Let the DBL Center Help With Your Summer Events
Even in this age of internet marketing, insurance is still a high-touch business, where brokers look for opportunities to connect with their clients face to face. Although we highly recommend a strong Web presence and inbound marketing (an initiative The DBL Center has been pushing for more than a year now, since the revamp of our website), we also know the importance of personal networking. It’s one reason we recently joined The Business Council of New York and continue to look for unique and exciting ways to provide education and outreach to our clients, as well as new ways our clients can reach out to their customers.
Planning a Summer Networking Event?
For years, many insurance brokers have hosted events—from black tie affairs to golf outings—to welcome new clients and thank loyal customers. The summer is a great time to plan get-togethers. And now that the rainy spring is behind us here in the Tri-State area, everyone is eager to get outside.
In the summer, the entire insurance industry and most of corporate clients are a little more laidback. Offices may encourage more casual attire. It’s acceptable, even expected, to spend a day on the golf course or a night at a baseball game with business colleagues.
More than Year-Round, White Glove Service
The DBL Center is not only here year-round to provide your customers with the white glove, white-label concierge service they deserve. In the past, we’ve provided luxury suites at Yankee Stadium, lined up comedic entertainment for a corporate dinner after a golf outing, and organized celebrity meet-and-greets. We can help you take your corporate events to the next level through our partnerships with Steiner Sports and the Friar’s Club of New York.
We are excited to be able to leverage these relationships and line up events as incentives and rewards for our top performing brokers and their clients. We can also help our brokers organize events to draw in new customers, recognize their best clients, or network with leads they’ve met throughout the year.
Reconnect with Your Customers this Summer
There’s no better time to organize an event than right now. With the introduction of Paid Family Leave in New York, the announcement of the rates, and the opportunity for businesses to start withholding for PFL coverage on July 1, many insurance customers have questions. Why not meet with your existing customers and top prospects in a fun and laidback setting, bond over laughs provided by a top name comedian, and share their options for PFL coverage?
If you’ve opted not to sell PFL, it’s crucial, right now, to connect with your customers and show them all you offer as their DBL and ancillary benefits broker, remind them of the high-level of service you have always provided, and reinforce that business relationship.
Whether it’s sports celebrity signings, entertainment after your golf outing, or baseball tickets to the Mets or Yankees, The DBL Center can provide experiences you won’t find from anyone else in the insurance industry. We look forward to helping you bring a little fun into your summer, even as you work to increase sales and expand your book of business.
Let us know how we can provide you with the service you deserve.
Steiner Sports Partnership: DBL Center Rewards “Power Hitter” Brokers
Partnerships with Steiner Sports and The Friar’s Club make it possible for The DBL Center to provide exclusive access to luxury sports and celebrity events
Being a P&C or Life & Health insurance broker in the Tri-State area isn’t easy. Constant regulatory changes in healthcare, taxation related to estate planning, and, most recently, new Paid Family Leave (PFL) laws, make it harder than ever for even the best brokers to keep up. A consultative selling approach is crucial to grow your book of business and, for that to occur, brokers must stay educated about regulatory changes. This leaves less time for sales, putting brokers in a tough spot. 
Bringing Back the Fun of the Insurance Industry with Steiner Sports and the Friar’s Club
If you’re a veteran to this industry, you know things aren’t what they used to be. In the 1980s and 1990s, insurance companies offered exciting bonuses beyond the usual financial rewards, which made all the hard work and hustle worth it. From luxury trips to sporting events, black-tie dinners, and more, these bonuses made the industry fun, and helped create a tight-knit community of carriers and brokers with a true passion for the insurance industry and everything it offered.
It’s virtually impossible, today, for an individual broker working on their own to achieve the kind of sales figures that warrant these rewards. Due to diminishing margins, carriers have made bonus qualifications more difficult, while brokers find it harder to write new business. Most of the incentives that carriers offer today go to their own employees, not their broker clients.
But here at The DBL Center, we remember how it was, and we want to bring the spark of excitement that once helped the insurance industry thrive. Most importantly, we want to reward the brokerage community that works so hard to sell important insurance products.
