Executives and professionals responsible for the development, marketing, and distribution of group and worksite/voluntary benefits, including Life, Disability, Critical Illness, Accident, other Supplemental Health products, Dental, Vision, and Healthcare plans. The conference features special sessions for senior executives to meet in a collaborative environment.
Highlights
Gain fresh ideas and insights to successfully address short-and long-term changes in the U.S.
Project Sweet Peas Charity Event
Get involved and make a difference in the lives of NICU families! Attendees are invited to participate in making contributions to and assembling care packages for Project Sweet Peas at a special pre-conference event. Individuals and companies can also make monetary donations directly to the charity at the link below. Whether you select to donate a specific item, make a monetary donation on behalf of your company, or make a personal donation, you can feel confident that your contribution will go directly to helping families in need!
To volunteer to put care packages together on Tuesday, Sept. 10 from 10:30 – 12:30, click here.
Project Sweet Peas is a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and supporting families of fragile infants, and inspiring hope through remembrance for those affected by pregnancy and infant loss. Project Sweet Peas provides NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) care packages, bereavement memory boxes, financial assistance, and other support services to thousands of NICU families per year. Established in 2009, Project Sweet Peas is celebrating 10 years of hope! For more information, please visit www.projectsweetpeas.com.
President & General Manager, Cigna Voluntary Benefits
As the general manager for the Enterprise Voluntary organization, Jim Boyman defines and drives a unified go-to-market approach for a voluntary business that includes both group and individual solutions. Building a cross-segment collaboration to power growth, he identifies, prioritizes and enables growth opportunities, whether in the healthcare, group, or individual businesses. Boyman joined Cigna in 2013 as Chief Distribution Officer for the U.S. Individual segment. He implemented channel-specific distribution strategies and identified areas for further connections across the Cigna enterprise that led to the successful acquisition of customers, driving increased penetration through existing relationships and building relationships with new business partners. Prior to Cigna, Boyman held a number of leadership positons across Sales, Operations, Finance, and Strategy during a 20-year career with Aetna.
SVP, Sales & Relationship Management – Group Benefit, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
Lori is SVP, Sales and Relationship Management of Group Benefits for The Hartford. In this capacity, Lori has accountability for leading Group Benefits sales and distribution, developing the strategies necessary to enhance The Hartford’s existing market position and driving profitable growth to position Group Benefits successfully in an evolving marketplace. Lori comes to The Hartford with over 25 years of sales and industry experience. Prior to The Hartford, Lori held the position of President, Group Insurance at Prudential. Her earlier Prudential career had responsibility for sales, account management, marketing, life underwriting, strategy and product development. Lori also was responsible for the Veterans Program at Prudential. She continues to be an advocate for returning veterans back to full employment.
Founder, Travis Mills Foundation United States Army Staff Sergeant
On April 10, 2012, United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne was critically injured on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan by an IED (improvised explosive device) while on patrol, losing portions of both legs and both arms. He is one of only five servicemen from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ever to survive quadruple amputee injuries. In September 2013, Mills founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization, formed to benefit and assist wounded and injured veterans. Mills and the foundation are actively involved with several veterans organizations namely, the Travis Mills Foundation Retreat in Maine. The Travis Mills Foundation supports recalibrated veterans and their families through long-term programs that help these heroic men and women overcome physical obstacles, strengthen their families, and provide well-deserved rest and relaxation.
President and Chief Operating Officer, American Fidelity Assurance Company
Jeanette Rice is the President and Chief Operating Officer of American Fidelity Assurance Company (AF). She began her career with AF in 1988 as the manager of Corporate Communications. Since then, she served in many roles before becoming President and COO, including Senior Vice President of Corporate and Human Resources, Branding and Technology; and Executive Vice President and Assistant Chief Operating Officer. Jeanette leads AF’s senior management committee and believes that a successful company is driven by its culture. This focus on culture has led AF to be named one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for 13 years. In 2018, Jeanette received the Leadership For All Award fromthe Great Place to Work Institute.
