With the economic shutdown from COVID-19, is this a time review insurance benefits and processes?
Every business is different, and COVID has impacted every industry, which may lead some employers to re-address their benefits and procedures.
Process & Procedures:
Employee education on Insurance Benefits has been changing the last five years, to a more digital environment. There was a time where open enrollment meetings consisted of insurance professionals on-site with a stack of papers. Will this continue in a post COVID environment?
The solution is going to digital enrollment & Insurance Benefits administration platforms that also help to educate employees and their spouses on insurance options, which should Include lines of communications for specific benefit questions.
An employee receives a welcome email, and they register to view and enroll in benefits. Controllers/HR/Owners can quickly track the employee’s progression through the enrollment process with reporting features.
Just a few years ago, a benefits admin platform had a high cost to employers. As technology has evolved, that cost has dropped significantly. Here at Nefouse & Associates, Inc, we can provide a full benefit admin system to our clients at no additional cost.
Insurance Benefit Review
Right now, Insurance companies like every other industry are ready to get back to bringing in new business. Underwriting departments being more aggressive with issuing competitive rates. Small groups with less than 20 employees electing coverage will need to complete applications that can be quickly streamlined with a benefits admin system.
If you have 20+ employees on the plan can benefit from GRX underwriting. GRX underwriting is where they use a member level census to determine risk and issue rates. Businesses with 50+ employees can also benefit from this type of underwriting.
Now is also an excellent time to look at what type of plan designs are being offered compared to the industry. Using benchmarking tools, we can quickly advise if your plan offering is competitive.
Ancillary products:
When it comes to dental, vision, life & disability, the insurance carriers are incredibly competitive both on cost and increasing benefits. With COVID-19, there has been an increase in employees electing voluntary life for themselves and dependents. Some employer is taking the opportunity to launch a new open enrollment for life selections.
