Thank you to ASG Risk Management, Inc., a Diversified Group partner for many years, for featuring us on their MGU Perspectives Blog. We appreciate your recognition and our relationship.
Featured on the MGU Perspectives Blog, Compliments of ASG Risk Management, Inc.
For those of us in the risk management business, we know our work involves keeping up with the changing landscape of health insurance and employee wellness on a daily basis. Offering great customer service and encouraging an attitude of flexibility throughout our office are just a couple of variables that can mean the difference between being a good partner or a great partner.
That’s why we feel we’ve been so lucky to work with companies like Diversified Group of companies over the past 10 years. Based in Marlborough, Conn., this TPA firm is all about keeping up with the latest in employer health benefits while consistently delivering accurate and efficient benefits administration services.
When we were first introduced to Diversified, we immediately hit it off – after all, this is a company that invests its time professionally as well as personally, just like we do. Also like us, they take pride in being able to figure out a way to get what needs to be done, done – and always with a can-do attitude. (We like the idea of putting a smile in our voice, too!)
While Diversified Group has been administering self-insured health plans for more than 45 years, its three principals today are Brooks Goodison, Charlie Soleau, and Dan Sousier. Altogether, the company has a great track record for providing a very comprehensive and cost-effective approach to self-funded healthcare for businesses throughout the country.
In a recent conversation, Brooks noted that his company successfully accomplishes all this while competing in a fairly big pond. With competition from Blue Cross and Aetna to Cigna, Harvard Pilgrim and plenty of big names in-between, Diversified knows that if they’re not on their game, they’re going to be out.
So how to keep those big guns at bay? For Diversified Group, a critical differentiator is customer service – specifically, dedicated in-house teams focused 100% on service continuity. That sounds like a big commitment, but according to Brooks, Diversified Group is actually in a unique position to offer more flexibility and responsiveness than the larger companies because of its status as an independent company. With all customer service in-house, the firm can deliver a more cohesive, focused and experienced support tool and remain dedicated to working one-on-one with clients.
That level of personalization and dedication have paid off. Brooks notes the company has clients that have been with Diversified Group for more than 30 years, and average client retention is around 10 years. Its average employee group size is 110 employees, whereas the largest is 3,500 employees.
Plans for continued success won’t be slowing down any time soon, either. For example, a rapidly growing division of the Diversified Group is its Corporate Health & Fitness, which helps employers create worksite wellness programs such as one-on-one health screenings. This is an area where businesses are more and more frequently looking to actively manage the impact of healthcare costs on their P&Ls.
According to Brooks, one of the best ways to help ensure a positive outcome – financially for employers, and in terms of physical health for employees – is to keep the spotlight focused on health and wellness from within. He notes, “We believe heavily in worksite wellness and helping companies manage their health insurance costs. Know your cholesterol and physical numbers – and make sure the clients that are self-insured understand the limits of that risk.”
One trend that Brooks points to as becoming more prevalent today is helping companies manage the costs of specialty treatments new to the market. High-dollar infusion therapies, pharmacy claims and specialty drugs can cost upwards of $150,000 a year – and that cost could last as long as an employee’s life.
It’s a challenge for a business of any size, he concedes; but providing knowledgeable self-funding information and strategies to help clients budget for such costs – including the right stop loss controls – allows Diversified Group to help companies foster happy, healthier workforce groups while staying in control of their bottom lines.
If you’d like to learn more about ASG Risk Management, Inc., click here to visit the company’s website.
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