Tom is the CEO of Wamberg Genomic Advisors and is responsible for the overall direction and execution of the company’s strategic plan. In his 30-year career, Wamberg has built and led numerous financial and professional insurance services businesses. Wamberg recently served as President of Insurance and Corporate Business of Human Longevity, Inc. He served as Chairman of Uniphy Health, a secure healthcare collaboration platform for physicians, a company he co-founded in 2013. He previously started and led as Chairman and CEO two other consulting/brokerage companies, Clark & Wamberg, LLC and Clark Inc. (NYSE: CLK) which he took public in 1998. Wamberg is a member of the American Cancer Society CEOs Against Cancer, a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and is a past president of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting.
Scientists believe the first person to live to age 150 has already been born. Genomic developments will change every long-held belief of the life and health insurance industries. Have the insurance carriers developed a cohesive strategy to deal with the forthcoming impact of genomics on their business and policyholders? Join Tom Wamberg for a discussion of genomic products and their potential risks, rewards, and regulations.
Phil Bruen, Vice President Group Life & Disability Product Development, MetLife; Judy Buczek, Director, Group Life and Disability Product, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; Kimberlee Rudeen, FLMI, ACS, Assistant Vice President Absence & Statutory Group Product Solutions, Lincoln Financial Group; Moderator: Lisa Vosburgh, Assistant Vice President, Marketing, Lincoln Financial Group
More states are passing or considering state-regulated paid-leave programs. This presentation will provide an overview of this hot topic, current and pending state programs, how they align with unpaid leave (FML) and short-term disability (STD) programs, and the challenges carriers face in this decentralized environment.
Caroline Stewart, Executive Vice President, Sales, Employee Protection Solutions; Todd Woodlee, Vice President, iGrad/Enrich; Moderator: Megan Holland,MBA, CEBS,GBDS, RPA, Vice President, Distribution and Marketing, Mutual of Omaha
Lifestyle benefits such as ID theft, pet insurance, physical and financial wellness programs, educational reimbursement, and college loan repayment benefits have been growing in popularity and adoption in the marketplace. There are many factors to consider with this adoption, such as:
Are lifestyle benefits diverting interest away from core financial security benefit programs like disability income protection and life insurance?
Are group and worksite carriers and their distribution partners gravitating towards these attention-getting lifestyle programs at the expense of meeting employees’ fundamental needs?
Where do life, disability, supplemental health and dental rank in terms of their focus and foundation for their programs?
How will this affect the financial security of the upcoming generations?
President & General Manager, Cigna Voluntary Benefits
Lori L High
SVP, Sales & Relationship Management – Group Benefit, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
Jeanette Rice
President and Chief Operating Officer, American Fidelity Assurance Company
Gene Lanzoni, Moderator
Assistant Vice President, Thought Leadership – Group & Worksite Marketing, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
Every year at our event, industry leaders share their thoughts about today's most important topics. This is your opportunity to hear what's on the minds of these executives as they focus on our role in shaping the new benefits landscape.
Co-Facilitators: Graeme Queen, Vice President, Strategic Account Services, The Standard; Pam Handmaker, Senior Director, Product and Innovation, Trustmark Solutions
With the constant changes to technology, benefits and HR, could payroll deductions soon become a thing of the past? What would be the impact if organizations stop taking deductions? Join us for an interactive working session where we explore an alternative world where we can thrive without standard payroll deductions.
Learn how organizations are changing their payroll deduction policies
Define the challenges that come with this change and solutions to help solve them
Work as a team to creatively communicate a solution
Louis J. Pantalone, Executive Vice President, AON Voluntary Benefits & Enrollment Solutions; Joe Refano, National Product Director, MetLife; Kendie Stroede, Integration Senior Manager, Cigna; Ben Yomtoob, HR and Benefits Technology Consultant, Gallagher; Moderator: Craig Iredell, Product Strategy Director, Cigna
Carriers now have the opportunity to streamline the claims process to make the experience easier from the employee/employer (HR) perspective. Are we moving to an era where an employee could submit one claim and have that release benefits from multiple products?
What are the implications of claims adjudication, and how are carriers tackling this internally and with external third parties?
What are market perceptions and the impact on price/pepm?
Is this even “legal?”
This workshop will host a panel discussion with two carrier claim integration experts and a benefits broker who understands the integrated claims experience with group and workplace benefits.
