Each quarter, UBA's Senior Director of Strategic Solutions, Brian Leighton, conducts calls with UBA's Strategic Carrier Alliances (SCAs) together with John Behn, UBA's Senior VP of Partner Relations, and a member of the Strategic Partner Committee. The purpose of these calls is to maintain an open line of communication with our SCAs and discuss financial performance and opportunities for improvement.

This is a brief summary of the calls for each of our carrier alliances.

Colonial

• At the time of the call, Colonial did not yet have numbers through third quarter, but did share that UBA's business with Colonial is down 5% year over year.
• Colonial is introducing a new PPO dental product through Starmount.

Guardian

• Guardian reported strong numbers with UBA – new sales are up 40% year over year, at $20.87 million YTD. Cases are up 31% year over year; and the close ratio is at 11.1%
• No new product initiatives are planned for 2019.

The Hartford

• The Hartford reported strong numbers with UBA – new sales are up 40$ year over year, at $4.13 million YTD; our block has grown 10% year over year; and persistency is at 94% YTD, matching the national average.
• They shared a simplified billing option that is available for small groups for some cases. This allows for the same premium payment each month, with a final census at year end to confirm a stable enrollment.
• For 2019, The Hartford is finalizing the transition of the Aetna block to The Hartford's systems by March 1 and is introducing a new self-service leave management system for rate load.

Mutual of Omaha

• Mutual of Omaha reported strong numbers with UBA – new sales are up 55% year over year, at $9.89 million YTD; persistency is at 92% YTD; close ratio is 19%, versus the national average of 12%; and the UBA block of business is up 12% versus year-end 2017.
• A new manager of the claims area has instituted changes to improve claimant experience.
• Mutual of Omaha is introducing a vision plan soon through EyeMed.

Principal

• Principal reported sales with UBA are down by 55% year over year. New sales are at $7.27 million YTD, yet lines of coverage are up 3% year over year. Numbers are in line with 2016 production year over year. Persistency is at 94.6% and is in line with the same period in 2017.
• We discussed at length UBA Partner Firms with blocks of business but who are not writing much new business and an outreach effort to discover the reason.
• Principal shared a change in their national account approach – now 500+ lives and core reps bring in a "SWAT team" to assist.

Reliance Standard

• RSLI reported strong numbers with UBA – new sales are up 40% year over year, at $3.12 million YTD, and the UBA block of business has grown 11% year over year.
• Stop loss business is growing and they are using an MGU to manage the risk.
• .We discussed RSLI's self-service leave management system, called Leave Manager, and the opportunity to provide it to clients of UBA Partner Firms at reduced pricing.

The Standard

• The Standard reported new sales down with UBA by 4.7% year over year, at $2.6 million YTD. The UBA block is down 5.2% YTD, while overall The Standard's block is up 4% primarily through organic growth and high retention.
• The Standard built new algorithms for group life in 2018 and will do the same in 2019 for disability insurance in an effort to improve their competitiveness.

Sun Life

• Sun Life reported new sales down with UBA by 11% year over year, at $10.4 million, and the UBA block of business down 6.8% since year-end 2017.
• Sun Life understands (as do all our carriers) that the value of UBA doesn't cease when a UBA Partner Firm sells and departs the organization. Those relationships continue and many developed or were enhanced because of UBA.
• Sun Life shared that the stop loss market has "hardened" for cases with any significant claims experience, but is still very competitive for those cases with minimal claims activity.
• Sun Life does provide adjustments to their stop loss manual rates if reference-based pricing is used. This includes Payer Compass, a UBA Strategic Alliance.

Symetra

• Symetra reported new sales up with UBA by 4.3% year over year, at $16.8 million, which is broken out to $9.84 million in medical stop loss and $6.96 million in group and voluntary.
• Symetra has new sales reps in Philadelphia, Texas, California, and Ohio.
• FMLA is being handled in-house, and Symetra will be adding ADA tracking and reporting in 2019.
• There is a concern with "broker's brokers," or general agents for stop loss, particularly in the West. Remember that UBA Partner Firms will lose the UBA 5% override and other benefits from the UBA/Symetra relationship when using a broker's broker or GAs.
• Symetra is "walking before they run" with pricing of cases with reference-based pricing. They are not currently adjusting their manual rates except in one-off situations.

Unum

• Unum reported new sales down with UBA by 9.3% year over year, at $7.12 million, which was in line with the same period in 2016. Our block is down 4.6% since year-end 2017.
• Unum shared that their new dental and vision products are doing well.
• Initiatives for 2019 include enhancements to their voluntary benefit products, an overhaul of their claims area in keeping with their goal to be the nationally-recognized customer service leader in the financial services industry. They completed an overhaul of their implementation process in 2018.
• Unum will be focusing more attention on the small group market (less than 50 lives) in 2019.

Voya Financial

• Voya reported new sales with UBA up by 16%, at $10.43 million. UBA's block of business has grown by 133% over the past 3.5 years.
• Voya is interested in partnering with UBA on their retirement services, which will be a topic for the Strategic Partner Committee to consider.

VSP

• This was our first quarterly call with VSP, and they are currently building out financial reporting capabilities for UBA. However, UBA's numbers are positive and VSP's total book of business with UBA is approximately $30 million.
• VSP will be introducing "Easy Option," a POS product that allows customization for each family member.
• VSP does not offer a bonus program but occasionally runs a promotion like the one currently taking place for UBA that pays up to $500 per case based on case size for business written between October 1, 2019, through January 1, 2019.
• VSP is a not-for-profit company that provides free eye clinics and glasses to those in need around the globe.

Overall, UBA's production through Q3 2018 with all our carriers combined (not including VSP) is up 11%, with $99,506,453 in new premium. It's gratifying to know that UBA Partner Firms are supporting those SCAs that are supportive of UBA Partner Firms. Please continue to work with our SCAs to the greatest extent you are able.

Our SCAs have all expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to share what's new and learn about UBA initiatives on these quarterly calls.

Special thanks to the Strategic Partner Committee members who participated in the calls:

• Kevin Rush, The DeHayes Group
• Jack Hemb, Hemb Insurance Group
• Jason Williford, Dillingham Benefits
• Dan Maniaci, Maniaci Insurance Services
• Scott Clemons, The Clemons Company
• Paul Lambert, 360 Corporate Benefit Advisors
• Brian Luciani, Blueprint Benefit Advisors
• Charlie Crowder, Managed Benefits

 Questions? Contact Brian Leighton at bleighton@ubabenefits.com or 312-416-3675