Array Bulletin: Service & Market Updates for January 2008
Happy New Year! We hope 2008 is off to an excellent start for you.
In this issue, we discuss our recently launched product, Array Health Direct, which enables brokers to offer a customized website for clients to purchase individual policies. We also will share with you how one of our clients using Array's service has significantly reduced the number of their employees who were uninsured. Finally, we give a brief synopsis of a recent article in the Wall Street Journal that gives some startling insights into sales opportunities in the uninsured population.
New Product Helps Brokers Sell Individual Policies
Array has released a new product, Array Health Direct (AHD). AHD is an on-line, individual policy procurement platform designed for brokerage houses and their clients. The product is an ideal solution for brokerages wanting to sell individual policies on-line, as well as for companies and union groups wishing to offer employees access to health insurance without providing a contribution.
AHD has the following features:
- Custom branding
- Carrier and plan aggregation
- Decision-making software and plan comparison tools
- On-line application and SHQ submission
Brokers enjoy the following benefits:
- Maintain broker of record status and receive full carrier commissions
- Offer clients a superior customer experience
- Decrease the internal costs associated with selling individual policies
Please contact us if you are interested in learning about pricing and how Array Health Direct can benefit your brokerage.
Client Case Study: Auto Dealership Tackles Its Uninsured Problem
Array implemented its defined contribution service at a 90-life auto dealership in December. The group had a high uninsured population within its workforce. Combining an employer contribution with Array's solution, the number of uninsured employees decreased by approximately half.
The dealership provides additional evidence that employers unable to afford traditional group plans are able to provide defined contribution HRA plans. There is significant money these employers are willing to spend on health benefits and there are affordable individual health insurance policies in the market. Array's unique solution efficiently connects employer contributions with individual policies.
Market Opportunity in Uninsured Population
Matthew Collier and Lisa Walsh, partners with Bain & Co., wrote an opinion piece featured in the January 7th Wall Street Journal entitled, "The New Insurance Frontier." They see an enormous market opportunity for insurance carriers in the uninsured population.
Collier and Walsh reveal the following statistics about the uninsured population:
- 85% of the nation's uninsured are currently employed
- Almost half are between the ages of 18 and 34
- Nearly three quarters describe their health as "excellent" or "very good"
They argue this opportunity is important given new data about the employer market:
- Commercial health-insurance enrollment has been flat at around 174 million since 2001
- Since 2001, the number of contractors, part-timers and small business employees has grown two to six times faster than the economy overall
- Full-time company employees have declined 0.6%
This piece was written for the benefit of insurance carriers, but the article and its data are just as relevant to brokers. Array gives you easy access to the uninsured market and adds the incentive of an employer contribution to employees.
If you have questions or requests, please don't hesitate to give us a call.
Sincerely,
Christopher Moneta
Director of Sales
1-800-640-7086
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