The DBL Center, as an insurance wholesaler, can leverage group buying power, as well as our relationships in the entertainment industry and specifically with Steiner Sports and the Friar’s Club, to bring back the bonuses and perks industry veterans remember and younger brokers will love.
With high commission rates, white-glove service, and unique incentive packages from Steiner Sports that you won’t find with any other insurance wholesaler, The DBL Center goes above and beyond to help our brokers succeed —and reward them when they do.
High Commissions, Big League Rewards
We offer industry-high commission rates based on sales. Our brokers don’t have to struggle to meet new business production goals and we have no high-level persistency requirements.
We also provide a host of tools, including a 24/7 mobile broker application scheduled to be released in September and a frequently updated blog and newsletter, to help brokers stay on top of the latest news and developments. We also provide free educational seminars for our brokers, held at top New York Tri-State area venues like the Friar’s Club in midtown Manhattan and conveniently located Long Island hotels and wineries.
We also provide one-of-a-kind incentives that top-performing brokers won’t find anywhere else, thanks to our partnerships with The Friar’s Club and Steiner Sports Collectibles.
DBL Center Incentive Package Is Easy to Understand
We offer our incentives based on premiums alone. We don’t require new business quotas to be filled each year which means, we don’t expect a minimum number of lines to be written, nor minimum production percentages to be met.
Simply meet the DBL Center’s tiers for premiums, and gain access to a choice of star-studded galas, up-close sports experiences and more.
Concierge Service Provides Access to All-Star, A-List Events through Steiner Sports and the Friar’s Club
Dinner with Harvey Keitel or Regis Philbin? We can do that. A uniquely New York comedy night with writers from the Jimmy Fallon and Howard Stern Shows? You’ve got it. A black-tie affair honoring Martin Scorsese? These are all events DBL Center brokers have enjoyed—on us—as a reward for meeting minimum premium tiers. If you prefer to gift one of your best customers with one of these experiences of a lifetime, we can arrange that, too.
In the past, we’ve provided all-inclusive luxury suites at Yankee Stadium, Steiner Sports celebrity meet-and-greets, seats in the Coaches Club at MetLife Stadium for a Giants game, or field-level seats and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to take batting practice with the New York Yankees.
Three Tiers, Three Opportunities to Win Big
We don’t make our incentive packages complicated with a minimum line count or complicated retention factors. Meet one of our three premium tiers and become a DBL Center VIP, earning an experience of your choice commensurate with your success.
- Tier 1: Platinum VIP Experience Package, $700K + in total premiums for the year
- Tier 2: Gold VIP Experience Package, $300K to $500K in total premiums for the year
- Tier 3: Silver VIP Experience Package, $125K to $275K in total premiums for the year(Premiums include statutory and group ancillary coverage.)
Big Plans for High Earners
We have a number of other plans in the works to reward our top DBL performers, too. We can offer an intimate DBL Center luxury sporting event for our brokers and their clients through Steiner Sports or tickets to a Friar’s Club roast, which only takes place twice a year.
White-glove, Concierge Service
For years, The DBL Center has been providing white-glove, concierge-like service to our brokers and their customers, serving as a back-office staff for our brokers, freeing them to write more business instead of spending time servicing existing accounts.
Our incentive packages take our philosophy of concierge service one step further. Our life-long relationships with some of the most famous names in sports and entertainment allow us to help top brokers enjoy the experience of a lifetime or even fulfill a celebrity or sports related dream.
To us, concierge service means taking those extra steps to ensure our brokers and their customers always feel like VIPs.
Call The DBL Center today to find out how we can help you reach one of our VIP tiers even faster.
NY Paid Family Leave: What DBL Brokers Need to Know
With days left to review the proposed NY Paid Family Leave regulations, what should you know?
NY Paid Family Leave, the most comprehensive Paid Family Leave program in the country, is set to go into effect January 1, 2018. But for employers and brokers preparing for the moment, the date isn’t as far off as it sounds. And employers can begin making payroll deductions as early as July 1, 2017. 
