2014 is Now Here, What Has Changed?

The dreaded date of January 1^st, 2014 is now a reality and our industry is changed forever. The health insurance world will never go back to the way it once was and neither will the professional agent. We all face new challenges and opportunities and I believe most will thrive in this new environment. The gloom and doom that was forecast back a couple of years ago have not materialized. Yes, commissions have been driven down and we work a little harder to achieve the same dollars but it has also driven everyone to be more efficient. OCI has had its challenges but we have grown to be a dominant player in the employee benefit marketplace. With over 2,500 brokers and $100 million in premiums, our broker/agents have provided us the opportunity to continue growing and bringing new products and services to market. Starting January 1^st, we are releasing Smart-HR to selected brokers. This payroll/Human Resource platform is state of the art and will allow our brokers to provide a tool to their clients not available by any other means. In addition, our emphasis on voluntary products, telemedicine, and self funding brings new opportunities to increase our partner’s incomes. Our wish for each of our agent/broker partners is to assist them in growing their businesses in whatever way we can.

Many of our brokers found that by using our resources, they could concentrate their efforts on the parts of the business they wanted to and let OCI do many of the things they would rather not do. Individual health was one of those items that many brokers handed off. They were still able to earn compensation but by partnering with OCI, they could put emphasis on other products and services. Our staff was able to assist many of these opportunities and from the amount of emails and notes from our brokers, they did a tremendous job. Brokers have raved on how their clients were handled and many have sent comments on how well this has worked. Their clients have told them how professionally they were handled and the amount of knowledge our staff had on individual products. This is the type of situation where everyone wins. We will continue to assist in whatever way helps our partners.

May 2014 bring you new revenue streams and new business dreams. Thanks for all you do.