Benefit Advisors Network Names Iowa's Group Services as its newest member

CLEVELAND, OH (10/5/10) --- Group Services, Inc., based in Bettendorf, Iowa, has been named the newest member of Benefit Advisors Network (BAN), the premier national network of independent benefit advisory and consulting companies.

BAN members, or Smart Partners®, “represent the ‘best of the best’ among benefits brokers in their respective markets,” says BAN Director Deane Elek.

Founded in 1981, Group Services is a $2.5 million company offering group benefits – as well as small claims administration, HR compliance services, and individual products such as individual health – to clients throughout Iowa and Western Illinois.

“We are thrilled to be accepted for membership in BAN,” says Group Services Co-President Tom Schuetz. “The quality of the agencies that are currently BAN members, the intellectual sharing that takes place within the network, and the tools that BAN offers convinced our firm that BAN membership would play an instrumental role in helping us to continue to meet our clients’ needs while expanding our back office expertise in order to better serve the 100-member plus market.”

Noting that benefit brokers must pass a stringent screening process which focuses on industry knowledge, ethics, and vision to become BAN members, Elek explains, “Once credentialed for membership, BAN firms are able to offer their clients the kind of expertise and capabilities normally expected only from a major national firm, but delivered with the care and consideration of an interested local partner that understands what local employers want and need.”

Unlike many other industry organizations, BAN only selects one firm per market or market segment to join the organization. That unique structure and philosophy allow members to share best practices, unencumbered by concern about the presence of their competitors. Recent studies show this unique collaboration results in BAN members producing 65% higher revenues per employee than their peers.

“Interaction with other employee benefits agencies that already have achieved a high degree of success is tremendously attractive to us,” adds Schuetz. “We are excited to be able to develop and expand relationships with agencies that, like us, are focused on benefits.”

That interaction will be particularly important, according to Schuetz, as Group Services positions itself to meet new business challenges over the next five years. He cites dealing with changes in the industry that will result from health care reform, shifts in revenue generation from a commission to a fee basis, and the continual search to find qualified and motivated producers as among the most pressing issues companies like Group Services must address if they are to continue to be successful in the future.

“This industry is changing,” Schuetz concludes. “Being admitted to membership in BAN will enable Group Services not only to deal with that change, but also to continue to move forward aggressively.”

For more information about Group Services, Inc. call 563-332-5552 or visit the company’s website at www.groupservicesinc.com.

About BAN

Founded in 2002 by five agencies, BAN is now the exclusive, premier, national credentialed network of independent, employee benefit brokerage and consulting companies. BAN delivers industry leading tools, technology, and expertise to member firms so that they can deliver optimum results to their employee benefit customers. BAN’s members, known as Smart Partners® partly because of their highly collaborative interactions, are screened prior to being granted membership to ensure they distinguish themselves from their competitors through their knowledge of the industry, their ethical approach, their business acumen, and their strategic vision.

To preserve and enhance the intimate level of sharing between the Smart Partners®, BAN turns away more candidates than they accept. BAN ensures its member firms are the best of the best in their market – and are peers with the most progressive and innovative agencies from throughout the entire country.

For more information about Benefit Advisors Network, call 440-528-0301 or visit www.benefitadvisorsnetwork.com.

For information on why you want a Smart Partner® from BAN as your benefits broker, visit www.WhySmartPartners.com