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Companies Across State Assess Selves, Eye Competition in 2006 Health Benefits Survey

Contact: Sam Patrick
(864) 787-0820
sam@patrickmkt.com

GREENVILLE, SC - August 31, 2006 - Upstate-based Rosenfeld Einstein, a major regional insurance agent/broker, has announced that more than 160 businesses from over 20 cities across South Carolina have participated to date in the 2006 South Carolina Employer Health Benefits Survey since its launch in early July.

The confidential survey is designed to help business owners and company leaders benchmark their health benefit programs against peers and competitors, evaluate their competitive position, and determine if their organizations are providing competitive packages - or at risk of losing valued talent.

Conducted in partnership with a national actuarial consulting firm, the detailed survey provides businesses with qualitative and quantitative data on employee benefit programs at no cost for participation, notes Howard Einstein, a principal in Rosenfeld Einstein.

"The tremendous response from across the state validates our belief that businesses want actionable information to help them grow and succeed," said Einstein. "To date, businesses from across South Carolina representing more than 55,000 jobs and dozens of industries have entered their data, and companies continue to come to the website and participate."

To date, 28% of companies contributing data represent the manufacturing/distribution industry in South Carolina, followed by the service industry (18%), healthcare (17%), financial services (10%) and construction (6%). More than 20 other industry sectors, from technology and regional government to utilities and telecommunications, also have participated in the survey.

"We believe this diverse make-up is actually very representative of today's economic base in South Carolina," said Einstein. "Manufacturing is still hugely important to our

state, yet we continue to see growth and evolution from the manufacturing base of years past to more of a knowledge-economy base. These numbers, and the diversity of these participating companies, really bears out this transition in our state."

Rosenfeld Einstein teamed with a national actuarial and consulting firm to execute the survey, and will provide each participating company across South Carolina with its own custom report and data. While ideal for midsized and larger businesses, Rosenfeld Einstein is making the program available to any business with 20 or more full-time employees, noted Einstein. "That's a sweet spot for South Carolina organizations, since we tend to have many smaller companies in the 20+ employee range across the state. We want to make this critically important information available to as many as possible."

Containing over 300 data points, the Rosenfeld Einstein survey will help businesses compare their benefits package offerings to competitors in such areas as:

Deductibles
Office Visit Co-payments
Prescription Drug Co-payments
Medical Plan Increases
Monthly Premiums (Single/Family)
Monthly Employee Contributions
PPO v. Consumer Directed plan costs

Every participating organization receives a customized analysis comparing their plan to others locally and nationally. All information is held in confidence, and participating company information is only shared with that company. At the completion of the survey, Rosenfeld Einstein will present aggregated data from across the state to survey participants at a seminar in Greenville on September 26, 2006, at which time attendees will receive the individual benchmark reports for their organization.

"The real value of this one-of-a-kind initiative is in helping companies understand where they are competitively, both locally and nationally, in recruiting and retaining their best associates," noted Einstein. "The survey is quick, easy, customized - and it helps organizations make better informed decisions about their benefit plans based on real-time market data."

"For South Carolina to continue to advance in the global economy, this type of benchmark information is essential to every forward-thinking organization, and we're pleased to make it available," Einstein added.

Organizations wishing to participate in the survey can enter their data confidentially online. Go to www.RosenfeldEinstein.com and click on 2006 SC Health Benefits Survey to complete the survey.

The deadline for organizations to complete the online survey is September 15, 2006. By doing so, they will receive a private report and be invited to a seminar where Rosenfeld Einstein will present survey results in detail. Those unable to attend the seminar will have their results delivered or mailed to them, Einstein added.

For additional information on Rosenfeld Einstein or the 2006 South Carolina Employer Health Benefits Survey, contact David Slade or Howard Einstein at (864) 271-6336 or via email at info@rosenfeldeinstein.com.

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Rosenfeld Einstein is a regional, full-service insurance agent/brokerage and consulting firm. Areas of specialty range from employee benefits to personal and commercial property and casualty, financial services, professional liability, risk management, claims management, workplace safety and wellness. Visit us on the web at www.RosenfeldEinstein.com.