CLAY — The leaders of a pair of local financial-services companies believe their firms will continue a recent hot streak of adding employees and growing revenue in 2012.

Benefit Consulting Group (BCG) and its sister company, Bailey, Haskell & LaLonde (BHL), have collectively been adding between five and 10 employees every year for five consecutive years, according to John Catanzarita, president of BCG. He anticipates that rate of hiring will continue this year.

BCG is an employee-benefits consulting and retirement-plan administration firm. BHL is an insurance and financial-services firm. The two companies have a third sister company, Workplace Health Solutions (WHS), which specializes in medical services designed to prevent or minimize work-related injuries.

Combined, BCG, BHL, and WHS generated about $19.5 million in revenue in 2011, up from $17.5 million in 2010 and $14.6 million in 2008. They project revenue growth of between 5 percent and 10 percent in 2012.

All three companies are subsidiaries of Oneida–based Oneida Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ONFC), but are headquartered at 5232 Witz Drive in Clay. BCG has 40 employees in the 18,000-square-foot headquarters building, BHL has 42 workers, and WHS has four.

The three businesses are technically separate firms that Oneida Financial Corp. added to its portfolio at different times. The banking company acquired BHL in 2000 and BCG in 2006. Then it started WHS in 2008.

WHS operates using a physician network that is predominantly in New York State, while BCG and BHL have a larger reach. In addition to their Clay headquarters, BCG and BHL operate satellite offices in Buffalo, Cazenovia, Chittenango, Long Island, New Hartford, Oneida, Rome, and South Carolina. Together, they employ about 140 people and work with between 13,000 and 18,000 clients.

The firms work together closely to give clients access to their full range of services, according to Catanzarita.

“Although we’re separate subsidiaries under Oneida Financial Corp., each day we’re operating more and more as one company,” he says.

Still, BCG acts as an independent consultant on employee benefits, according to Catanzarita. It advises on issues ranging from financial planning to health insurance for businesses and individuals.

“If you were to have a financial plan and you have investment people or life-insurance people you use, we’re not sitting here telling you to have us do it for you,” he says. “We say, ‘Here’s your financial plan. Now make them do this, don’t let them sell you something else.’”

Interested companies can use BHL for their insurance products. BHL deals in a range of insurance, from automobile insurance to workers’-compensation insurance, for individuals and businesses.

“It could be self insurance, it could be alternative, it could be high deductibles, or it could be what people traditionally refer to as insurance,” says Pierre Morrisseau, BHL president. “And we actually have expertise in all of those arenas.”

Working with either BCG or BHL gives customers access to knowledge from both companies, Morrisseau says.

“It doesn’t matter whether you do business with John or with me, or anyone else in the building, you immediately have a team of people,” he says.

Future growth will likely come in Long Island, New York City, and Charlotte, N.C., according to Morrisseau. BHL is also developing a workers’-compensation captive insurance program that will likely be popular in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Vermont, so expansion may come in those states as well, he says. Captive insurance is organized by a parent company to cover the risks of that parent company.

BCG and BHL adapt as clients come to them with new needs, Catanzarita says.

“As things evolve and as new types of challenges come up, there’s going to be niches out there,” he says. “We don’t rush to do things. We do them in the right, methodical manner. Our philosophy is singles and doubles. These days it will get you in the hall of fame more than home runs.”

DeWITT — Independent insurance agents are generally satisfied with insurance companies, according to a new report from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. (IIABNY).

In fact, agents’ opinions of personal insurance companies and commercial insurers have changed little in the last year, found the report. It details the Winter 2012 IIABNY Industry Index, which was developed from a survey of insurance-agency owners, principals, and senior managers who are responsible for insurance-carrier relations.

The Personal Lines Index held essentially even with its 2011 level, dipping 0.6 points to 74.6. And the Commercial Lines Index also showed little movement, increasing 1 point to 75.8.

Those results show mostly positive feelings among agents. The highest possible index score is 100. The lowest possible score is 10.

“If you look at the numbers this year, [carriers] were generally satisfied,” says Kathleen Weinheimer, IIABNY’s senior vice president of industry relations and education. “I thought we would see a little bit wider swings this year.”

National carriers received lower ratings from agents than smaller carriers. Faring better were regional carriers, which write insurance primarily in New York, and super-regional carriers, which are carriers that provide insurance in multiple states without writing it nationwide.

Within the Personal Lines Index, national carriers had the lowest score, 71.8. That is down 0.1 points from last year. And national carriers were also rated lowest in the Commercial Lines Index with a score of 73.4 — although that is 2.1 points higher than last year.

