What Clients Expect from a Good Employee Benefits Advisor

By Dan Eisner, Employee Benefits Advisor

Everyone has their own opinion about what makes a great advisor in the employee benefits industry. Yet many advisors hesitate to share those views – worried they might sound arrogant, or they simply are not bold enough to speak up. The bigger challenge, however, arises when these attributes are defined and promoted by the advisory firm itself, rather than being authentically expressed in the words of their clients.

At ZLC Employee Benefits Solutions (“ZEBS”), we took a different approach and decided to ask our clients about their experience working with us. We still want you to know why we think we are the best in town, but we also want you to hear it from your peers in the market. We specifically asked our clients what words they would use to describe their experience working with ZLC Employee Benefits Solutions. Here is a summary of what they said, and how we believe they tie it back to our approach, style and service agreement.

Knowledgeable 

Clients want the confidence that their advisor knows what they are doing in a relatively complex industry, and that their advisor service team can resolve issues and provide solutions in a timely manner. Clients also want their advisor to truly understand how insurers and their underwriters work, so that they can challenge insurer quotes and methodologies to get the best rates and solutions available in the market. We have also seen that clients are looking for their advisor to better facilitate discussions between HR and Finance professionals.

At ZEBS, we have one of the most experienced teams in the local market with over 450 years of employee benefits experience within our team of 21 professionals – an average of over 20 years per person. We have specialized skills that directly benefit clients with almost 130 years of collective experience working specifically on the insurer side of the industry. We also have the unique advantage of having our own internal underwriter and the only CPA dedicated to advising on employee benefits in the local market.

Responsive 

Clients expect their advisor to be responsive and provide the highest levels of service. Clients look for their advisor to essentially be an extension of their own teams, focused on solving claims, administration and service issues. Clients also look to be able to contact their advisor, and not the insurers, with all their benefits-related problems, and receive solutions in a timely manner.

At ZEBS, Advisors “own” the relationships with their clients, so their service teams work for the benefit of clients and not for the benefit of the shareholders of a large financial institution or consulting firm. We have maintained our focus on having Service Representatives available to all of our clients, which comprise approximately a third of our team, while other advisors have cut back on their service teams and now direct their clients to contact insurers directly or pay for any additional support. Simply said, we have always been and will always be focused on solving our clients’ problems on a timely basis.

Helpful  

Clients want their advisor to provide a wide range of solutions to clients, regardless of size, industry or corporate structure. They simply do not want to be treated like “just another client”. They want stability in their advisor and the broader advisor service team and want access to emerging solutions.

At ZEBS, we have worked with clients ranging in size from 3 to over 75,000 plan members. ZEBS is one of the fastest organically growing advisor firms in Western Canada, largely driven by direct referrals from existing clients and contacts, and clients have benefitted from our expanding resources and services. We have maintained a client retention ratio of over 97% over the past 5 years, much better than generally accepted industry benchmarks. More specifically, over the last 25 years, we have also developed a proprietary solution for small businesses that provides lower and sustainable insurer expense charges, stability at renewals through a shared-risk model, and access to more robust benefits plan designs.  

Professional 

Clients expect their advisor to be independent in an increasingly consolidated employee benefits industry. They want their advisor to take a longer term and more client-focused view in running their business and never be conflicted in the advice that they provide. Clients deserve transparency from their advisor, like in all professional relationships, and need to know how much they are paying their advisor and what they are getting in return. Simply said, they want objective solutions that are independent of their advisor and any insurer.

At ZEBS, we continue to do what we have always done and maintain our independence, as we do not act as claims adjudicators for any benefits plans, nor are we third-party benefits plan administrators. We are part of Synex Business Performance, whose mission is to retain and grow the identity, expertise and market presence of its member firms and give them increased market presence and strength – Synex ensures a local presence with a national force. ZEBS does not hold an ownership interest in any insurance industry provider, nor does any provider hold an ownership interest in us. ZEBS and its advisors and account executives are all licensed and therefore governed by the provincial insurance councils’ ethics and policies, and many of our team members also hold other industry-recognized professional designations (i.e., CEBS, GBA). We believe in full transparency around compensation paid to us as advisors and we present this disclosure annually as part of our annual renewal report in connection with our Service Agreement.

Supportive 

Clients expect and deserve their advisor to provide the highest level of support to each and every client. They look to their advisor to provide comprehensive benefits advisory services with no additional cost. Advisors are expected to ensure their clients’ benefits needs are being taken care of with minimal burden for the client.

At ZEBS, we provide all our clients, regardless of size, with a comprehensive client Service Agreement for each of their employee benefits and retirement programs. We manage each client with a “team of three” approach and ensure that client requests are attended to in a timely manner with back-up personnel in place in the event of absences. We encourage our clients to contact our office, rather than attempting to contact the insurer, and leverage our expert resources for all inquiries. We provide a hands-on approach to clients to ensure their benefit needs are being taken care of. You will never hear from ZEBS that a request from a client is “Out of Scope” and, as long as ZEBS has the capabilities within our practice, we will support our clients and there will be no additional fees. Simply said, send us your problems and we send you solutions by leveraging our knowledge and experience, and the solid relationships we have with all of the insurers in the market.  

As noted above, earlier this year ZLC Employee Benefits Solutions surveyed its clients about their experience working with us. Our clients like what they see – they rated their experience working with their ZEBS service team as 4.7 out of 5. They also rated us 4.6 out of 5 compared to other professional services providers they work with (e.g., accountants, lawyers, etc.), where 1 was Worse; 3 was Comparable; and 5 was Better. We are proud of these results and will always strive to exceed our clients’ expectations.

At ZLC Employee Benefits Solutions, our role is to work with you to find a better way for your employee benefits and retirement plans. ZEBS achieves the most competitive plans for our clients by being a force in the employee benefits market, while maintaining our focus on being flexible and affordable. As you would expect, our goal is not only to provide you with the most affordable benefits plan, but also to give you peace of mind going forward that your benefits plan is financially sustainable. Most importantly, we will help ensure that your benefits plan is relevant to your employees and therefore your business strategy.

We would be pleased to discuss your specific situation with you to identify the best strategy for your employee benefits plans. Should you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact any member of our team.   

ZLC Employee Benefits Solutions is one of the fastest growing advisors for employee benefits and group retirement programs in Vancouver and we are fortunate to have the best people, resources, and clients. We provide value by leveraging one of the most skilled benefits teams – collectively over 450 years of experience within our team of 21 employee benefits specialists. We have been working with businesses ranging from 3 to over 75,000 plan members for the past 40 years.