February 12, 2025: Voluntary Advantage is excited to formally announce that Paul Hummel has been appointed to the Advisory Board:

Paul Hummel, Vice President, Voluntary Benefits Practice Lead, UHC - Paul has been in the insurance industry for over 20 years. He currently leads United Healthcare’s Voluntary Benefit Practice where he is accountable for the growth of the supplemental health practice. Prior to UHC, Paul spent 20 years at Trion/MMA,  a consultant outside of Philadelphia, PA. The first 10 years of his tenure at Trion was in a leadership role within the Benefit Administration practice where he led and managed all aspects of the enrollment platform. During the last 10 years of his tenure at Trion, Paul led the Voluntary Benefit Practice where he grew the practice into a nationally recognized program.

Paul holds a degree in Business Management from West Chester.  He currently resides in Barto, Pennsylvania.  

Voluntary Advantage was created by the Voluntary Benefits industry, for the Voluntary Benefits industry with a mission of driving innovation and collaboration in the marketplace. 

Visit www.voluntary-advantage.com today to subscribe to receive information, updates, and the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine. 

For marketing and advertising requests for Voluntary Advantage, please contact Heather Garbers at Heather@Voluntary-Advantage.com or Trevor Garbers at Trevor@Voluntary-Advantage.com. 

June 26, 2024 - Local Business Owner Trevor Garbers Named to NSBA Leadership Council

Trevor Garbers, Co-Founder of Voluntary Advantage LLC, of Parker, Colorado was recently named to the National Small Business Association (NSBA) Leadership Council. A recognized leader in the small-business community, Trevor joins the NSBA Leadership Council alongside other small-business advocates from across the country as they work to promote the interests of small business to policymakers in Washington, D.C.

“As a small-business owner, I see daily the importance of being involved and active when it comes to laws and regulation,” stated Trevor Garbers. “Joining NSBA’s Leadership Council will enable me to take our collective small-business message to the people that need to hear it most: Congress.”

In addition to co-founding Voluntary Advantage, Trevor is Senior Vice President of Voluntary Benefits at HUB International where he oversees day-to-day operations within the marketing and distribution of employee benefits.  

Garbers joined the NSBA Leadership Council as part of his efforts to tackle the many critical issues facing small business, including tax reform, regulatory restraint, health care costs and how access to capital will impact small business. The NSBA Leadership Council is focused on providing valuable networking between small-business advocates from across the country while ensuring small business a seat at the table as Congress and regulators take up key small-business proposals.

“I am proud to have Trevor Garbers as part of our Leadership Council,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “He came to us highly recommended, and I look forward our coordinated efforts for years to come.”

For more on the NSBA Leadership Council, please visit www.nsba.biz

Voluntary Advantage, LLC was created by the Voluntary Benefits industry, for the benefits industry, to give the industry a voice and promote innovation and collaboration.

March 1, 2024: Voluntary Advantage is excited to formally announce the following new members of their Advisory Board:

Rachel McCarter, West Market Sales Leader, Voluntary Benefits, Mercer - serves as a West Market Voluntary Benefit Sales Leader at Mercer. Her focus is to help current clients and prospects design voluntary benefit programs to drive and deliver value to their organization. Prior to joining Mercer in June 2019, Rachel worked for 11 years as an Account Executive with MetLife. During this time, her responsibilities included revenue growth, implementation oversight, and relationship management with clients, brokers and various third-party platforms. Rachel brings broad experience and expertise to each prospective client relationship. Rachel gives back to Mercer and the community in a variety of ways. She currently serves as co-chair of Mercer’s VB DEI counsel, a member of Mercer’s Women at Mercer BRG, member of the Denver Belonging Council, and co-leads Mercer’s Rising Professional Network BRG. Outside of her professional career, Rachel loves to spend time embracing an active lifestyle with her husband (Dan), and boys (Asher (9) and Eli (7)). Other passions that Rachel has include cooking, traveling, college football, and giving back to the community through various volunteer organizations. 

Tim Schnoor, Voluntary Benefits Practice Leader, Birch Benefits – a perpetual learner with a knack for diving deep into any subject, Tim brings a unique blend of experience, focus, empathy, and team-building skills to his role as Voluntary Benefits Practice Leader at Birch. Tim's genuine passion lies in nurturing relationships with everyone he encounters and going the extra mile for his clients and colleagues. Tim is now leveraging his deep industry experience to create an unparalleled benefit experience for employers. His mission is to help businesses attract and retain top talent by offering exceptional benefit packages. What sets Tim apart in the industry is his ability to combine profound VB experience with a strong background in Benefits Administration. With key roles at Businessolver and MyWorkplace, he has led teams while enhancing operational efficiencies. Tim's comprehensive understanding of plan development, system maintenance, file management, and employee experience make him an invaluable asset. Outside of work, Tim cherishes his time with his wife and five children. The Schnoor family enjoys an active lifestyle, frequently engaging in activities and sports of all kinds.