A Quick Recap of NY Paid Family Leave
First, a quick recap of the proposed regulations:
NY Paid Family Leave provides employees with the income they need to enable them to stay home and care for:
- a newborn, adopted or foster care child within the first 12 months
- an ill or aging family member
- children while a spouse is serving in the military
Paid Family Leave will be phased in over the next four years, until 2021, when PFL will pay out the maximum coverage of 67 percent of an employee’s average weekly wage for 12 weeks. Coverage will be community rated to promote a fair and efficient market, and coverage will be written as a rider to existing DBL policies.
You can learn more about the specific details of the law in this blog post, when The DBL Center blog broke the news to our network last April.
What We Know
In the past year, we’ve been staying on top of the news and we’ve discovered some interesting facts:
- Many employers don’t even know these new regulations were introduced.
- Some P&C brokers are considering leaving the DBL insurance industry because they are worried about the new regulations
- Brokers are turning to those in the know, such as reputable carriers and The D.B.L. Center, to answer questions they have and find the best ways to educate their customers
Embracing the Opportunities NY Paid Family Leave Offers to Brokers
Because PFL coverage will exist as a rider to current New York State mandatory DBL coverage, these changes affect P&C brokers who write DBL coverage. Brokers SHOULD look at the coverage as an opportunity.
The DBL Center and our carriers are here to help you leverage this opportunity for increased commissions (whatever the actual amount may be!) on mandatory, employee-funded PFL coverage. The process is one of education and consultative selling, rather than hard sales. And The DBL Center is here to assist every step of the way, with the information our brokers and their customers need to make the best decisions and guide you in this new claim process.
Our soon to be released mobile app, combined with the technical infrastructure provided by preferred vendors to process policy riders, gives our brokers the tools they need to be successful in this new venture.
It’s also a good time for our brokers to review and enrich existing DBL policies beyond the state minimum, in preparation for the Governor’s office to potentially increase the DBL benefit. After all, Governor Cuomo’s father Mario was the last one to increase the weekly indemnity back in 1989. We never know. Changes are ahead, and they promise to be good ones for brokers who work with The DBL Center as their insurance wholesaler and have the tools to take a consultative approach to selling DBL in New York.
Deadlines Approaching
But what are the rates for NY Paid Family Leave? And how much do brokers stand to make from the new PFL coverage? These are the top questions on the minds of many of our brokers. Certainly, the state acknowledges that brokers’ workloads will increase as a result of the new coverage, and industry experts believe rates will be fair to enable reasonable broker commissions. But right now, all we can do is expect the best.
The good news is that all the uncertainty ends on June 1, when the state announces the coverage rates. Soon after that, carriers will announce broker commissions. And employers are permitted to begin deducting payments for NY Paid Family Leave premiums beginning July 1.
In addition, brokers have until April 8 to read the draft regulations and make comments. The full text of the regulations can be found here.
Meanwhile, We Wait…
As we wait for the proposed regulations to pass and the State of New York to set the rate, it’s important to continue educating employers on the law. That way, when the time comes for them to purchase this mandatory coverage and, even before then, to begin making payroll deductions on July 1, they will know where to turn.
Stay tuned for further information regarding our Q&A seminar at The Friar’s Club next month in conjunction with The New York Business Council and one of our preferred vendors. With The DBL Center behind you, our brokers are poised to make the most of NY Paid Family Leave.
Digital Networking Helps Insurance Brokers Build Strong B2B Relationships
Insurance brokers should claim their Google listing and build a LinkedIn profile to connect with business owners and win new clients.
by Brian Lindamood, Manta Content Director
Networking with other business owners used to be straightforward: You could join fraternal clubs, trade or social groups, get involved in community causes or local events, and build lasting relationships with others in your community. When a potential client needed to discuss their coverage needs, they already had your number.
While these connections are still important, they are no longer enough. Today, “networking” for insurance brokers just as often means digital networking, and it starts with a robust presence on search engines and social media platforms.
Don’t be intimidated. Many of these tactics are new — and sometimes it seems that they’re constantly changing — but it’s not hard to get started. By following these tips, you can build your digital network and learn how to connect with other business owners online.
Make Sure Clients Can Find You With Local Search
Imagine, 10 or 15 years ago, a business owner saying they didn’t have time to list their telephone number in the phone book. Crazy, right? They’d certainly have plenty of time on their hands when their phone stopped ringing. Yet that’s the attitude many now have about online listings.
