---

Latest Eastbridge report examines today’s voluntary product buyer

AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (June 13, 2007)—Carriers that want to succeed in the worksite market must consider the needs, wants, and expectations of brokers, employers and employees when developing their marketing plans and strategies. Eastbridge’s MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint Revisited study focuses specifically on one of these customer groups, the employee. This new study provides important information that every carrier can use to understand and improve their employee value proposition.

One portion of the study looked specifically at current voluntary product owners. Overall, 65 percent of those surveyed own at least one voluntary product. The highest percent of ownership is among those employed in companies with 500 to 2,000 employees. There were some differences in the top products owned by employer size, with employees in smaller companies typically owning cancer coverage while more employees in larger companies own voluntary dental.

There were also some variations in buying reasons by occupation. For example, employer endorsement is more important to blue collar workers than to professional/managerial employees. And while cost was a highly rated factor for all employee groups, it is a more important motivator to the administrative/clerical group. The convenience of buying at work is also more important to this group.

• The study results are based on interviews with over 400 employees nationwide in accounts ranging from 10 to over 2,000 employees. The report covers the following topics:
• How employee contributions toward health insurance has impacted their voluntary product purchases
• How employees rank the importance of various types of insurance
• How important “choice” in benefits is to employees
• The percentage of employees who own at least one voluntary product
• Which voluntary products they do buy and which ones they’d like to buy
• Why employees buy voluntary products
• How they enroll in voluntary products and how satisfied they are with the enrollment process
• What changes have occurred in employeesattitudes about benefits over the past several years

MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint Revisited is available for purchase for $2,750. For more information on this report or to order a copy, call the company at (860) 676-9633 or email info@eastbridge.com.

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving insurance and financial services organizations in the United States and Canada. www.eastbridge.com