The Advisory Board provides Voluntary Advantage with direction and insights in the Voluntary / Workplace Benefits marketplace and topics that the industry wants to hear. Voluntary Advantage is ecstatic to have the thought leadership of these experts who impact many different important aspects of the employee benefits industry onboard. 

Voluntary Advantage was created by the Voluntary Benefits industry, for the Voluntary Benefits industry with a mission of driving innovation and collaboration in the marketplace. 

Visit www.voluntary-advantage.com today to subscribe to receive information, updates, and the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine. 

For marketing and advertising requests for Voluntary Advantage, please contact Heather Garbers at Heather@Voluntary-Advantage.com or Trevor Garbers at Trevor@Voluntary-Advantage.com. 

Voluntary Advantage would like to formally announce that Hunter Sexton, JD, MHA, has accepted a role on their Advisory Board. Hunter is a Compliance Consultant with Sydney Consulting Group, LLC. Hunter leads a best-in-class regulatory compliance team that works with carriers and regulators to bring supplemental health, life and disability products to market. Hunter earned his Masters in Healthcare Administration from the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health and his Juris Doctorate from Stetson University’s College of Law. Hunter came to Sydney Consulting after 12 years of industry experience with major medical carriers that included sales, marketing, plan operations, and finance.

The Advisory Board provides Voluntary Advantage with direction and insights into trends in the marketplace and topics that the industry wants to hear. Voluntary Advantage is ecstatic to have the thought leadership of these experts who impact many different important aspects of the Voluntary Benefits industry onboard. Hunter has a unique perspective of the marketplace and Voluntary Advantage is excited that he has joined the board.

Voluntary Advantage is excited to announce that Steve Clabaugh, CLU, ChFC will be a Key Contributor to their monthly publication for the Voluntary Benefits industry, “The Voluntary Benefits Voice”. 

Starting as a Field Agent, Steve had the opportunity to serve in a wide range of capabilities in the insurance industry including: Sales Manager, General Manager, Regional Manager, Vice President, Senior Vice President and President/CEO. A long-time serious student of professional leadership, over the final years of his career, Steve created the Relational Leadership program that has been used to train home office and field sales associates from mid-level managers to senior vice presidents. He will be sharing many of the principles learned and taught in his monthly articles. According to Steve, “the technology and product offerings of today have progressed a long way since my retirement but the principles of leadership that inspires and challenges leaders are timeless. I hope these articles will benefit today’s leaders as we continue to take voluntary benefits to the next level.” 

"Although Steve is officially retired with his wife Gretchen in North Carolina, Voluntary Advantage is ecstatic that he will make the time to share his Relational Leadership insights with our subscribers. One of our key take-away items when listening to our marketplace was the growing gap around professional development and leadership training. We feel like we've hit a grand slam in having Steve as a contributor to our publication” according to Trevor Garbers.

Voluntary Advantage is a newly formed entity with a mission of creating a community for the Voluntary Benefits industry to share information and ideas with the intent of driving innovation in the industry. The first edition of the Voluntary Benefits Voice will be published in January 16, 2023. 

Visit www.voluntary-advantage.com today to subscribe to receive information, updates, and the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine. 

For marketing and advertising requests for Voluntary Advantage, please contact Heather Garbers at Heather@Voluntary-Advantage.com or Trevor Garbers at Trevor@Voluntary-Advantage.com. 

Voluntary Advantage is excited to announce that Mployer Advisor will be a Key Contributor to their monthly publication for the Voluntary Benefits industry, “The Voluntary Benefits Voice”. 

Mployer Advisor is the nation's leading marketplace that is changing the way employers search, evaluate, and select insurance brokers. Mployer Advisor offers the industry’s first independent benefit benchmarking, Mployer Insights, with 150+ different data points for employers to benchmark their benefits plan against companies in their industry, region, and similar employer size. The analytics evaluate benefit design, cost, leave benefits, voluntary benefits, and financial offerings. Voluntary Advantage believes Mployer Advisor's data and perspective of the market from the employer’s viewpoint will provide their subscribers with unique industry insights they can apply to the way they support their clients.

About the partnership, Brian Freeman, Founder & CEO at Mployer Advisor says, “Voluntary benefits play a core role in designing custom benefit plans to optimize and engage today’s workforce. We are thrilled to partner with Voluntary Advantage to collaborate and support this impressive community."

For more information about Mployer Advisor visit: Mployer Advisor | Find Top Insurance Brokers | mployeradvisor.com

About Voluntary Advantage: 

Voluntary Advantage is a newly formed entity with a mission of creating a community for the Voluntary Benefits industry to share information and ideas with the intent of driving innovation in the industry. The first edition of the Voluntary Benefits Voice will be published in January 2023. 

