Rachel Sapoznik’s Passion for Wellness and Healthy Employees Drives Her Innovative Insurance Benefits Agency

It’s happened to companies across the nation. Many have seen healthcare costs increase by double digits in a single year.

In the midst of this volatile time, when companies and their employees are increasingly worried about rising premiums and many health insurance companies are being absorbed in a wave of mergers and acquisitions, Rachel Sapoznik who launched her unique Employee Benefits Solutions Agency in 1987 stands out as a passionate voice emphasizing the value and necessity of education and wellness in helping manage costs. « It didn’t take me long to realize that education was the component missing from our heatlthcare system, » she says.

Driven by her founding core values of empowering employees to achieve physical and financial well-being, the South Florida based business maverick has championed the cause of personal responsibility in health and wellness as the main struggle facing healthcare providers and insurers.

A powerful advocate for the reality that health maintenance and personal accountability are the keys to transforming the healthcare system, Rachel and her dedicated team of 64 benefit consultants and support staff have created a powerful niche in the industry by integrating an extensive wellness platform (including regular educational fairs, employee support groups and transformative programs for clients) into their customized solution and claim service.

Having implemented their programs for clients in Florida, California, South Carolina, New York and other states, Sapoznik Insurance  which Rachel started out of her house not long after leaving her stint as a top insurance agent and valuable mentor at John Hancock Financial – has generated over $125,000,000 in premiums.

Under Rachel’s direction, the Miami based company has become a landmark in South Florida. It has been recognized by the South Florida Business Journal as one of the ten largest insurance agencies in the region, and the 16th largest Woman-Owned Business. In 2014, the same publication designated it as one of the region’s « Top 100 Private Companies while honoring Rachel as one of their « Influential Business Women. » Sapoznik Insurance & Associates has also been designated as one of the top philanthropic companies in South Florida.

Rachel believes her company’s success is due to the passion that she and her team have for positively changing people’s lives and their willingness to push conventional industry « envelopes, » so to speak, to accomplish their goals. « I like to say they don’t work for me, but with me, » she says. « We truly care about our clients and their employees and want to make sure we’re part of the solution to get them on the road to wellness. »

Rachel has spent her career educating employers that they can actually have more influence on the health of their employees than even personal doctors can. She explains that because people spend so much of their lives at work, creating an environment focused on wellness is imperative. Those on the leadership team need to become champions of the corporate wellness initiatives. As people become healthier in their workplaces, health care costs come down and stabilize. Fewer illnesses translates to fewer sick days taken, more productivity and less « presentee-ism » among employees who show up, but don’t feel well enough to be productive.

Rachel’s passion for health and wellness emerged as a response to skyrocketing claims costs that were primarily generated from preventable chronic illnesses like diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. She believed that if she could contribute to attacking these illnesses and related conditions via preventative solutions and regular screenings, she could keep insurance premiums down for companies and their employees. For a decade and a half, Sapoznik Insurance has brought medical professionals into work environments of client companies to check (on a voluntary basis) employees’ blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI (Body Mass Index) and weight.

Rachel is excited about sharing her many years of health and wellness, healthcare and insurance industry expertise in her upcoming book APassion For Wellness: Healthy Employees, Healthy Bottom Line. The volume provides employers, business owners, CEOs and leadership teams a guide to understanding how they can impact their employees’ personal health, specifically from a wellness perspective. If they can achieve this, they will be able to improve employee engagement and the bottom line.