A recent Manta poll found that 48% of small business owners are not interested in boosting their business’ visibility on Google, with nearly half saying they don’t have the time or money to devote to search engine listings.
If you don’t have a website, you might think you don’t need to worry about search engines. You just want phone calls. But the solution is the same: Many phone calls start with an internet search to find a number, either with a smartphone or desktop computer.
Simply put, search engines like Google are how clients find you—your website, your business address, or your phone number. If you don’t spend the small amount of time it takes to claim and update your online listings, you can expect your phone to stop ringing eventually.
Fortunately, it’s easy to fix. The most important first step is to search for and claim your Google My Business listing. If you don’t have a Google listing for your business, you can create a new one. Once you’ve claimed your listing, you should correct any errors, add important information like your business hours and a description of your business, and, if you have a storefront, add photos of your location.
Best of all, once updated your business listing info will be populated throughout Google’s many platforms: Google search, Google’s local listings, smartphone searches and Google Maps. It’s the best way to ensure that potential clients in your community can find you whenever they’re searching for a nearby insurance broker.
Connect With Business Owners On Social Media
The benefits of social media may be clear for consumer-oriented businesses. You expect to see restaurants and retailers on Facebook and Instagram. The opportunity for business-to-business service providers like insurance brokers may be less obvious, but social media can be an effective way to meet new clients.
Starting with LinkedIn will typically yield the most success. The professional-oriented network is a great place to promote your expertise and connect with other business owners.
When you create a LinkedIn profile, use relevant keywords like “disability insurance,” “ancillary benefits” and “group life insurance” to describe your skills and experience. This will help local decision-makers find you when they’re searching for the services you provide.
You can search for and connect with your current clients, friends and associates, or import contacts from your address book. Once connected, you’ll be able to see their connections—friends of friends and your clients’ associates. Ask them for an introduction! This is one of the easiest ways to get a referral directly from a current client to another business owner.
Finally, promote your expertise on LinkedIn by posting links to articles, commenting on industry trends, or writing your own posts with your advice and observations on insurance-related issues. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your expertise, share advice with current connections and get the attention of new clients.
Digital marketing tactics like Google listings and LinkedIn profiles may be new, but the goal of marketing remains the same: Like the networking you’ve always done face-to-face in your community, digital networking allows you to connect with other business owners, demonstrate your expertise and get found by potential new clients.
Bio Brian Lindamood is director of content for Manta, one of the largest online resources dedicated to small business. Manta educates, coaches and empowers small business owners to succeed on their own terms by helping them compete, connect with customers, and grow their businesses. You can reach him on Twitter at @BrianLindamood.
New Jersey Raises TDB Insurance Premiums and Coverage
State of New Jersey announces big news about mandatory TDB insurance for business owners.
If you’re an insurance broker or a business owner in New Jersey or across the New York Tri-State area, this month brought some breaking news you should be aware of. And no, it’s not about the election…. In fact, it relates to mandatory TDB insurance, a product with potential to earn insurance brokers more money.
What You Should Know About NJ TDB Insurance
The State of New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has increased the cap for mandatory Temporary Disability Benefits (New Jersey TDB) and Paid Family Leave up to $633 per week, a modest increase of $29 per week. The Taxable Wage Cap increases to $33,500. And the employee contribution portion of the premium increases by 20 percent. These changes are slated to go into effect January 1, 2017.
The increase also affects New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut businesses with employees who reside in New Jersey—as well as businesses across the country that may hire telecommuters. These companies are required to pay NJ TDB insurance premiums for their employees based in New Jersey.
What This Means to Employers and their Employees
The TDB Insurance increase sounds like a good thing: It means a few extra dollars for workers who are out due to an illness or injury that is not work-related or for someone who has just given birth. But the benefit increase also brings a premium increase of 20 percent, to be covered by employees.
