2019 Group & Worksite Benefits Conference

Tom Wamberg

CEO, Wamberg Genomic Advisors

Scientists believe the first person to live to age 150 has already been born. Genomic developments will change every long-held belief of the life and health insurance industries. Have the insurance carriers developed a cohesive strategy to deal with the forthcoming impact of genomics on their business and policyholders? Join Tom Wamberg for a discussion of genomic products and their potential risks, rewards, and regulations.

More states are passing or considering state-regulated paid-leave programs.  This presentation will provide an overview of this hot topic, current and pending state programs, how they align with unpaid leave (FML) and short-term disability (STD) programs, and the challenges carriers face in this decentralized environment.

Lifestyle benefits such as ID theft, pet insurance, physical and financial wellness programs, educational reimbursement, and college loan repayment benefits have been growing in popularity and adoption in the marketplace. There are many factors to consider with this adoption, such as:

• Are lifestyle benefits diverting interest away from core financial security benefit programs like disability income protection and life insurance?
• Are group and worksite carriers and their distribution partners gravitating towards these attention-getting lifestyle programs at the expense of meeting employees’ fundamental needs?
• Where do life, disability, supplemental health and dental rank in terms of their focus and foundation for their programs?
• How will this affect the financial security of the upcoming generations?

Lori L High

SVP, Sales & Relationship Management – Group Benefit, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

Jeanette Rice

President and Chief Operating Officer, American Fidelity Assurance Company

Bill Smith

President, Cigna Group Insurance

Gene Lanzoni

Assistant Vice President, Thought Leadership – Group & Worksite Marketing, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Every year at our event, industry leaders share their thoughts about today's most important topics. This is your opportunity to hear what's on the minds of these executives as they focus on our role in shaping the new benefits landscape.

With the constant changes to technology, benefits and HR, could payroll deductions soon become a thing of the past? What would be the impact if organizations stop taking deductions? Join us for an interactive working session where we explore an alternative world where we can thrive without standard payroll deductions. 

• Learn how organizations are changing their payroll deduction policies
• Define the challenges that come with this change and solutions to help solve them
• Work as a team to creatively communicate a solution

Carriers now have the opportunity to streamline the claims process to make the experience easier from the employee/employer (HR) perspective. Are we moving to an era where an employee could submit one claim and have that release benefits from multiple products?

• What are the implications of claims adjudication, and how are carriers tackling this internally and with external third parties?
• What are market perceptions and the impact on price/pepm?
• Is this even “legal?”

This workshop will host a panel discussion with two carrier claim integration experts and a benefits broker who understands the integrated claims experience with group and workplace benefits.

The “A View from the Top” general session is guaranteed to be thought-provoking. Join fellow executives in a moderated roundtable discussion with the panelists to further explore key issues, share perspectives, and hear fresh ideas on the issues impacting all of us.

Broker commissions are becoming increasingly important in the world of workplace benefits.  Attend this session to discover:

• New trends in broker compensation
• Why brokers are looking for additional compensation
• How carrier commissions affect broker decisions for placement
• How broker compensation integrates with benefit administration technology

Call center distribution continues to rapidly evolve via enhanced technology and marketing techniques. Attend this session to:

• Learn how call center distribution is being leveraged to proactively sell within the individual and worksite environments
• Understand how call center distribution can serve the underpenetrated small business marketspace
• Dispel myths associated with the often misunderstood distribution segment

Newport and the America’s Cup have experienced significant change over the year due to advances in technology.  So too, has the benefits industry. Both large and small benefits admin technology providers are driving much of the change. Join this session to hear a panel discussion on these changes and their implications as we look towards the next five year.

How well do we understand consumer needs and wants when designing a life, disability, critical illness or accident products? During this session, let’s design a product that employees really want! This interactive session will explore what benefit features are must haves and what features may distract from the true value of the financial protection products. LIMRA will also share results of the latest employee survey which explores the benefits features that clearly resonate with employees.

There is growing clinical evidence that medical cannabis can provide health benefits to those suffering from specific medical conditions and related symptoms. As the laws on cannabis use continue to change, group benefits providers will need a plan to respond to legalization. In Canada, the use of cannabis for medical purposes has been legal since 2001 and recreational cannabis was legalized in 2018. Attend this session to learn about how a Canadian carrier has been addressing medical cannabis and about changes to the landscape with the recent national legalization of recreational cannabis.

Unum has been leading the charge to promote auto enrollment of the disability product. Hear how Unum has been successful in making auto-enrollment transparent to their employees, explaining the reason for auto-enrollment but also offering a simple opt-out process. Attend this session to:

• Recognize policies that made 401(k) auto-enrollment a success
• Learn about disability policy-making underway
• Develop best practices to encourage clients to consider auto-enrollment using the behavioral concept of defaults

Travis Mills

Founder, Travis Mills Foundation
United States Army Staff Sergeant

On April 10, 2012, United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82^nd Airborne was critically injured on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan by an IED (improvised explosive device) while on patrol, losing portions of both legs and both arms. He is one of only five servicemen from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ever to survive quadruple amputee injuries. In September 2013, Mills founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization, formed to benefit and assist wounded and injured veterans. Travis' larger-than-life personality, sense of humor and incredible spirit for life will teach and inspire you to never give up or quit. 

In the insurance industry, knowing the rules of the road for using and sharing data is essential.  Learn the foundational rules applicable to data in the insurance industry, and participate in a “Jeopardy” style game to test your knowledge of data privacy and security in common and uncommon scenarios, such as:

• When can you share data across businesses within your own company?
• How does HIPAA impact your company’s ability to share data?
• How do you determine what steps to take if there is a data incident or breach?

This workshop will address the evolving HR and benefits needs of the American workforce, particularly segments long underserved by homogeneous corporate policies and processes.  Explore recent Guardian market research and successful experiences of establishing a culture of diversity and inclusion. 

• Learn how different workforce segments, including single parents, remote workers, and caregivers, feel about their workplace communications, benefits programs, and HR policies
• Hear from a nationally known LGBTQ author and speaker about how benefits programs, employee communications, and workplace policies can best support LGBTQ workers
• Get tips from Guardian’s head of diversity about how to make the workplace more welcoming and inclusive

Success in the voluntary market relies heavily on the transfer of data between customers, carriers, brokers, and benefit technology partners. The traditional data feed approach (EDI) has been a pain point for the industry, and we now see a shift towards real-time transmissions (API) as technology evolves. With this shift, it is important to know the differences for each solution, why the industry is shifting, what limitations exist, and what benefits carriers and their clients can obtain.

This panel discussion will provide insurance carrier perspectives on a hot topic: Financial Wellness. Learn how leading employee benefits providers are integrating financial wellness concepts into their overall value propositions, and better understand why financial wellness matters to carriers, brokers, employer groups, and consumers.

As our conference theme this year is Navigating the Future, this session will explore what is the future of workplace benefits? Attendees will have an open dialogue on the impact to our business from the perspective of the regulatory environment, consolidation, new entrants, technology, customer experience, changing demographics of the workplace, and alternate distribution models. LIMRA staff will also share some research results that should be considered as we look to navigate the future of workplace benefits.