Moderator: Gene F. Lanzoni, Assistant Vice President, Thought Leadership – Group & Worksite Marketing, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
The “A View from the Top” general session is guaranteed to be thought-provoking. Join fellow executives in a moderated roundtable discussion with the panelists to further explore key issues, share perspectives, and hear fresh ideas on the issues impacting all of us.
David Dziewit, President and CEO; National Health Plans & Benefits Agency; Steve Neu, President, Onviant Insurance Agency; Moderator: Michael Milos, Vice President, Sales & Distribution Strategy, Washington National
Call center distribution continues to rapidly evolve via enhanced technology and marketing techniques. Attend this session to:
Learn how call center distribution is being leveraged to proactively sell within the individual and worksite environments
Understand how call center distribution can serve the underpenetrated small business marketspace
Dispel myths associated with the often misunderstood distribution segment
Mark Leeds, CEO, Rally Partners; Jeff Oldham, Senior Vice President, Benefitfocus; David Reid, CEO, Ease; Moderator: Doug Dixon, CLU, ChFC, LLIF, President and CEO, Texas Life Insurance Company
Newport and the America’s Cup have experienced significant change over the year due to advances in technology. So too, has the benefits industry. Both large and small benefits admin technology providers are driving much of the change. Join this session to hear a panel discussion on these changes and their implications as we look towards the next five year.
Anita Potter, Assistant Vice President, Market Research, LIMRA;Co-Moderators: Jordon Jordanov, Vice President of Group Products, American Fidelity Assurance Company; Michael Maroney, Senior Director, Sales Enablement, USAble Life Insurance Company;
How well do we understand consumer needs and wants when designing a life, disability, critical illness or accident products? During this session, let’s design a product that employees really want! This interactive session will explore what benefit features are must haves and what features may distract from the true value of the financial protection products. LIMRA will also share results of the latest employee survey which explores the benefits features that clearly resonate with employees.
Cristina dos Santos, Director, Extended Health Care, Product Development, Sun Life, Montreal; Moderator: Bryan Burke, Product Management Director, Sun Life Financial
There is growing clinical evidence that medical cannabis can provide health benefits to those suffering from specific medical conditions and related symptoms. As the laws on cannabis use continue to change, group benefits providers will need a plan to respond to legalization. In Canada, the use of cannabis for medical purposes has been legal since 2001 and recreational cannabis was legalized in 2018. Attend this session to learn about how a Canadian carrier has been addressing medical cannabis and about changes to the landscape with the recent national legalization of recreational cannabis.
Jocelyn Grega, Assistant Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Unum; Marty McGuinness, Vice President, Government Affairs, Unum; Moderator: Matthew Barnett, Director, Investor Relations, Unum
Unum has been leading the charge to promote auto enrollment of the disability product. Hear how Unum has been successful in making auto-enrollment transparent to their employees, explaining the reason for auto-enrollment but also offering a simple opt-out process. Attend this session to:
Recognize policies that made 401(k) auto-enrollment a success
Learn about disability policy-making underway
Develop best practices to encourage clients to consider auto-enrollment using the behavioral concept of defaults
Founder, Travis Mills Foundation United States Army Staff Sergeant
On April 10, 2012, United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne was critically injured on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan by an IED (improvised explosive device) while on patrol, losing portions of both legs and both arms. He is one of only five servicemen from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ever to survive quadruple amputee injuries. In September 2013, Mills founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization, formed to benefit and assist wounded and injured veterans. Travis' larger-than-life personality, sense of humor and incredible spirit for life will teach and inspire you to never give up or quit.
David Cunningham, Managing Assistant General Counsel – Privacy Law, The Hartford; Elizabeth Ortmann-Vincenzo, Assistant General Counsel, Cigna; Moderator: Dana MacKinnon, Vice President Relationship Management Strategy, The Hartford
In the insurance industry, knowing the rules of the road for using and sharing data is essential. Learn the foundational rules applicable to data in the insurance industry, and participate in a “Jeopardy” style game to test your knowledge of data privacy and security in common and uncommon scenarios, such as:
When can you share data across businesses within your own company?
How does HIPAA impact your company’s ability to share data?
How do you determine what steps to take if there is a data incident or breach?