TDB is a shared-cost benefit, where the employee pays a portion of the premium and the employee covers the balance with pre-tax dollars. Benefit premiums often become a part of salary negotiations for highly valued employees. Lower premiums may also aid in recruiting top talent in highly competitive fields. With many businesses and their employees still reeling from health insurance premium increases as a result of the Affordable Care Act, employees may not be happy to hear about a NJ TDB premium increase—especially for a mandatory benefit they might never use.
What This Means for Insurance Brokers
Insurance brokers in New Jersey (and beyond) do have choices when it comes to who writes your customers’ TDB insurance policies. By helping your corporate customers buy TDB insurance in the private market, you can save them thousands of dollars per year—hundreds of dollars in savings per employee—depending on the size of the business.
How You Can Earn 10 Percent Commission Selling TDB
If you are already writing your customers’ P&C insurance policies, health insurance, ancillary benefits, or life insurance, you can shift their State Fund TDB coverage to a private carrier, earn a flat 10 percent commission, and provide your corporate customers substantial savings when they bundle insurance.
You’ve already established the relationship, so you don’t have to invest time and money prospecting for new customers. With a few simple phone calls, you can save your customers money and provide them enhanced value—and earn 10 percent commission.
Selling NJ TDB insurance requires a level of specialized knowledge—and that’s where The DBL Center comes in. Give us a call and supply one of our agents with the group’s Fed ID # and main address location, so we can determine where the account is currently placed. Whether it’s with the State Fund or a private insurer, one of our agents will tell you exactly what to say to sell privatized TDB insurance and save your customers money on their premiums, while receiving the exact same benefits if they need it.
Business Owners Have Choices
The State Fund automatically writes TDB insurance coverage for all business owners. But most business owners, CEOs, CFOs, and HR directors don’t realize they have a choice and can purchase their TDB insurance privately to enjoy lower premiums and a higher level of customer service with a broker they already know and trust.
It’s up to you, the broker—with the constant support of The DBL Center’s expert staff—to share this information and show your customers the savings.
Sell NJ TDB Insurance, Earn Commission: It’s that Easy
Adding private TDB insurance coverage to your offerings is easy with The DBL Center by your side. We even have a website set up to assist. Visit www.eztdb.com for more information on how you can expand your book of business with TDB insurance. Simply print and fill out this form to start providing your customers with lower premiums on TDB insurance and the level of white glove service they deserve.
Booking Entertainment for your Holiday Parties
Are you planning a holiday party for your hard-working employees? Whether you’re the head of HR or the owner of the business, there’s a lot of pressure this time of year to create a holiday celebration your employees will love. A holiday party is a great way, after all, to thank your employees for all their work throughout the year, as well as to showcase the strength of your organization. After all, if you can afford a high-end venue and top-level entertainment, the implication is the company is doing well and your top talent can feel secure in their positions.
Even if you aren’t in a position to break the bank with your holiday festivities, you can still make it look as if you invested in the best. Trust us – here at The DBL Center, our employees and their spouses talk about our parties for months after the event. We aren’t extravagant and we certainly don’t waste money. But we maintain the same white-glove ambiance we’re known for providing our customers, and we throw a party to remember.
But wait – we know what you’re saying. It’s only October! To give your team the opportunity to book the best—from the venue to the entertainment—it’s not too early to start the party planning process now.
Choose the Right Venue
Select a venue that reflects your company culture, whether that’s a microbrewery or an elegant banquet hall. Where will your employees be most comfortable? Make sure to book a room that’s large enough to hold your whole party… Consider last year’s attendance to see what percentage of employees will show up.
Select an Appealing Menu
Just like the venue, the food should reflect your employees’ tastes. Is a Vegan, raw-food craze going around your office? Does lunch lean toward ethnic cuisine? Unless you run a small office where you may be able to find a consensus for some unusual choices, it might be best to pick a varied menu with something for everyone, from vegetarian options to prime rib.
Book Entertainment That Will Wow the Crowd
All that’s left is the entertainment. A DJ or band is always the old stand-by when it comes to holiday office parties. But a successful night then rests on having a group of people who want to dance.
Why not consider a comedy act, instead? Your guests will be riveted—and will brag to their friends about how their office party had the best comedy show. Laughter can even help individuals bond, so you may find your employees growing closer through the night. Those bonds of friendship will last into Monday morning and into next year.
