Advantages of Affiliation with a National Organization Continue to Help Independent Benefit Advisors Deliver Superior Value to Employers

Roanoke, Virginia/July 25, 2011/ — United Benefit Advisors (UBA) (http://www.UBAbenefits.com), a member-owned alliance of the nation’s premier independent benefit advisory firms, announced today that it has increased the organization’s membership to 145 Member Firms.  Since its official launch only 10 years ago, UBA has grown to become one of the nation’s largest benefits advisory organizations.

“While UBA lends our firm strength and wisdom and the opportunity to work with other top benefit advisors throughout the county, we are an independent advisory firm.  UBA Members aren’t franchised or subsidiaries.  We are independently owned firms that understand the local marketplace and the unique challenges that individual employers face.  We can provide insightful, personalized service that our competition simply can’t match, backed by the knowledge and resources of UBA,” said William L. Kite, Jr., Employee Benefits Advisor, D & S Agency, Inc.

Membership in UBA is limited to 150 of the nation’s top independent employee benefit firms.  UBA’s roster is comprised of firms that have committed to adhere to the most stringent code of ethics in the employee benefits industry.

“UBA was founded on the premise that the collective wisdom, expertise and unique strengths of the top independent benefits firms could be cooperatively shared to create truly best-in-class solutions for our clients,” said Scott Rappoport, CEO of Benefit Sources & Solutions in Bound Brook, N.J., and UBA Board Chair.  “Our culture of mutual trust, sharing and support has allowed us to develop and provide the best possible services for our clients, while simultaneously enhancing the independence of our Member Firms, which is the cornerstone of their creativity and success.”

UBA Members provide employee benefits consulting, brokerage services and best-in-class products to  more than 36,000 private corporations and public employers.  As trusted advisors, UBA Members saved employers an average of 5.1 percent from the initial medical plan renewal offer in 2010, which translates to a staggering $1.1 billion in annual medical plan cost savings on behalf of more than 4.8 million employees and their families.

D & S Agency, Inc., chartered August 27, 1964, was founded as a subsidiary of Davis & Stephenson, Incorporated, a respected Roanoke Virginia property and casualty firm founded in 1902.  D & S Agency is an employee benefit consulting firm in Virginia.  Today D & S Agency represents corporate clients headquartered in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia.  Design and compliance of benefit plans with an emphasis on communication services to client employees separates D & S Agency from other advisory firms.

ABOUT UNITED BENEFIT ADVISORS – United Benefit Advisors is a member-owned alliance of the nation’s premier independent benefit advisory firms with 165 offices throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.  As trused and knowledgeable advisors, UBA Members collaborate with more than 2,000 experienced professionals to seek out ideas, expertise and best-in-class solutions that positively impact employers and make a real difference in the lives of their employees and families.  Employers, advisors and industry-related organizations interested in obtaining powerful results from our shared wisdom should visit UBA online at www.UBAbenefits.com to locate their local UBA Member Firm.

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