Shift Shapers Podcast

Ep #9: An Innovative Agency Model and an Amazing DI Story! – With Jennifer Borislow

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This week, we are pleased to welcome Jennifer Borislow, the founding principal of Borislow Insurance in Massachusetts. She is an author, industry thought leader and past president of the Million Dollar Round Table.

Borislow Insurance’s client-centric approach primarily focuses on employee benefits, using an innovative 7-discipline, 3-year model with specialized teams in each area to ensure the highest standard of client care.

Listen is as Jennifer shares an incredible story of how she learned the value of disability income insurance, and how it changed her practice forever. Don’t miss this insightful episode!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How of Borislow Insurance came about and how it’s organized.
  • The agency’s unique 7-discipline model.
  • Why Jennifer specialized in disability income.
  • How the agency uses disability income as a differentiator.
  • How Jennifer’s benefits agency positions disability as an integral part of their 3-year approach toward each client firm they serve.
  • Simple, yet powerful tool that has helped Jennifer and her partner, Mark Gaunya, build their essential corporate culture described in their book Inspire to Act.

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Ep #8: Helping Brokers Find a New Strategy with Jeff Hogan

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In addition to creating a presence for his company, Rogers Benefit Group, in a new, carrier rich environment, Jeff Hogan has created unique partnerships with his brokers that help them to deliver an engaging, modern and consultative approach to employee benefits.

They encourage employers to view their benefits offerings just as they would any other (non-benefits) asset. Once that mindset is in place, Jeff works closely with his brokers to bring data and analytics to decisions about everything from core benefits to wellness and other benefit initiatives.

Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about their innovative and successful approach. See how you can adapt their model to your practice to bring greater value and differentiate your agency.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How Jeff and his team established themselves as a top competitor in a challenging environment
  • What led to their “benefits as corporate asset” strategy
  • How they create partnerships with their brokers
  • What steps they take to create long-term relationships with employers
  • Innovative steps they have taken to bring other relevant stakeholders into the equation.

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Ep #7: Eliminating Waste and Improving Quality in Today’s Healthcare with Frank Roby

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Can waste in healthcare be eliminated without being disruptive, while also engaging physicians and creating transparency? We’re pleased to welcome Frank Roby to the program today, to answer this question. He is the CEO of RevelationMD and has a background in employ benefits, mainly in healthcare industry.

Working in larger-case, self-funded arenas, RevelationMD aims to eliminate waste and improve quality in today’s healthcare system through the power of their physician-centered data bridge.  In this episode Frank Roby explains how his platform not only brings all the stakeholders together, but also factors in an important, mostly forgotten part in the cost equation – the physician.

In order to successfully achieve that, RevelationMD provides a flow of information that better enables the physicians to offer proper care for the company’s employees. This system also benefits physicians through the employer or the insurance company’s willingness to share the savings that physicians can achieve by better outcomes and by helping to find better pricing options through their transparency.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • The history of the shift in employee benefits of healthcare industry.
  • The reasons why RevelationMD works in larger, self-funded arenas, and how this information can help mid and smaller market folks.
  • How physicians benefit from RevelationMD’s approach.
  • How RevelationMD’s efforts affect transparency of pricing to the ensured individuals.
  • Possible trajectory of where the industry is headed and how RevelationMD fits into this.

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Ep #6: Enrollment Software that Engages, Educates, and Helps You To Sell – With Joe Fernandez

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This week, we welcome Joe Fernandez, from The Benefits Expert (TBX), to the show. Joe explains how TBX created an animated and engaging front end to the traditional online enrollment system. TBX uses media content, decision support, and interactive experience for employees to learn about benefits. It also points out the opportunities to fill the gaps in employees’ core plan with voluntary benefits that sell themselves.

Listen in to learn how TBX recreated enrollment software that engages, educates, and enhances the selling process and which can be provided and customized at no up-front cost. Joe will explain the reasons why his system is a great differentiator for brokers and how his new approach helps to market employee benefits more effectively. Don’t miss this episode!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How The Benefits Expert not only enrolls – it helps brokers sell.
  • TBX’s innovative methods of employee engagement, education, and enrollment.
  • TBX’s new simplified way of bundling benefits that increases the take-up rates dramatically.
  • Why these benefit bundles work better than allowing the employees to pick their options.
  • How and why TBX is able to offer their technology at no up-front cost to brokers.

