Zywave's 2015 Survey Shows Continued Disparity Between Employer Demands and Broker Offerings

MILWAUKEE, WI--(Marketwired - Aug 28, 2015) - Zywave's 2015 Broker Services Survey, which polled over 1,000 employers from across the United States, asked employers various questions about the services they want from their brokers, the challenges they face in the marketplace and what criteria impacts their decision to work with or leave a broker.

"With every survey, we find interesting nuggets that represent the changing marketplace and evolving client demands, but we've also noticed a distinct trend over the past several years," says Dave O'Brien, CEO of Zywave. "Revealed through the numbers and percentages is a clear message: there is a notable gap between what employers are demanding and what brokers are supplying."

Most Sought After Services
Results from past surveys are consistent with those of the 2015 findings and indicate a trend that many of the services that employers are demanding from their brokers aren't being fulfilled. Here are some key findings from this year's survey:

• 94% of employers want their brokers to consistently provide regulatory and legislative updates -- 72% say their brokers are not doing a satisfactory job.
• 95% want their brokers to help them become educated insurance buyers -- 67% feel their brokers are partially or fully keeping them in the dark.
• 98% want their brokers to offer compliance-related webinars -- a staggering 82% say their brokers provide this service.
• 89% want their brokers to provide plan design benchmarks during the renewal process -- over half say their brokers are failing to do so.
• 94% want their brokers to provide them with a total cost of risk analysis -- half say their brokers haven't provided this vital information.

"The primary takeaway for brokers is that the disparity between the current employer demand and the current broker supply creates opportunity," says O'Brien. "By filling this gap, brokers can compete (even with large competitors), increase the value of their business, and grow and retain their book of business."

Greatest Employer Challenges
When employers were asked to rank their top three risk management and employee benefits challenges, results highlighted additional opportunities for brokers to support their current clients. Brokers can also focus on these areas of importance to win new business:

Top three risk management challenges:

• Controlling workers' compensation costs
• Keeping up to date on regulatory changes
• Managing risk at multiple locations

Top three employee benefits challenges:

• Managing health care costs
• Keeping in compliance and up to date on changing legislation
• Complying with the reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act

For more information about the 2015 survey or Zywave's product solutions, email marketing@zywave.com.

About Zywave
Zywave is a leading provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology solutions for the insurance industry. More than 3,000 brokerages worldwide -- including 90 of the top 100 U.S. insurance firms -- use Zywave's proven solutions to differentiate themselves from the competition, enhance client services, improve efficiencies and achieve organic growth.