Aflac, the leading provider of voluntary insurance at the work site in the United States, announced today that it is partnering with Liazon, operator of the industry-leading private benefits exchange Bright Choices, to provide brokers working with large businesses nationwide more options for when and how they do business with Aflac.

As a result of this agreement, approved brokers will now be able to offer Aflac's Group Critical Illness, Accident and Hospital Indemnity plans through the Bright Choices exchange and other Liazon-powered exchanges – providing employers a way to provide their employees a broader range of choices to build a personalized portfolio of benefits.

"We remain committed to finding new, innovative ways to support the growing broker market in our industry, and offering our products on Bright Choices will help grow and expand our distribution model with brokers and, ultimately, drive broker sales," said Aflac Senior Vice President of Broker Sales Drew Niziak. "This partnership will also provide added value to our customers who will have more information available to make more educated decisions regarding their benefits needs."

Given the changing health care landscape, employers are increasingly turning to private health care exchanges as another option for their employees' benefits enrollment and administration. Within a defined contribution model, Liazon's platform offers side-by-side comparison tools, comprehensive education materials, transparent pricing and hands-on support to make choosing the right benefits plan easier based on each employee's unique needs. That means employers decide how much to spend each year on benefits and employees choose how to spend that money. Employers with 100 or more benefit-eligible employees will rely on brokers more than ever to help navigate these benefits options. In fact, more than half (52 percent) of brokers surveyed in 2015, reported that they are functioning as a producer for insurance products handled through an exchange.

"Joining forces with Aflac was an easy decision for Liazon because we both believe in empowering the employer to help their employees make better benefit decisions," said Liazon Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Alan Cohen . "The addition of Aflac's world-class voluntary benefits offerings and strong brand recognition will enhance the options available in our benefits store and help brokers better meet their clients' benefits needs going forward."