The U.S. business group of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF, TSX: SLF)
has launched the Benefit Profile, a powerful data analytics
decision-support tool that helps brokers and employers design and
deliver competitive, appealing employee benefits plans customized to
meet the diverse needs of the American workforce.
The Benefit Profile uses employer-specific demographics and robust
industry benchmark data to develop insights enabling brokers to design
and recommend optimal benefits plans and enrollment strategies to
employers.
“Rising health care costs are forcing employers to find new ways to
maintain an attractive benefits package without breaking the bank," said
Tom Gilligan, vice president of Sun Life U.S. Distribution Operations.
“The Benefit Profile provides brokers a new level of analytical
sophistication to help employers adopt the best benefits plan design
given the various demographic profiles within their workforce."
How it works
The Benefit Profile’s big data technology synthesizes an employer's own
census data and a broad range of industry benchmarks to provide a
straightforward graphic analysis that compares gender, age, and income
to benchmarks based on buying patterns reflected in Sun Life policy
records, and complemented by well-known industry resources such as Group
MarketShare, LLC.
Key Features of the Sun Life Benefit Profile:
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Analyzes the demographic composition of a workplace by gender, age,
and income.
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Correlates such demographics to incidence rates for medical issues.
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Displays typical demographic buying patterns of relevant insurance
solutions; for example, the average life insurance coverage men or
women each choose to buy.
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Illustrates typical benefits offerings of competing employers in the
same industry and region to help employers gauge how a plan design
could support cost containment or recruitment and retention.
“The Benefit Profile turns a wealth of data into actionable insight that
is presented in a dashboard format, empowering brokers to deliver a
highly customized, versatile benefits plan designed for each employer,"
said Sun Life’s Bilal Kazmi, AVP, Analytics and Innovations Marketing.
"It’s a way for employers to assess demographic risks and provide
employees with a customized range of protection options. This innovation
helps employers fine tune what’s working, adapt to changes in their
industry and region, protect their employees, and stay competitive year
after year,” added Kazmi.
Hypothetical insights
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The Benefit Profile confirms that a fictional metal employer in a
Midwestern state offers long term disability benefits plan with a
higher salary replacement percentage than the industry and regional
average. This insight allows the employer to either promote that
detail to current and prospective employees or adjust the plan to
create a more affordable option for employees that remains in line
with industry peers.
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A broker may know that 30% of an employer’s overall workforce is
enrolled in optional life insurance. However, the broker may not know
whether a particular demographic of that workforce remains
underserved. Segmenting employee participation by age, gender, and
income, the Benefit Profile helps identify such a potential group, for
example workers earning less than $30,000 annually. This insight could
lead to a more focused enrollment and communications strategy
targeting certain segments of the employee population.
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A hospital in the Southeast is considering adding new benefits to its
benefits program, but is unsure which product to add next. The
demographic analysis in the Benefit Profile determines that the
workforce contains a high proportion of women and employees over age
40. After reviewing incidence data for a variety of voluntary products
within the Benefit Profile, the employer decides that critical illness
coverage would be a good fit for its employee population.
As one of the leading stop-loss providers in the U.S., Sun Life is also
developing a stop-loss analytical tool to help brokers support
self-funded employers, and employers that are considering becoming
self-funded.
To learn more about the Benefit Profile, visit http://bit.ly/XVLeOl
for a brief video describing five ways a Benefit Profile can help
brokers and employers build more competitive benefits packages.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate
customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in
key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United
Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India,
China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Bermuda. Sun Life Financial Inc., the
holding company for the Sun Life Financial group of companies, is a
public company. It is not an insurance company and does not offer
insurance products for sale in the United States or elsewhere, and does
not guarantee the obligations of its insurance company subsidiaries. Sun
Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE), and
Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.
In the United States and elsewhere, insurance products are offered by
members of the Sun Life Financial group that are insurance companies. In
the United States, Sun Life Financial provides a range of products and
services to employers and their employees, including Group and Voluntary
Life, Disability, Dental, Critical Illness, Accident, and Stop-Loss
insurance products. Product offerings may not be available in all states
and may vary depending on state laws and regulations. For more
information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.
SLPC 26098 08/14 (exp. 08/19)
Copyright Business Wire 2014