A Way to Thank Loyal Customers with a Memorable Gift
Through our partnership with Steiner Sports, The DBL Center now offers celebrities bookings—including sports stars and top comedians. We can set it up for you with just a phone call. It’s one way to make sure your holiday party stands out.
If you are an insurance broker with a client you want to thank in a big way, you can offer to book a comedy guest for their office party. It’s a gift that will build loyalty and friendship. Your customer—and their employees—will remember it all year long.
Here at The DBL Center, disability insurance is just the beginning. Our goal is providing white-glove service to our brokers and their customers in every way we can.
NFL Star Punter Steve Weatherford Addresses Insurance Brokers
The DBL Center’s partnership with Steiner Sports opens new possibilities for insurance brokers.
In the months since our new website launch, we’ve used these blog pages largely to share tips and trends with insurance brokers, HR directors, and company owners. But we have some developments going on here at The DBL Center Ltd. that are just too exciting not to share.
Newly retired New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford took time out of his busy schedule to share with you the many benefits of doing business with The DBL Center for your mandatory disability coverage and other employee benefits packages.
We’re understandably excited about this video. Here in the New York Tri-state area, Weatherford is a well-known sports hero, having punted for both the Jets and the Giants. A self-proclaimed husband, father, brother, philanthropist, and NFL punter (in that order), Weatherford is known for his kind heart, as well as his devotion to both weight lifting and his family (not necessarily in that order).
A New York hero willing to assist local businesses and help friends, we’re honored that he chose to lend his name and face to this DBL Center video and share with you the many benefits of doing business with us.
DBL Center and Steiner Partnership Puts Sports and Comedy in the Spotlight
In this video, Weatherford also helps us put an exclamation point on a very important announcement. The DBL Center has partnered with the number one sports memorabilia and collectible company in America, Steiner Sports, to bring DBL Center customers exclusive sports and comedy star appearances, signings, and more. Steiner Sports specializes in helping companies use the power of sports to grow their business —and The DBL Center now brings that power to our insurance brokers and their customers.
Insurance brokers in the New York Tri-State area and beyond can attract new business through entertainment-centric networking events, thank large or loyal accounts, and plan company parties or fundraisers to remember, all through this value-added service offered by The DBL Center. Just contact Michael Cohen to coordinate a celebrity appearance through Steiner Sports.
Plan for the Future with DBL Center
Professional athletes have a unique responsibility to ensure they are planning, financially, for the future after their career or in the event of an injury. In Weatherford’s case, this includes not only maintaining a certain quality of life for himself and his family, but continuing with his philanthropic endeavors after retirement.
But whether you are making seven figures in one season or a more modest salary, enhanced DBL coverage and other ancillary benefits—including Group Life / AD&D, continuing care insurance and a 401K retirement program—can help give you (and your customers or employees) peace of mind for the future.
From your next corporate event to your retirement, (and anything in between) find out how you can plan for a more successful future with The DBL Center today. Disability insurance is just the beginning….
Reduce Insurance Rates and Claims Through Laughter?
Laughter is good for the heart and boosts immunity. How can business owners and HR professionals use this information to create a happier, healthier workplace?
Smart business owners and HR professionals look for ways to reduce health care and other insurance premiums. And the best brokers want to assist in these efforts, too. After all, reduced premiums and better coverage creates happier, repeat customers. If you’re an insurance broker and aren’t providing your customers with the lowest rates possible on mandatory disability coverage and ancillary benefits, including dental, vision, and life insurance—they will shop their policies elsewhere to find a lower rate and/or better coverage.
One way to keep insurance rates low for everyone is to reduce the number of claims. Which brings us to a point you may not have considered: Did you know that happier employees are also healthier employees?
We’re going to take this one step further, so stay with us here. Daily laughter has been shown to boost immunity, help prevent diseases, and even reduce chronic pain.
Let’s look at three ways daily laughter can help create healthier employees (who, as a result, might make fewer disability claims due to chronic pain or disease).
Did you know:
1. Laughter helps the body fight disease—naturally.
Laughter reduces stress, and studies show that people who are stressed can’t fight illness as well. It also boosts immunity and disease-fighting antibodies.