Regional insurance carriers were the most popular in the Personal Lines Index with a 79.1 index score. That is 0.1 point higher than last year. On the Commercial Lines Index, regional carriers scored 77.2, up 0.3 points from 2011.

Super-regional carriers scored 76.8 on the Personal Lines Index, down 2.5 points from 2011. However, super-regional carriers scored highest on the Commercial Lines Index, notching 78.7 points. That was down 0.1 point from last year.

“It is surprising to me a little bit,” Weinheimer says. “It seems right now there are a lot of issues out in the marketplace that are creating perhaps some tension between agents and their companies. I would have expected more negative numbers at this point.”

The IIABNY report reveals one source of tension: insurers directly writing their own policies. Some agents felt that carriers were competing with them by selling insurance through 1-800 numbers or by offering lower prices for customers who purchased insurance directly from the carrier.

According to the report, 5.69 percent of insurance agents indicated carriers could assist them by eliminating direct writing. It was the fourth most popular suggestion, but trailed the top suggestion by less than 2 percentage points. 

Advertising was the most popular suggestion, with 7.47 percent of respondents saying more carrier advertising would help. It was followed by underwriting flexibility, like making exceptions for certain agents or clients, at 7.12 percent and marketing help at 6.76 percent.

“For a long time there were two separate markets,” Weinheimer says. “The market that dealt with agents and the market that dealt directly with customers. Now we’re seeing it blend together. And the agents don’t like that fact. They feel like they’re being competed against by their company.”

Agents also indicated that they would like carriers to educate them on using the Internet and social media. When asked how carriers can provide assistance in those areas, 6.79 percent of respondents said training or education, making it the most popular answer.

It was followed by providing standards for content, which 5.36 percent of respondents named, and offering financial support, which came from 4.64 percent of respondents. Another 4.64 percent want carriers to have social content prepared, and 3.93 percent asked for website or media support.

“The training point really points out that a lot of agents don’t know where to start with this,” Weinheimer says. “As their trade association, we’re doing some things to help them, but they’d like to see it come from wherever, including the carriers.”

IIABNY is taking part in a program called Project CAP, which is aimed at helping brokers target digital consumers. The program is a national initiative with a price tag of $21 million, Weinheimer says. It is being funded by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, Inc. and insurance carriers.

The project is in its first phase, which provides support to teach agents to do digital marketing. It will start a second phase that will set up a consumer-agent web portal this summer, according to Weinheimer.

“It’s going to be a program that will help agents compete with the direct writers like GEICO,” she says.

The 2012 IIABNY survey contained results from 261 agency principals and senior managers who are responsible for agency relations. Vincent McCabe, Inc., a Skaneateles–based research firm that specializes in financial and insurance research, conducted the survey for IIABNY between October and December 2011 and calculated the index results.

IIABNY is a trade association that represents more than 1,750 agencies and their employees across New York State. IIABNY is headquartered at 5784 Widewaters Parkway in DeWitt.   

MANLIUS  —  A new, local financial-services firm says it’s shunning the big-broker feel. 

“In bigger companies, management decides what you do,” says Adam (AJ) Loedel, one of the founders of HighPoint Advisors, LLC. “We work for our clients.”

Loedel recently founded HighPoint along with Mathew Barber and Kristopher Wadsworth. The three started the firm in December, running it from their home offices until its headquarters was ready at the beginning of January.

That headquarters is located in suite 100 at 5900 N. Burdick St. in Manlius. It is in 2,000 square feet of space leased from Oot Bros., Inc.

The office was previously medical space and has been completely redone, according to Loedel. Crews even removed a shower as they converted the space, he says. Oot Bros. handled the work, and the cost of renovations is built into HighPoint’s lease.

“It doesn’t feel like a cube farm here,” Loedel says. “It doesn’t feel like a big competitive office.”

Loedel, Barber, and Wadsworth have known each other since 2003, when they worked together at MassMutual Financial Group. They weren’t at the same firm when they decided to form their own business, however. Loedel and Wadsworth most recently worked for MetLife, Inc., while Barber worked for JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The three HighPoint founders each specialize in different financial services. Loedel focuses on investment planning and Wadsworth deals with retirement planning and wealth transfer. Barber specializes in retirement-income planning and distribution strategies for pre-retired families, retired families, and small businesses.

HighPoint’s founders have the chance to deal with a wider range of financial products since they started the company, Barber says. The independent firm partners with LPL Financial as its broker/dealer, giving it access to services and programs from 17 companies.

“We can all still sell a MetLife product or a JPMorgan fund,” Barber says. “We don’t have to fit anyone into a specific mold.”

