Associated Benefits

10/28/2019

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In 1998, Bill Heine at 60, instead of retiring from group insurance sales, started his own business. Associated Benefits Consulting, with a main office in New Orleans, has been in the business of connecting partners and clients for 21 years, and they’ve kept the business in the family.

After Heine started Associated Benefits—with the help of his wife Linda—over time, all three daughters came to join him in the family business. Cindy Heine, CEBS, President; Susan Ellender, ChHC®, Vice President of Client Relations; and Marcie O’Dwyer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, who is dully licensed in health, life, accident as well as property and casualty insurance, all learned and grew under their father’s wing.

Associated Benefits, a certified woman-owned business, is a consulting business specializing in affinity and association health plans. They work in particular with associations and their members that do not have access to big business benefits. Associated Benefits is not a retail insurance shop. It is a rather a consultancy that focuses on the value that can be delivered by joint purchasing of products and services, especially under the guidance of a local brokers.

The sisters are clear on the benefits of working in a family business environment: the inherent trust, understanding and tight-knit team environment allows them to focus their energy on their clients. They plan on expanding their business in the coming year, using the relationships they’ve developed over the last 21 years to continue connecting associations, employers and brokers in Louisiana and beyond.