees will need guidance now more than ever. Do they take the employer-sponsored program? Do they look to buy insurance through the exchange in each state? Do they purchase insurance on their own through the individual market? These are all questions we believe, as a broker, we have to answer. An employer does not want to—or need to—walk their workers through the health insurance shopping experience. With [PPACA and] the uncharted waters for all of us, our focus is to share credible information, explain new requirements, and to implement solutions that help individuals, employers and their employees. Our strategy includes a consultative approach with employers so we can work with every situation and employee, supported with electronic enrollment and record-keeping.”

Right now, Galardini's firm boasts more than 30 employees, and he anticipates rapid growth over the next few years just to keep up with his increasing client demands.

In effect, Galardini is taking an approach that's too often just a buzzword of the worksite broker or enroller: He and his team have become educators. Depending on a group's individual dynamics, they now take the time to introduce and educate each employee on, say, not just how a voluntary critical illness plan works, but also on their health insurance choices and options.

Ask any old line worksite expert or enroller and they'll tell you that's what the worksite market has always been—and what it should continue to be. This approach does take longer and is obviously more work, but Galardini insists it pays off in the end.

“It's absolutely essential today to do this,” he says. “At the same time it allows us to discuss voluntary products as well.”

Though they've offered worksite products in the past, this approach has allowed them to expand into the voluntary market even further.

“It's really all about finding the best solution for the clients and offering a complete package,” Galardini says. “Voluntary products are part of that, even more so now. Disability, life—really any of the voluntary products—have to be considered as part of the solution. Gap insurance also is becoming one of the possible solutions, though not the only one, that we discuss with groups.”

Speaking of gap, JRG's market seems to be a place ripe for opportunity in this niche. Many brokers in Pennsylvania, specifically western Pennsylvania, have often discussed how the market has been slower to adopt to the shift to higher deductible plans. Galardini sees that finally could be changing.

“Companies need to find ways to cut costs and that shift is starting to happen here,” he says. “Much of the eastern part of the state already moved in that direction. Now more employers are jumping on the bandwagon in Western Pennsylvania, too.”

Being based in Wexford, Pa., with offices in Steubenville, Ohio, and Lemoyne, Pa., would seem to give him a firm grasp on the intricacies of not only the geographic differences within the Keystone State, and the other states where his firm maintains a strong presence, but he has to know the details of varying segments of the industry.

Having grown up in the insurance world because of his father, he made it official in 1996 while attending Duquesne University. Along the way, Galardini's carrer path has wandered all over the map. He's been a financial planner, sold individual policies with New York Life, and worked with a small insurance broker just outside of Pittsburgh before finally joining the family business in employee benefits. He now functions as the sales manager for JRG, one of Pennsylvania's most successful employee benefits brokers. This diversity allows him to expertly delve into several different aspects of the industry.

“We work with individuals, employer groups, and membership groups…as a matter of fact, we work with several notable associations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, such as chambers of commerce, Pennsylvania Home Builders, the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofits, and the Pennsylvania Homecare Association,” Galardini says. “So we have to have a pretty deep understanding of all those markets.”

Galardini also has embraced the philosophy that if there's something a broker doesn't have an expertise in, they'd better work with someone who does. So he's done just that.

“Recently we partnered to expand our capabilities in business insurance, risk management services, and personal lines insurance. We also work with experts that can help serve our clients with financial planning and retirement services.”

Leveraging other organizations' knowledge and abilities is a common and successful business practice but what if there isn't anyone with a knowledge base or skill set you actually need? For example, when it comes to understanding the modern PPACA landscape, especially given its relative novelty and unsettled details, there really still are not a lot of experts or non-governmental entities that can help much operationally. So Galardini and JRG built an expertise within their own company. He's determined to work with the confines of the regulatory environment—whatever that might be—and to adapt and thrive in it however it changes. This embrace of the street-level realities and their dedication to innovation is one reason not only brokers, but even carriers, consistently come to them for advice.

“Two years ago we offered the first private employee benefits exchange in the state of Pennsylvania and are consistently asked by insurance companies for guidance in establishing emerging products,” Galardini says.

The idea of a private exchange, while not exclusively JRG's, is a novel idea few brokers across the country are starting to take a serious interest in as an alternative to public exchanges. Galardini believes the private exchange offers JRG and their partners a competitive advantage that will allow him to offer their clients something that another broker just can't. Sure, it's important for business, but it isn't what drives him.

“My greatest reward really is when JRG Advisors can solve or ease the burden of challenge an employer faces with their employee benefits portfolio and risk management strategy,” Galardini says. “Money is important, sure, but it can't be the only concern or driving force for us or really any broker, for that matter. Our philosophy is to provide service first, and to be a consultant. We might not make any commission when we help an employee solve his or her family's health insurance needs. But that's OK. We've helped that client and built the relationship with the employee. That relationship will lead to revenue, but we're in this industry to help people first and foremost. That's our focus and that's just what we are going to do.”

Photograph by Bob Martin