Gene Lanzoni, Assistant Vice President, Thought Leadership, Group & Worksite Markets, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; Ryan Sallans, LGBTQ Speaker & Author; Michele Levine, Second Vice President, Corporate Benefits, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; Moderator: Dave Mahder, Vice President, CMO, Group & Worksite Markets, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
This workshop will address the evolving HR and benefits needs of the American workforce, particularly segments long underserved by homogeneous corporate policies and processes. Explore recent Guardian market research and successful experiences of establishing a culture of diversity and inclusion.
Learn how different workforce segments, including single parents, remote workers, and caregivers, feel about their workplace communications, benefits programs, and HR policies
Hear from a nationally known LGBTQ author and speaker about how benefits programs, employee communications, and workplace policies can best support LGBTQ workers
Get tips from Guardian’s head of diversity about how to make the workplace more welcoming and inclusive
Bryan Wells, Benefit Technology Consultant, The Standard; Lyle Griffin, President, Selerix; Karen Lindokken, Solutions Architect, The Standard; Moderator: Graeme Queen, Vice President, Strategic Account Services, The Standard
Success in the voluntary market relies heavily on the transfer of data between customers, carriers, brokers, and benefit technology partners. The traditional data feed approach (EDI) has been a pain point for the industry, and we now see a shift towards real-time transmissions (API) as technology evolves. With this shift, it is important to know the differences for each solution, why the industry is shifting, what limitations exist, and what benefits carriers and their clients can obtain.
This panel discussion will provide insurance carrier perspectives on a hot topic: Financial Wellness. Learn how leading employee benefits providers are integrating financial wellness concepts into their overall value propositions, and better understand why financial wellness matters to carriers, brokers, employer groups, and consumers.
As our conference theme this year is Navigating the Future, this session will explore what is the future of workplace benefits? Attendees will have an open dialogue on the impact to our business from the perspective of the regulatory environment, consolidation, new entrants, technology, customer experience, changing demographics of the workplace, and alternate distribution models. LIMRA staff will also share some research results that should be considered as we look to navigate the future of workplace benefits.
12:00 pm
ADJOURNMENT
Registration
Early Registration Fee: LIMRA Member: $1285 LOMA Member (but not LIMRA): $1925 Nonmember: $2570
After August 20, 2019: LIMRA Member: $1485 LOMA Member (but not LIMRA): $2225 Nonmember: $2970
LIMRA requires prepayment of registration fees prior to all conferences and meetings. Please make checks payable to LIMRA in U.S. dollars drawn on a bank in the United States. For Vendor registration fees, call Event Registration at 800-235-4672 (U.S. and Canada) or 860-285-7789.
All cancellations must be received in writing. Cancellations received before August 20, 2019, will be refunded, less a $75 processing fee. Cancellations received from August 20, 2019 to September 3, 2019 will be refunded, less a $275 processing and administrative fee. No refunds will be issued after September 3, 2019
In the event that a scheduled meeting or event is cancelled by LIMRA for any reason, LIMRA shall refund any conference registration fees that have been paid by the registrant. Under no circumstances, however, shall LIMRA be liable to the registrant for any other expenses including, but not limited to, airfare and hotel expenses incurred by the registrant.
Hotel / Venue
Newport Marriott
25 America’s Cup Avenue Newport, Rhode Island, United States, 02840
If you receive any unsolicited or suspicious email or phone call about a hotel booking in conjunction with this meeting, our advice is not to click on it, but delete the email immediately. In the case of a phone call, never give out your credit card information. Our designated conference hotels will never call you unless you contact them first.
Or call: (800) 228-9290 (identifying yourself as part of the group staying at the Newport Marriott.)
Make your room reservation by August 20, 2019 and mention the LIMRA Group & Worksite Benefits Conference to receive the discounted group rate of $264 single/double (plus applicable sales taxes). Requests after August 20, 2019 will be accepted on space availability.
Extend your stay? The group rate will be offered three days prior and three days after the meeting dates subject to availability of rooms at the time of your reservation. You may need to call the hotel directly to book the extra nights.
As a reminder, the hotel rates may increase after the cut-off date or when the meeting room block sells out, whichever comes first. Make your reservations early to be able to take advantage of our discounted rates. Reservations must be guaranteed with a major credit card. Check in: 4:00 p.m.; check out 12 noon.