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Ep #5: Education Reflects the Times – What’s New at The American College – With Tony Boquet

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Today, we welcome  Tony Boquet, vice president of the American College. We begin our wide-ranging interview with a discussion of the Penn Mutual Center for Veteran Affairs. The Center is a scholarship-based program which helps veterans returning from different conflicts around the world to get the education they need to build careers in the financial services industry.

We also discuss new programs and designations on both the life and the benefits side of the business, including some specially targeted to new areas of concentration. We also learn how the college is also keeping up with the times with new state-of-the-art audio and video production facilities, new ways to access content, and more.

In an ever-more complex marketplace, education may be more important than ever. For more than 87 years, The American College has provided a variety of educational tracks geared to benefits and financial services professionals. As a former producer himself, Tony’s perspective and enthusiasm for the forward direction of the college makes for a great and engaging interview. Don’t miss this one!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • The success stories of two Veterans Program graduates who recently received their master’s degrees.
  • The reasons why the American College and financial services education is more relevant today than ever.
  • All about the new Income Retirement Course and what it entails.
  • The background and details about the new Special Needs designation.
  • How RHU and REBC have morphed into a new designation that reflects the post-PPACA world.
  • The new technology and innovations the College embraced to provide a top-notch education to their clients.

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Ep #4: Using LinkedIn to Generate Warm Referred Leads with Mel Schlesinger

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ShiftShapersCoverArt On today’s episode, we are speaking with Mel Schlesinger, the creator of the LinkedIn Lead System. For many years he has been known as a leader in the health insurance industry and served as the president of the National Association of Health Underwriters. After years of researching and using different types of marketing, Mel has discovered a way of creating an unlimited source of fresh leads. Listen in to find out how you can skip making those dreaded cold calls and tap into this amazing resource by using Mel’s LinkedIn marketing. Don’t miss this insightful episode!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • Why LinkedIn is a better tool for marketing than cold calling.
  • How you can use LinkedIn as the ultimate lead generation tool.
  • The reasons why LinkedIn is a great referral machine.
  • How Mel’s program differs from other workshops and what skills you can walk away with after completing it.
  • The types of services available from LinkedIn Lead System.

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Ep #3: The New Private Exchange with Rick Bailey and Amanda Hohenberry of Inrollit

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On today’s episode, we are speaking with Rick Bailey and Amanda Hohenberry of Inrollit. Inrollit is a modern health insurance company that was built on the foundation of a much older model. Rick was asked by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal to be a part of his exchange advisory committee.

What Rick discovered caused him to shift the shape of his entire business. We’ll hear from the folks at Inrollit on how they are breaking down the barriers to customer understanding with their new platform. Don’t miss it!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • Why it’s so easy, as benefit advisers, to forget what it’s like to be the individual consumer.
  • How the internet is the most powerful free marketing tool at your disposal.
  • Why it’s ultimately about creating an environment that is comfortable for the end user and the broker.
  • How they have broken down the new laws for everyday people to understand.
  • Who the market is for the private exchange and where they see it going in the future.

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Ep #2: The Future of Value-Based Health Care with Alan Katz

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On today’s episode, we are welcoming Alan Katz of SeeChange Health  to the show. Alan his colleagues at SeeChange Health have been finding great success with a different model and mindset than many of our listeners may be used to.

SeeChange Health was founded in 2008, and since then, they have cultivated and refined a model called “Value-Based Benefit Design”. Today, we are going to be talking about the evolution of the company, and the future of this exciting construct. Don’t miss it!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How and Why SeeChange Health was founded.
  • How they provide financial rewards to people who take actions to improve their health.
  • Why traditional health insurance isn’t really health insurance at all; it’s sick insurance.
  • What plans they have for expansion into different states.
  • How Alan sees incentive-based platforms fitting into the landscape moving forward.

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Ep #1: Bending the Trend of Health Care with Mark Gaunya

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Today, I am very pleased to welcome Mark Gaunya of Borislow insurance onto the very first episode of The ShiftShapers Podcast. Mark and I are longtime friends, and his ability to bend the trend of health care and adjust to the current of his business is unparalleled.

When Mark joined Borislow Insurance nine years ago, he was really able to help them revolutionize the way that they were doing business. Mark is joining us to share some of his valuable insight on how they have been able to adjust to the changing landscape of health care over the past several years. Don’t miss it!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How Mark became involved with Borislow Insurance.
  • How they cultivated an atmosphere of health and wellness, and how it influenced their client relationships.
  • The structural changes that they were able to make within the organization and how that impacted the future of their business.
  • Relationships are the currency that we trade, and they can make or break our businesses.
  • How Mark and his team have adjusted to Massachusetts health care reform laws.

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