A new survey of workplace benefits brokers conducted by Wellfleet and EIS reveals that while brokers are increasingly embracing their roles as advocates for employer clients, they find themselves in an uphill battle with legacy technology. This is important because technology is the No. 1 reason brokers will recommend a carrier to a client.

According to the inaugural Workplace Benefits Broker Survey, brokers’ top six carrier pain points are all IT-related. They include commission structure (52%), billing errors (48%), lack of real-time data insights for the broker and client (44%), time to underwrite the group (43%), and limited plan customization and slow data processing time (42%), respectively.

The survey, conducted to gauge broker sentiment on partner technologies, also examined factors that impact broker satisfaction and their ability to be successful partners with carriers in the current workplace benefits market.

“Brokers play a critical role in helping to educate and develop benefits strategies for their employer clients,” said James Ocampo, Executive Vice President, Wellfleet Workplace. “What this research makes clear is that too often legacy technology is a barrier to, rather than an enabler of, brokers. This prevents them from taking a more active role in guiding and assisting employer clients.”

The top three factors that influence brokers’ carrier recommendation are technology (59%), financial rating (57%) and the claims submission process (36%). As key advisors and champions of their clients’ needs, brokers recognize the critical roles these factors play in the successful enrollment, education and payment of benefits for their client partners.

“Having a team with more than 300 years of collective experience in the workplace benefits space, we had assumptions about workplace benefit brokers’ sentiments,” stated James Ocampo. “Conducting a survey allowed us to tune in to direct, authentic feedback, so we could move beyond past experiences, expectations and biases. These findings serve as validation for why we started Wellfleet Workplace, while also helping to guide future enhancements for a better broker experience.”

“Employers are stretched thin with the management of their current benefits programs, as well as crafting and implementing benefit strategies that resonate with their employees. When you add in a poor technology experience, the pressure HR benefits managers feel grows exponentially,” said Samantha Chow, LAH Markets Lead at EIS. “The survey findings reveal the carriers that are able to provide meaningful solutions are going to excel.“

“Wellfleet’s flexible products, focus on servicing and digitally-forward Lighthouse administration platform powered by EIS,” added Chow, “make the company uniquely positioned to deliver those solutions today and into the future.”

To learn more, visit wellfleetworkplace.com/benefits-broker-survey

Contacts:

Liam Collopy
C 415.517.9760
lcollopy@hardenpartners.com 

Jennifer Picard
413-452-5360
jpicard@wellfleetinsurance.com

About Wellfleet

Wellfleet Insurance is a Berkshire Hathaway company focused on delivering customer-centric insurance solutions through flexible product offerings and quality service. With an A++ financial strength rating from A.M. Best, Wellfleet’s goal is to protect people against risk throughout every stage of life — from grade school to college, the workplace, and beyond.

Headquartered in Springfield, Mass., Wellfleet’s Workplace division delivers high-quality, customizable benefit solutions through a suite of voluntary products, including Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Short Term Disability Income Insurance. For more information, visit WellfleetWorkplace.com

Wellfleet is the marketing name used to refer to the insurance and administrative operations of Wellfleet Insurance Company, Wellfleet New York Insurance Company, and Wellfleet Group, LLC. All insurance products are administered or managed by Wellfleet Group, LLC. Product availability is based upon business and/or regulatory approval and may differ among companies.