With 2020 in the rear-view mirror and Hawai’i starting to REBUILD a newer and better economy, benefit enrollments will never be the same. Elite-VB blends “tried and true” basic enrollment best practices combined with fresh ideas and solutions as budgets remain tight. VOLUNTARY BENEFITS allow organizations to expand their benefits at zero cost to the bottom line.
Every company is unique as are the needs of your employees. 2021 voluntary benefit programs need to be safe, engaging, highly effective and designed easy servicing of new hires, as well as safe for your employees.
Organizations evaluate their company-paid benefits annually – let’s ensure that your organization’s VOLUNTARY BENEFIT program gets a similar review. Elite-VB provides our VB Checklist that is easy to download, fill out and return and then we can work together to design and build a plan that improves premium, improves participation, improves benefits and most importantly, is “Covid-friendly” and services new hires for years to come.
Regional Airlines
Banks and Financial Institutions
Healthcare Entities (from small doctor offices to mid-large sized healthcare clinics, assisted living, and hospitals)
Public Sector (including boroughs/counties and school districts)
Professional Services (law firms, accounting firms, etc.)
Transportation (trucking and regional transport)
Manufacturing
Non-traditional employers
Developing a voluntary endorsement strategy to provide exclusive product rates and benefits to association members (along with a revenue stream back to the association). The advantage to an association providing a “custom designed” voluntary benefit offering to their members is the ability to obtain unique underwriting offers and benefits that will enhance their membership and add value without any cost to the association.
Unions can take advantage of voluntary benefits for their members through either payroll deduction or non-payroll deduction. The benefit to the union is providing additional benefits to their members (who doesn’t like that?) but also, unions can leverage their size to obtain valuable coverage that cannot be purchased on the open market. Our agency can design a “union-member-enhanced” benefit options that allow members to purchase valuable “guarantee-issue” coverage that goes above and beyond traditional employer and/or union benefits.
For over 20 years, collaborating and partnering with benefit brokers (in Washington and then Alaska) has been a valuable and important part of our agency’s business. Benefit brokers have looked to Elite-VB to “round out” their benefit offering with their clients by handling 100% of the voluntary benefit execution. Starting with product evaluation, enrollment design, communication tools (many combined with the core enrollment communication) as well as technology/platform decisions and following through with data return, on-going new hire servicing and annual open enrollments.
In Alaska, great partnerships were created with most of the brokers in the Anchorage community. In 2017 alone, over $350,000 of voluntary benefit revenue was generated for one broker (often replacing voluntary put in place by a prior carrier). Enrollment meetings were done jointly and client’s service needs were taken care of my our staff (such as claims and any billing issues). This freed up the broker to do more with their clients with traditional benefits.
Partnering with Elite-VB means your clients are provided with the latest carriers and enrollment solutions on the market today. As well, with my partners at VB@Work, the buying power to obtain high “guarantee issue” limits and unique underwriting offers.
If you’re a broker, let’s meet and discuss your voluntary block of business. Let’s see if we can partner together to both improve the product offering so your clients are happy, you can focus on core benefits and enjoy a potentially substantial revenue stream for years to come.
Through education and innovation, be the niche agency that provides top-shelf employee-paid products that lessen hawaiian’s financial risk for themselves and their families.
Working with organizations of all sizes we accomplish this by providing “best in class” enrollment solutions that are simple, modern, and personal. Paired with exceptional service and commitment to aloha we make voluntary enrollments fun, engaging, and easy.
To transform the Hawai’i Benefit Landscape… inviting all employers to embrace the value that highly affordable, powerful voluntary benefit options provide for their organization, employees, and their families.
Establishing one of the original Aflac District Offices in the Northwest in Bellevue, WA. With a team of over 10 agents, established over 65 new accounts, earned an endorsement by the Master Builders Association (with over 4500 member organizations) and wrote over $4 million in sales in four short years.
Established the first District Sales Office for Colonial Life in Puget Sound, establishing over 540 new accounts in a 10-year period, with the largest account being Swedish Hospital with over 5500 employees. Annual premium written during this time period was over $10 million.
Pamela’s agency won over 67 management awards and was most proud of developing over 35 agents to achieve their business goals and many are currently in management positions and still making a difference in the community. Obtained the original endorsement of the Master Builders Association for Colonial Life.
Expanding agency to Anchorage, Alaska (under Whitfield Benefit Solutions, Inc.) Pamela’s agency saw a need to work with the community to provide a professional voluntary benefit agency for business owners in a market that was underserved (by one carrier only). Success abounded in this new market and within the broker community at large with a focus on SERVICE being the foundation for our client relationships. Even in a new market, with our hearts in the right place, over 140 new businesses chose our firm. In seven short years over $8,000,000 of premium was written, helping over 4,000 employees obtain valuable and affordable coverage.
Redesigning the agency in February 2019 to respond to the needs of our clients, Pamela made the switch from one carrier (Colonial Life) to establish Elite-VB LLC. The goal was to be able to offer our clients more options as a voluntary benefit broker. Partnering with VB @ Work (leading Voluntary Benefit General Agent out of Atlanta) and one of the largest enrollment companies in the nation, our clients have access to top carriers nationwide along with exclusive underwriting offers and technology to compliment virtual enrollments and easy servicing for new hires and premium remittance. Lead by Brian Bly and Tonya Lancaster, their firm writes over $10,000,000 in voluntary benefits nationwide. They are the largest producers for Transamerica with over 1800 clients utilizing Transamerica products partially due to their exclusive underwriting offers. Through this partnership, VB@Work has written over $42 million with Transamerica from 2014 through today. They have a staff of 12 with bi-lingual benefit counselors, access to Ease, Selerix and Employee Navigator platforms, they have a “dream” back-office in place to service billing, claims and customer services on behalf of Elite-VB’s Hawai’i clients.
COVID-19 brought abundance and unexpected change our world. The voluntary industry – including carriers, brokers and vendors – was forced to change the way we do business and organization such as Elite-VB did an outstanding job responding to these changes.
Your organization also was also forced to adapt. With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, HR and Finance Directors can now partner with a broker who can bring “best practices” from the past and the skills and connections to design, execute and service award-winning enrollments that are Covid-compliant and effective for your organization for the future and year to come.
Born in Los Angeles, I grew up in South Florida before returning to LA after a year of college. Venturing up to Alaska in 1980 as a trapper and fisherman (out of Kodiak, AK), there were a lot of lessons out in the bush and as a first mate on 60’ vessels. After 2 years, and near-death experiences at sea, she settled in Seattle and enjoyed a great sales career in her 20’s, married in 1988, joining the insurance business with Aflac in 1995. After moving to Colonial Life in 2002 as the first District Manager (in Bellevue, WA), Pamela watched the voluntary industry evolve and eventually expanded the agency to Alaska with her son, Marshall. Moving to such a gorgeous place and learning the ways of Alaskans brought joy and adventure. Mentoring others to be successful in the insurance business has always been a passion, as well as making a difference in the community and giving back to those who are in need.
Pamela loves the outdoors, boating, walking, gardening, doing Pilates (especially with my personal at-home Reformer on my lanai in Kaneohe), cooking, golf, church and traveling the world. With one married daughter in Boise (age 30) working in public health and a son, Marshall Pickering (age 28) who is a benefit broker for USI in Anchorage, I look forward to adding new hobbies and exploring all of Hawai’i (following many, many visits to all islands over the years) and building lasting friendships along the way.
I had always hoped to expand my agency and voluntary benefit business with Hawaii as it was my “home way form home” for over 25 years.
My Father, Marshall Whitfield (and Step-Mom, Tracy Whitfield) establishing a home in 2004 in Pupukea (Sunset Hills) and of course, we were thrilled to be able to learn about Hawaii, the ocean and enjoy the beauty that the North Shore and Hawaii held. Soon we realized there was no better view than “Daddy’s deck” and the memories that came with the conversations that lasted into the wee hours.
My parents were madly in love with Hawaii. My Dad was always a lover of the ocean and in his younger years he was an accomplished bodysurfer at the Wedge (in Southern California). Living in Los Angeles in the late 1990’s he knew they wanted to semi-retire somewhere where beach was untouched by man (like Redondo Beach was in the ‘60’s). My Dad found his acre of land in 2004 in Sunset Hills and made it their own. He made sure that the house had a view from each room and every trip with my children (from when they were small to now adults) meant days spent at either Waimea Bay, Three Tables, Sunset Beach or Kahuku State Park. Trips to the Bishop Museum, hikes at Waimea Canyon…it was all so fabulous.
My Step-Mom, Tracy, participated with her local hula group, attended bridge with her lady friends and enjoyed painting. My Dad constantly reminded us of the importance of sustainability, the fragility of the islands and the need to “Keep the Country Country” (I still have the 1994 Camry beach car with the bumper sticker to prove it).
And most mornings, at dawn, my Dad would show up on Sunset with his fins and orange helmet (my Step-Mom insisted) to body surf. When he was age 70, he body surfed up to 12 foot waves and won Senior Body Surfing contests…always finding his joy and passion in the water. An accomplished writer, he wrote an article (called The Ocean) that was published in Aloha Magazine in 2006 and in this piece he shares both his love of the ocean and Hawaii culture.
Sadly, my Father was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2007 and was given three months to live. With Tracy’s help, he found a doctor in New York that extended his life five years. Despite his impending death, he was the happiest man in the world (he told me) as on, Feb 12th, 2012, he passed away after telling me “If you have to die, this is the best place in the world to do it…where you can see the sun set and rise on the ocean.”
Unfortunately, my Step-Mom passed away in July of 2020 and I was tasked with the house sale (obviously this was mid-Pandemic) which wasn’t easy. Running a busy insurance agency in Anchorage meant many flights and time sorting through household items to sell but I was honored to have the responsibility. All went well; a “miracle man” came by and bought the house before it even went on the market and, in October, while the house went into closing, I made the decision to move my business and life to Oahu.
My calling is now to serve the Hawaiian market that needs my expertise and talent and “give back” to a State that meant so much to my parents and eventually retire. Therefore, with my Dad and Tracy’s spirit beside me, I am motivated every day to make them proud and honor Hawaii for all the joy and great life that they lived in the Pupukea house and in the waters of the North Shore.
- 2016: Winner of Alaska BBB “Torch Award for Ethics”
- Alaska Business Magazine 2017 “Power List”
- Alaska Business Magazine 2018 “Power List”
- 2019 – NAHU Leading Producer Round Table Award Winner
- 2019 – AAHU President of AAHU for 2018-2019
- 2021 – “Power List” – Alaska Business Magazine
- Over 17 management awards from Colonial Life