2. Laughter can help relieve pain.
Laughter releases endorphins—the body’s natural pain relievers. We’re not saying you should ignore chronic pain, as it could be indicative of a larger problem, but if you feel a stress headache coming on, a belly laugh could be just what the doctor ordered.
3. Laughter protects the heart.
Laughter increases blood flow almost as well as cardio exercise, helping to keep the heart strong against heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases.
Plus, It’s Fun
These claims may seem far-fetched, but they have been studied for years and are backed by science. (Anyone remember Patch Adams?) Plus, everyone likes to laugh. There really isn’t a downside to bringing more fun into your workplace.
The DBL Center Ltd. has a new program in place that helps to make it possible. Through a partnership with Steiner Sports, we can book top sports stars, performers, and comedians to perform at your next corporate outing, holiday party, or charity event.
World’s Collide: When Comedy Meets Insurance
DBL Center partner Michael Cohen has a strong history in the comedy world as a former stand-up comedian and a continuing member of the Friar’s Club. Although he’s made insurance his life calling, he continues to seek ways to merge the two worlds.
Our arrangement with Steiner Sports is yet another element in the white-glove, first-class service The DBL Center provides to its customers. Our brokers can lighten up their own workplaces with laughter, or provide top comedy acts for their customers’ events through The DBL Center as a value-added service.
So why not bring a little laughter into your workplace? We’re not saying it will eliminate the need for high-quality long-term disability and ancillary employee benefit plans — these insurance benefits will always be important. But it might boost productivity, reduce sick time, and maybe even cut back on pricey insurance claims that cost everyone money.
Will you join us in our mission to get New York, New Jersey, Hawaii and the rest of the United States laughing a little more?
Expect Better Service from Your Wholesale Insurance Provider
Is your wholesale insurance provider offering white-glove service?
We live in a service-oriented society. From our smartphone providers to our office technology, we expect—even demand—service. And the companies who provide that service stand to profit in the form of repeat customers, word-of-mouth referrals, and up-sells.
It works like this: Provide stellar service, earn trust, recommend additional products, write more sales.
As an insurance broker, you know this, and we have no doubt you’ve built your business upon providing best-in-class service to your clients. But we want you to think about two questions:
1. How much time are you spending delivering that service?
2. Is your wholesale insurance broker providing that same level of service to you?
If you’re purchasing your mandatory temporary disability benefits (TDB) insurance in the State of New Jersey or DBL coverage in New York through the respective states, the answer is probably no.
Purchasing TDB and DBL Benefits Through the State
Insurance brokers are always free to purchase mandatory TDB and DBL insurance coverage through the state exchange. The rates will be comparable to those they will find through any broker on comparable, minimum benefits policies.
But we all know the level of service we can expect from the government. Think about your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Any state-run agency. The U.S. Postal Service of the past. Take note, the USPS was forced to step up its game or lose to competitors UPS and FedEx, and now even Amazon is getting into the shipping game to deliver the level of service the world’s largest e-commerce retailer deems acceptable. Once again, it’s about pricing and service.
But if you’ve ever been to DMV during peak hours, even for a simple transaction, you understand that the U.S. government, typically, does not provide superior levels of service. The same is true for each state’s Department of Labor, which acts as the broker for mandatory TDB and DBL coverage in New Jersey and New York, respectively.
So what do you do if you want better service? You look to the private sector for help.
The Beauty of Better Service
If you’ve ever purchased a new car from a dealer and had the dealer manage all the DMV paperwork, you understand the beauty of service. All you had to do was sign a few papers in order to drive away in a new car with new plates and your registration sticker firmly attached to your windshield.
Now let’s take it a step farther. Maybe that car is a Lamborghini or a Tesla. Now you don’t even have to get a ride to the dealership to pick up your car—they will deliver it straight to your door. It turns out, today, this service is even available on brand-new Hondas and other mid-level automobiles, if you know where to shop. Dealers recognize the value of service to create repeat customers.