Visit www.voluntary-advantage.com today to subscribe to receive information, updates, and the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine. 

For marketing and advertising requests for Voluntary Advantage, please contact Heather Garbers at Heather@Voluntary-Advantage.com or Trevor Garbers at Trevor@Voluntary-Advantage.com. 

 Voluntary Advantage is excited to formally announce the following members of their Editorial Board:

• Jennifer Daniel, Head of Group Distribution Strategy and Partnerships at Aflac. Jennifer is a proven leader in the insurance industry specializing in benefits technology and strategic partnerships. In her current role she is responsible for leading multiple teams that drive Aflac’s strategic sales efforts around benefits technology, premier broker relationships and enrollment partnerships. In addition, she works internally at Aflac to drive innovation and sales growth. 
• Jessica DePhillips, Voluntary Benefits Practice Leader for the Central/East markets, and Co-Chair, Mercer Voluntary Benefits Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, Mercer. Jessica is responsible for developing solutions for employers in the mid-market and large/jumbo case employer segments, as well as serving as a regional Mercer Voluntary Benefits representative to align Marsh McLennan sister companies for cross-sell opportunities and other strategic solutions.
• Jack Holder, President, EBIS. Jack partners with health brokers as an extension of their agency to pick Carriers and design Voluntary Benefit products around the objectives of each client. In addition, he helps to create and implement employee engagement strategies to assist in saving their broker partners and clients time, while giving the employees the best experience possible. 
• Michael Naumann, Worksite Practice Leader (Western US) for Reliance Standard Insurance Company. Michael Naumann has over 23 years of diverse experience across employee benefits, enrollment solutions, affinity-based programs and third party administration. At Reliance Standard, Michael creates sales and marketing strategies to accelerate worksite growth, drives business development, and influences product development.
• Mark Rosenthal, Senior Managing Director, PwC. Mark has extensive experience in Group and Voluntary Benefits on both the carrier and consulting side. At PwC he provides consulting services for insurance carriers and intermediaries from entering the marketplace, organizational change, aligning their strategic initiatives and digital transformation.
• Seif Saghri, CEO & Founder, BenefitHub. BenefitHub is a lifestyle benefits company offering the world’s largest selection of employee and member discounts, voluntary benefits and rewards. There are currently over 10,000 clients in 15 countries that use BenefitHub to delight and engage their 20 million+ employees and members. 
• Michael Stachowiak, SVP Head of Sales, Colonial Life. As Head of Sales for Colonial Life, he serves their 15,000 member national field sales teams & strengthens their broker sales partnerships across the U.S.

The Editorial Board will provide Voluntary Advantage with direction and insights into trends in the marketplace and topics that the industry wants to hear. Voluntary Advantage is ecstatic to have the thought leadership of these experts who impact many different important aspects of the Voluntary Benefits industry onboard. 

Voluntary Advantage is a newly formed entity with a mission of creating a community for the Voluntary Benefits industry to share information and ideas with the intent of driving innovation in the industry. The first edition of the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine will be published in January 2023. 

Visit www.voluntary-advantage.com today to subscribe to receive information, updates, and the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine. 

For marketing and advertising requests for Voluntary Advantage, please contact Heather Garbers at Heather@Voluntary-Advantage.com or Trevor Garbers at Trevor@Voluntary-Advantage.com. 

Voluntary Advantage is excited to announce that Mark E. Rosenthal, Senior Managing Director, PwC Insurance Transformation, will be a Key Contributor to their monthly publication for the Voluntary Benefits industry, “The Voluntary Benefits Voice”. 

PwC has over 1,400 insurance-dedicated accountants, actuaries, consultants, and deals specialists, who have extensive experience providing thoughtful and practical insights to life, P&C, specialty insurers and reinsurers on practically every issue the industry faces. Their clients include 70% of Fortune 1000 insurers and hundreds of smaller and specialty carriers. Voluntary Advantage believes their extensive expertise of carrier capabilities, processes, and strategy will assist their subscribers in staying on top of industry trends in the marketplace.

Mark E. Rosenthal, Senior Managing Director, PwC Insurance Transformation will be on the Voluntary Advantage Editorial Board in addition to managing content for the PwC monthly article as a Key Contributor to the Voluntary Benefits Voice. Mark says that, "It is an honor to be part of this publication and contributing to the fast-paced evolution the Voluntary Benefits business is having on clients, their employees and dependents. We have an incredible opportunity to be a voice to the industry and the issues impacting how benefits are offered through the workplace" 

Voluntary Advantage is a newly formed entity with a mission of creating a community for the Voluntary Benefits industry to share information and ideas with the intent of driving innovation in the industry. The first edition of the Voluntary Benefits Voice will be published in January 2023. 