The firm currently has about 150 clients and another 50 who are in the process of transferring to it. And its founders have plans for more growth.

HighPoint is looking for individual clients and small businesses. Its target business has between one and 50 employees, and the company expects interest from doctor’s offices and dental offices.

HighPoint Advisors, LLC employs one part-time administrative assistant in addition to Loedel, Barber, and Wadsworth. And, its owners would like to add four more financial advisors over the next two years.

“The goal is to eventually grow even more,” says Wadsworth. “We want to hire either experienced people or people who have potential in this business.”

HighPoint’s owners plan to fuel its growth with advertising, although they declined to share any specific plans. They will also hold financial-education workshops, according to Wadsworth.

“They would be IRA rollovers,” he says. “Wealth transfer, estate planning. We’re looking to do them every two months.”

The firm’s next scheduled workshop is April 26, according to Wadsworth. It will focus on retirement income.

Loedel, Barber, and Wadsworth declined to share revenue estimates for 2012 because they say it’s too early to offer accurate projections. HighPoint will focus on fee-based services as opposed to upfront commissions, according to Loedel.

“We’re moving as the industry moves toward fee-for-service,” he says. “That really ties the client and the advisor together.”

A new set of federal rules aims to make examining different health-insurance plans less like brain surgery and more like comparison shopping for cars.

The rules set up a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC), a document containing basic information for an insurance plan ranging from its deductible to its required co-pay fees for common medical services like eye examinations. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury unveiled the final version of the SBC rule Feb. 9.

Insurers will have to start providing SBCs for policyholders and prospective policyholders on Sept. 23. The summaries are required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the 2010 federal health-care reform law.

HHS has compared SBCs to nutrition-facts labels on packaged foods. All insurers will use the same SBC template, and SBCs for different plans will contain details in the same place, so the top line on each SBC will list a plan’s overall deductible, and the third line will hold information on out-of-pocket expense limits, for example.

That will make it easier for businesses and individuals to see the different benefits available with various carriers and plans, according to Renee Guariglia, executive vice president at Syracuse–based Falcone Associates, Inc. and a member of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York, Inc.’s (IIABNY) health-care reform task force.

“When you’ve got each carrier using a different format, and you’re trying to explain the deductible and the out-of-pocket expenses, it is difficult,” Guariglia says. “Now you will have uniform benefit summaries.”

Insurance brokers and agents will benefit from SBCs, contends Guariglia, who also sits on the board of directors of the New York State Association of Health Underwriters and the board of directors of IAAC, Inc., which is IIABNY’s membership-services division. In addition, the benefit summaries will be a help to businesses and consumers, she says.

“Having that summary is going to make our jobs easier, but is really going to allow us to educate people as to what the plan is that they’re selecting,” Guariglia says. “And they’ll understand to a better degree what benefits they have, what it’s going to cost them to go to a doctor, [and] to have a procedure done.”

In the past, an agent or broker would have had to create a spreadsheet to allow groups to easily compare different insurance options, according to Guariglia. That was a common practice, but it’s a step that now often won’t be necessary with the new SBCs, she says.

SBCs will be helpful for businesses that don’t use an insurance broker, Guariglia predicts. The information on the sheets will make it easier for those companies to discuss their options with carrier representatives, she says.

However, the summaries will not take the place of brokers and agents, she adds. Some carriers will likely provide more details on SBCs than others, leaving brokers and agents to fill in the gaps for their clients. And groups of employees will still ask questions that can’t be answered by a prefabricated sheet of paper.

“At the end of the day, the broker is still there to educate the consumer,” she says. “We’re there in front of the group. They know us. They call us.”

Reaction to the SBC rules was not universally positive, however. Karen Ignagni, the CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a national trade association representing the health-insurance industry, said in a news release that the regulations could increase administrative burdens for insurers, consumers, and employers.

“The rule requires that a separate document be available for each potential family size and for every possible benefit design option, including different cost-sharing levels, prescription drug formularies, and network designs,” Ignagni said. “Requiring a separate document for each coverage scenario will significantly increase administrative costs and potentially result in consumers having to sort through scores of pages of coverage information.”

Glossary of terms

The rules issued Feb. 9 also establish a uniform glossary of terms that are commonly used in health-insurance coverage — terms like co-payment and co-insurance. That glossary will help employees better understand their coverage, Guariglia says.

“When you’re doing a meeting and that employee goes home to speak to their spouse, they’re going to have the SBC, they’re going to have the uniform glossary to say, OK, I have a $15 co-pay — let me look up what a co-pay is,” she says.

The uniform glossary will be posted online. It is currently available at www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform.