Profile: The Elan Group, Inc.

The Elan Group was formed in 1986 when it's founding members, insurance industry veterans Ross Hays Jr. and Joe Mack Thaxton, recognized that a major gap existed in employer provided employee benefit plans. Thaxton and Hays determined that the cost of employee benefits had increased to the point where employers were unable to provide and pay for many of the benefits their employees expected. While employers would most likely continue to provide some form of Health Insurance many of the additional benefits available could well be beyond the reach of an employer's budget. They felt that the next logical step was the development of voluntary benefit planning. Insurance products available voluntarily to employees through payroll deductions, conveniently and with pricing and underwriting which takes advantage of the rules of large numbers which exists because the employer sponsors the plan. This has now developed into one of the fastest growing fields in the insurance industry.