A good employee benefits broker should stay involved well beyond renewal and open enrollment.
That may include helping with new hires and qualifying life events, employee questions, carrier issues, enrollment changes, benefits administration, employee education, and preparation for the next renewal.
Your broker should also help you understand how your benefits program is performing and identify issues before they become urgent.
The goal is to have a benefits partner who knows your organization and remains available throughout the year — not someone you only hear from at renewal.
In many cases, an employer can change benefits brokers without changing insurance carriers or benefit plans.
The timing and process can vary depending on the carrier, renewal date, contracts, and other circumstances, so it is important to understand the details before making a change.
Employers often begin evaluating a new broker ahead of renewal, but a broker change may be possible at other times as well.
A conversation with a prospective broker can help determine what options are available and what the transition would involve.
A good place to start is by looking at what happens between renewals.
Ask whether your broker:
If most of the relationship is limited to presenting renewal options once a year, it may be worth asking what additional support should be available.
A benefits renewal should involve more than reviewing the new premium.
Employers should have an opportunity to evaluate plan performance, cost changes, contribution strategy, employee needs, carrier options, and possible funding alternatives.
A thoughtful employee benefits renewal strategy also gives employers enough time to consider changes, communicate with employees, and prepare for enrollment.
Starting early usually creates more options than waiting until the renewal deadline is approaching.
The right health insurance structure depends on the size of the employer, workforce, budget, risk tolerance, and available carrier options.
Depending on the organization, options may include fully insured group health insurance, level-funded arrangements, and other funding approaches.
Plan design, provider networks, employer contributions, employee costs, and administrative requirements should all be considered together.
A benefits broker can help an employer compare the available options and understand the tradeoffs.
With a fully insured plan, the employer generally pays a fixed monthly premium to the carrier, and the carrier assumes the claims risk.
Self-insured plans, also called self-funded plans, give employers greater visibility into how their plan is performing, including insight into claims and more control over what the plan covers. The employer funds claims directly and assumes more financial risk, although stop-loss insurance can help protect against high claims costs.
Level-funded plans are a type of self-funded plan that combines claims funding, administrative fees, and stop-loss coverage into a predictable monthly payment. They offer a middle ground, pairing more predictable budgeting with many of the insights and flexibility of self-funding.
The right approach depends on the employer's size, claims experience, budget, and tolerance for risk.
A large renewal increase does not always mean the only options are to accept the increase or reduce benefits.
Employers may be able to review alternative carriers, adjust plan design, reconsider employer contribution strategies, evaluate funding options, or offer employees additional plan choices.
The best approach depends on why costs increased and what the organization is trying to accomplish.
This is why renewal planning should begin early enough to evaluate alternatives rather than making a rushed decision.
Improving benefits does not always require spending more.
Employers may be able to improve the employee experience by simplifying plan choices, improving communication, adding voluntary benefits, reviewing contribution strategies, or helping employees better understand and use the benefits already available to them.
The first step is understanding what employees value and where the current program may have gaps.
Employees should understand:
Clear employee benefits communication can reduce confusion and help employees make more informed decisions.
Benefits communication should be clear, timely, and written for employees rather than insurance professionals.
Employers can improve communication by using plain language, explaining what has changed, providing examples, offering opportunities to ask questions, and making information available in more than one format.
Employee education is especially important during open enrollment, but it should continue throughout the year as employees experience life events or need to use their coverage.
Good open enrollment support should make the process easier for both the employer and employees.
That may include preparing enrollment materials, reviewing plan changes, configuring benefits technology, communicating deadlines, educating employees, answering questions, coordinating carrier enrollment, and resolving problems that arise.
The level of support should reflect the size and needs of the organization rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all process.
Benefits technology can help employers manage enrollment, eligibility, new hires, qualifying life events, employee records, and carrier communication in one place.
The right system can reduce manual work and make the enrollment experience easier for employees.
Technology works best when the platform is configured correctly and supported by a team that understands both the system and the employer's benefits program.
Certain life events — such as marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, or loss of other coverage — may allow an employee to make benefits changes outside of the normal open enrollment period.
Deadlines and documentation requirements may apply.
Employers should have a process for identifying qualifying life events, collecting the appropriate information, and making changes with the carrier or benefits administration system.
Yes. Employee support can be an important part of the broker relationship.
Depending on the arrangement, a broker may help employees understand plan options, navigate enrollment, identify the appropriate carrier contact, or assist when benefits questions or problems arise.
Providing employees with a knowledgeable point of contact can also reduce some of the benefits-related workload for HR and management.
A broker can often assist with areas such as enrollment, eligibility changes, carrier coordination, benefits technology, employee communication, and ongoing administrative questions.
The exact level of benefits administration support varies by broker, which is one reason employers should ask specifically what is included in the service relationship.
If you are evaluating your current benefits, preparing for renewal, or trying to determine whether your broker relationship is working as well as it should, we are happy to review your current program with you.
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