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Randy Bartlein, a Gulf Coast sales executive for Aflac supplemental insurance, is no fan of Obamacare — but the government takeover of health care sure has been good for his business.
Bartlein's Aflac division, which focuses mostly on Sarasota and Manatee counties, has already doubled its new account portfolio in 2010 over 2009, from around 650 to more than 1,300. Bartlein also hired 30 new agents over the last nine months, which brought the local total to 55 independent salespeople who work in Bartlein's agency.
Moreover, the third quarter was Bartlein's best of 2010, with a 57% growth in new accounts. The businesses Bartlein and his agents sign up get two bonuses through the supplemental insurance model: For one, the coverage is voluntarily paid for by employees, so there's no up front cost to a business. Plus, employees can use pre-tax dollars to pay for the policies, which can lower a company's social security and federal unemployment payroll taxes.
Bartlein, who has been with Aflac in Sarasota-Bradenton since 1996, cites improved training and a better local hiring pool for sales agents as partial reasons for the growth spurt.
But he also tells Coffee Talk that uncertainty unleashed by the health care bill spurred local executives into action. Bartlein says the Aflac sales pitch now revolves around educating executives on the complexities of Obamacare.
“It has made business owners more aware of employee benefits,” says Bartlein. “The last thing a CEO wants to deal with is all of this health care [stuff.]”
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