It’s benefits renewal season. 

And business owners and HR executives are finding that those renewals are a tough pill to swallow…

Consider

• Benefit costs have increased 22% in the last 5 years.
• And renewals for 2022 are coming in at an average increase of 6.5%.

There’s no doubt executives face some concerning employee trends.

Inflation is going wild… the great resignation is in full swing… and good employees are really hard to find and keep.

Healthcare benefits are now the #2 concern for employees – right behind salary.  And they’re directly tied to employee recruiting, retention and satisfaction.

The stats aren’t good… 82% of employees say they aren’t happy with current benefit costs.

The last thing you want to do is rock the boat relative to benefits this year.  We are in unusual times indeed, where wages and work conditions aren’t keeping up with employee expectations.  

So what’s a company to do?

How do you end the cycle… you know… where premiums and deductibles go up, while coverage goes down?

The 3 steps to better benefits & lower rates

1. Shop the marketplace. If you’re renewing with the same carrier year over year on a level funded plan, that’s a red flag. You should be shopping your healthcare to multiple providers every year. Once your employee healthcare data is collected, it’s easy to get multiple quotes. Make sure this is happening. You should also be evaluating different funding options. As you company matures, your goal should be to move up the funding maturity cycle. Level funded and self-funded plans may be the right way to go – for better benefits coverage and rates. Point is… shop it and look at all options. Doing the same thing is a recipe for disappointment.
   
   
2. Investigate the claims. If your rates go up, it may be due to the employee claims. And many times an increase is due to a one time or unusual event. You can have these investigated and then re-negotiate with carriers.  Few companies and brokers do this. Find out what’s driving the increases and make sure you press you carrier on changes relative to health events.
   
   
3. Educate your employees. Having your employees become better buyers of healthcare is the #1 way to lower costs. Sadly education is usually a one-time event during enrollment. And employees forget everything as soon as they sign up. Use ongoing emails and messaging to reinforce how they can get the best care and lower their costs. And for goodness sakes, teach them to leverage the advocacy line and manage the medical ID cards. This is where everyone can win… or lose.

Through shopping the market, investigating claims, and education there’s no reason you can’t find better coverage and rates on employee healthcare.

If you’re looking for more information on how to buy better benefits, check out our guide: The Step-by-Step Guide to Buying Better Benefits.

And if you’re looking at benefit renewals for 2022 right now, there’s also a 4^th way to gut check your renewals and that’s – get a second opinion!

Of course, we’re happy to help… with no obligation.

We’ve assembled the 40 best benefits providers in the U.S. Let our carrier network go to work for you. You can select the best plans and pricing from all the major and niche players.

You can contact us for a quote right here.

If we can answer any questions about the 3 steps to better benefits and lower rates, just reach out.