View from the crowZ nest - Gift basket smokescreen

Written By Jody Crowther

Most brokers are good people - they send a card and/or gift basket during the holidays, and maybe take you out for lunch. But often their visits are just to check in or deliver the renewal, which is not always the best news. Even worse, you often don’t hear from them unless you call with a problem. It begs the question, “what are you paying for”?

MANAGING BENEFIT PLANS – THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE

You’re responsible for your organization’s benefit plan and you need to make decisions that:

·        Respect your budget

·        Help keep the plan sustainable

·        Attract and retain employees

·        Keep those same employees engaged

In a time when:

·        Benefit plan costs are rising faster than they have in years

·        Employee populations are extremely diverse (age, sex, culture)

·        Employees want hyper-customization but don’t want to give up their “core” benefits

IT’S NOT YOU – IT’S THEM

After 30 years in the benefits industry, working for national insurance companies and consulting firms, I have heard the same stories and regularly witnessed the same promises made by brokers. See if this rings a bell:

  • Your phone rings and it’s a broker wanting to know your renewal date and asking for a chance to quote.

  • They say they have great relationships with insurance companies.

  • They talk about all the free “stuff” available to their clients.

  • They make promises about the great service their team would provide.

  • They then bring you the same spreadsheets, with the same insurance companies you have seen time and time again promising to save you $$$

2-3 years later, you are headed to market again because your rates have increased and the cycle starts all over again

FIND THE “RIGHT FIT” BUT AT THE RIGHT TIME

Choosing a benefits broker should be done separately from your renewal. These are two different decisions that should be made in isolation of one another.

  1. Renewal time is about making sure you have the right plan, the right rates and the right insurance company.

  2. This should be an entirely separate decision than choosing the right person to help you make that decision.

Find someone you feel you can trust and work with them on your next renewal

IGNORE “THE FLUFF”

The right broker should:

  • Help craft and define the strategy for your HR/benefit program

  • Make a measurable operational impact on your business

  • Make a measurable financial impact on your business

  • Make an emotional impact on your business because of the improved employer/employee relationships they have helped foster

    Is that $50 gift basket worth the 20% renewal hike?

Jody Crowther