Visit www.voluntary-advantage.com today to subscribe to receive information, updates, and the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine. 

For marketing and advertising requests for Voluntary Advantage, please contact Heather Garbers at Heather@Voluntary-Advantage.com or Trevor Garbers at Trevor@Voluntary-Advantage.com. 

 Voluntary Advantage is excited to announce that Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. will be a Key Contributor to their monthly publication for the Voluntary Benefits industry, “The Voluntary Benefits Voice”. 

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. has nearly 200 clients worldwide of their consulting and research services, including 20 of the 25 largest voluntary/worksite carriers. Voluntary Advantage believes their unique insights into carrier capabilities, processes, and strategy will provide their subscribers with valuable insights into market trends on a monthly basis.

Nick Rockwell, President, and Danielle Lehman, Senior Consultant, will provide monthly content for the Voluntary Benefits Voice, and state, “As a company that has been focused on Voluntary for the past 25 years, we are excited about partnering with Voluntary Advantage to continue the collaboration and education in this important industry.”

Voluntary Advantage is a newly formed entity with a mission of creating a community for the Voluntary Benefits industry to share information and ideas with the intent of driving innovation in the industry. The first edition of the Voluntary Benefits Voice will be published in January 2023. 

Visit www.voluntary-advantage.com today to subscribe to receive information, updates, and the Voluntary Benefits Voice magazine. 

For more information, contact Eastbridge Consulting Group at info@eastbridge.com. 

For marketing and advertising requests for Voluntary Advantage, please contact Heather Garbers at Heather@Voluntary-Advantage.com or Trevor Garbers at Trevor@Voluntary-Advantage.com. 

Voluntary Advantage is excited to announce Sydney Consulting as a Key Contributor to their monthly publication for the Voluntary Benefits industry, “The Voluntary Benefits Voice”. 

Sydney is an Actuarial and Compliance consulting firm that specializes in the supplemental benefits market. Sydney works with a gamut of insurance carriers; from Fortune 500 insurance titans to closely held market disruptors, providing end-to-end solutions for bringing products to market. Their services include product development, pricing, valuation, forms construction, rate and form filing, legal research, objection responses, technology solutions, and competitive market analysis. By working with a bevy of stakeholders, like brokers, carriers, and regulators, the Sydney Team is poised to overcome even the most complex challenges.

Sydney is excited to share information with the marketplace through the Voluntary Advantage distribution. Per Sydney: “Given the devolution of ACA plans into high-deductible premium sinks, the need for a robust and competitive voluntary benefits market has never been greater.”Voluntary Advantage is a newly formed entity with a mission of creating a community for the Voluntary Benefits industry to share information and ideas with the intent of driving innovation in the industry. Voluntary Advantage believes the unique industry expertise Sydney Consulting has will provide their readers with market leading content on a monthly basis, at a time when these areas are more important than ever before. The first edition of the Voluntary Benefits Voice will be published in January 2023. 

November 21, 2022 – Voluntary Advantage is a newly formed entity that has been created to bring the Voluntary Benefits industry together and promote innovation and the open share of ideas, strategies, and information. 

Voluntary Advantage was founded by Trevor & Heather Garbers and will publish a monthly magazine titled “Voluntary Benefits Voice” which will feature articles on important topics in our industry today including: trends, compliance, strategies, carrier news, product releases, and more. The Voluntary Advantage website (www.voluntary-advantage.com) will publish a Calendar of Events sharing information on upcoming events throughout the year in the Voluntary Benefits industry (conferences, webinars, trainings), in addition to providing a Directory of Services for individuals in our industry to use to search for Voluntary Benefit Carriers, Non-Traditional Benefits/Perks, Benefit Communication Firms, Billing & Premium Resources, Benefit Technology Vendors, and Communication Resources. Voluntary Advantage will also host a conference for the Voluntary Benefits industry.

Voluntary Advantage will rely on an Advisory Board of experts from across the Voluntary Benefits industry who will advise on matters relevant to the industry today, assisting in providing content from an unbiased viewpoint.

With regards to forming Voluntary Advantage, Trevor states, “In working with industry leaders across all spectrums of the Voluntary Benefits marketplace, we felt it was the perfect time to move forward with a publication that will be the voice of Voluntary Benefits. We look forward to adding additional services that will meet the needs of all of the stakeholders within our growing marketplace”. 

“The Voluntary Benefits industry is very disjointed today in how we can access information, where we can find reliable information, and in how our community operates.” Says Heather Garbers, “Our goal with forming Voluntary Advantage is to create a community that becomes the voice of the Voluntary Benefits industry to drive innovation, collaboration, and helps us as an industry do a better job for our clients and policyholders.”