Now We’re Talking Concierge Service of the Highest Level
Similarly, when you want ultra-luxury service at mid-level prices in the insurance industry, you have to know where to shop. For more than 40 years, The DBL Center has been providing five-star, white-glove service to our insurance brokers. We love the analogy of a concierge at a boutique, luxury hotel, which you’ll notice from the moment you visit our website to the second you call us.
Serving Your Customers
Not only do we meet your needs and exceed your expectations, we also do so for your c
ustomers.
The DBL Center acts as your back-office support staff to service all your client’s accounts, so you can focus on expanding your book of business. You know the value of service, but you don’t have to spend every hour striving to provide the best in your area—The DBL Center does that for you. You should expect this level of service, because your customers do.
Your Wish, Our Command
We don’t limit our service to insurance products. If you need a something special to thank a specific client or entice a new prospect, we can use our vast connections across the New York Tri-State area to deliver.
We recently signed an arrangement with Steiner Sports to book comedy acts and sports stars for special events, corporate outings, parties, and more. And that’s just the start.
Whether it’s training for your employees; fast service; quick, binding rate quotes; technology that makes it faster and easier for you to do business, or even something extra, The DBL Center delivers.
Turning a Passion into Insurance Profits
How a stand-up comedian-turned-insurance partner leveraged relationships in the entertainment industry to deliver more to his brokers.
When I first started in the insurance industry, it was the last place I had envisioned myself. With a background in film and entertainment, I was a member of The Friar’s Club and was making a living doing stand-up comedy. It was long hours, late nights, and required lots of energy. To be honest, there wasn’t much of a future in it for a family man who wanted to have any sort of life outside the comedy scene.
That’s when I started looking seriously at the industry I grew up around: disability insurance.
When I started working at The DBL Center, it wasn’t easy to form relationships with our brokers. I was young, inexperienced, and had a different way of looking at life. Since I was still moonlighting in stand-up comedy, I started inviting them to my local shows. “If you really want to get to know me,” I said, “come watch my show. If you like me, we can always talk about doing business.”
While I’m no longer doing stand-up comedy, I still use my passion and skill for storytelling to help in this highly competitive industry. I’ve been told by clients and colleagues that I’m a natural storyteller and it helps open doors. It’s been good for The DBL Center, and I believe it’s been good for our brokers, who enjoy the benefits of our full back-office staff to service all their accounts and can work directly with someone they know and trust, both inside and outside the office.
Now, I’ve found a way to use my relationships in the comedy industry to help DBL Center brokers be even more successful.
Working Together with Steiner Sports to Bring Our Brokers More
I’m still connected to the comedy industry and after all these years, I’ve found another way to merge the two. Through a unique partnership with Steiner Sports, The DBL Center Ltd. can now line up comedians or sports stars for corporate parties and events, fundraisers, birthday parties, recruitment events and more.
Our insurance brokers can offer their clients more with this new offering. In addition to white-glove service for disability insurance and more, plus savings on ancillary benefits, The DBL Center Ltd. provides the means for our brokers to thank long-time customers, solidify relationships, and build your brand as a broker with vast connections across the business world.
If you need a unique event idea for your brokerage or for a client, if you want to host a holiday party that stands out, or create a compelling reason for people to attend a fundraiser you’ve organized, ask us.
The DBL Center Ltd. is not just about selling insurance—we’re about building relationships. And what better way to build a relationship than through laughter or sharing common interests?
Five-star, White-glove Service
We often compare The DBL Center to a five-star boutique hotel, with the best in concierge service to meet your every need. We’ve recently re-defined what service means in the insurance industry by providing the best in corporate event entertainment for you and your clients.
At DBL Center Ltd., we’re willing to do whatever it takes to help you grow your book of business. As President of DBL Center, I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to use my talents and my passion to bring more to our clients.
In what ways have you used your passion—for building relationships, for serving people, and for sales—to benefit your clients and partners?
We bet if you think about it, you’ll realize that your career, like mine, was built on a passion for connecting with people.
At DBL Center Ltd. we provide the service and back-office support staff you need so you can focus on those aspects of insurance sales that you really love, making it easier to write business for mandatory DBL, TDB, and TDI coverage in New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii, and increasing your profits through ancillary products.
Let us know how we can help you build your insurance business today.