On our 40th anniversary, we thought it was high time we checked in with readers. You might recall that we kept mentioning our reader survey in our Insurance Insider e-newsletter as well as the print magazine. With a bit of encouragement (a $500 prize!), a lot of you answered! So a gigantic thank you to everyone who did. Your answers gave us insight and, in many cases, supplied some fodder for stories. Here’s what we found out…
Most of you are industry vets like us
It looks like California Broker has something important in common with the majority of our readers: we’ve all been around quite a long time! Sixty-six percent of readers have been in the industry for 16 or more years. But if you look closer you’ll see also that we have plenty of new folks joining us for the fun and profits, too. In fact, a full 34% of readers who responded have been in the industry for 15 or fewer years.
What kind of industry insider are you?
How do we put this? Well, we misunderstood you – just a little bit. Before we did our reader survey we would have certainly said that far more readers held health insurance licenses rather than life. We were wrong! The numbers are pretty close, but more of the readers who responded to the survey said they held life insurance licenses versus health. This is important because we try to keep facts like these in mind when we decide the magazine’s story mix.
Where is the industry going in 5 years?
- More for low income clients
- Compliance – ERISA and ACA
- Voluntary Benefits
- Self insured plans, workers comp
Do you like to read us in print or online?
We all know that the world is accessing more content online and the old days where everyone had stacks and stacks of magazines and newspapers is a thing of the past.
However, there are some publications that people just love to read in paper form. California Broker continues to be one of those, but our online readership and our e-newsletter readership certainly is giving print a run for its money.
You love us & we love you – it’s that simple!
We’re biased, but this is kind of the most important message. The vast majority of respondents said that the articles in California Broker magazine are extremely valuable. That means that our writer-contributors deserve a whole lot of praise for delivering articles you care about.
What do you want to read more about?
We asked readers if there was anything they’d like to see us talk about more. We heard a lot of great ideas.
Here’s just a sampling:
- Long term care insurance
- Reaching out to groups — how to start those conversations
- More on innovation and future planning for the industry and its
- Insurance as it relates to cutting edge topics lockchain/crypto, cyber, etc
- Benefits for mental health
- Strategies to reduce costs
- Concentrate on products
- More on Marketing
- More on office administration
- Imagine having a column each edition headed MY INTERESTING EXPERIENCE
- More retirement stuff
- Growing “pre-senior” market I.e., retired at 60, not yet eligible for Medicare
- Medicare!
- Lack of access, price transparency and rising costs of medical insurance
- How other small or medium insurance agencies bring new business
- More info on LTC Insurance
- More pending legislation at the national & California level
- Need more agency management information
- Cause of rising healthcare costs, life settlements, indexed ULs
- Carrier trends
- An advanced life insurance topic would be nice, e. executive compensation or changes in estate taxation
- Education to share with politicians and public to fight to reverse the real & serious threat to healthcare delivery, choice etc.
And here’s a sample comment that is also so nice to hear:
YOU’RE DOING GREAT… IT’S A WONDERFUL PUBLICATION;
KEEP IT GOING, PLEASE!
And the winner is…
Last but not least, everyone who answered the survey was included in a drawing for a $500 Visa gift card. One entry per person.
We drew the winner on August 10. Congratulations to Christine Davis, Employee Benefits Account Manager www.knightins.net Knight Insurance Services La Cañada Flintridge