Policy Peddler or Benefits Risk Manager

I don’t know about you but most agents we talk with would rather retire from this business knowing they made a difference in the lives of their clients and their employees, beyond just selling them a great insurance program. Sure we all make our living selling and servicing a product that transfers risk from an employer and their employees and we should keep doing that.  In fact, we have become experts at shifting the additional cost of benefits to employees in the form of increased premium contributions and co-pays, while giving employers what they what, namely a cap on their increases.

Unfortunately that doesn’t solve the underlying problem; the rapidly declining health and productivity of an unhealthy aging workforce.  Old and unhealthy, a mini Perfect Strom.

Businesses we talk with tell us they are having a very difficult time both finding qualified workers to replace their aging workers and adding workers to keep up with demand. If that is the case, doesn’t it make sense to invest in keeping current workers healthy and safe? To not do so is like not changing the oil in your car and waiting for it to blow up so we can replace it. Unfortunately, what we are finding is that there are no cars on the lot to replace it.

Let’s face it; many employers have been talked into wellness programs that are ineffective due to low participation and a lack of engagement by the people that need help the most. You know, that overweight employee who stands outside the building puffing away while standing in a sea of cigarette butts—just walking to your car you run the risk of succumbing to death by way of second-hand smoke. But the ironic part of all this is that it is that employee who is often the measuring stick of the overall effectiveness of any wellness program.

We have built a checklist that predicts how effective a wellness program will control health risk factors and costs. It is supported over 20 years of research by Dr. Dee Edington at the University of Michigan, a study involving over 2,000,000 individual employees at companies like Ford, Kellogg, Steelcase and Banc One. It measures four levels of effective implementation (Status Quo, Traditional, Comprehensive and Champion) in five fundamental pillars (Senior Leadership, Aligning Operations, Cultivating Winners, Reinforcing Culture and Quality Assurance.)

Employers we call on are expecting us to ask to quote. While this may work in some cases, what happens when another agent is asked to quote and you lose the business? Our approach has always been sure we can quote but let’s also discover what we can do to control what is driving up the cost of benefits. What are the health-related risks?”

The typical response is “We have a wellness program.” To which our follow-up question is; “Do you know how effective it is?” In most cases they will not know. Then we ask “If we could show you how such a program would effective, would that be of interest?” When they say “yes,” you have just positioned yourself as a Benefits Risk Manager and not just a Policy Peddler.  And as Preston Diamond of the IWCP is fond of saying,” Now you have set up an alligator-filled moat around your best clients.”