5 Broker Behaviors You Must Keep An Eye On
Allison De Paoli
Tired of Rising Costs and Shrinking Coverage? So are we. Let’s Fix That Together
If you’re working with a health insurance broker, it's essential you hold them to a high level of professionalism and integrity.
Yet, brokers are human and prone to making mistakes that negatively impact your benefits program.
Often these mistakes aren’t apparent to you so it’s important you know what to look out for.
Here are five things your broker may say or do that should cause you to raise an eyebrow:
1. They claim to be able to get you the best rates in the market, yet rarely “shop” the market for you.
Make sure your broker is putting in the work to help you find the best solution.? Claiming market superiority is one thing.? Backing it up with results is another.
2. “We’ll manage your eligibility. You don’t have to do anything.”
Newsflash, this is YOUR plan and you must be involved in administering your plan.? Don’t let your broker obtain total control of the program.
领英推荐
3. “We’re going to negotiate your renewal for you.”
This may seem like a good idea, but they only thing the broker is doing for you is negotiating a “less bad” renewal. Accepting a 7% increase instead of 12% is not good enough. Demand a better result.
4. Late submission of open enrollment changes.
A late submission could cost you a delay in processing, billing, and could lead to a claim issue. Make sure your broker is making you a priority and submitting your changes on time.
5. You change your insurance company, yet your broker fails to submit the paperwork.
The LAST thing you want is to find out an employee claim isn’t covered because the paperwork was never submitted.
Now, most of the “red flags” above seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised how often they happen.
The more informed you are the more prepared you will be.
If your health insurance plan has been impacted by another of the five scenarios, above, it might be time for a second opinion.
I’m happy to jump on a call if you’re ready to get started!
Providing expert guidance and educational support enabling individuals to make informed and confident decisions regarding their health benefits.
1 年Great reminder of who is ACTUALLY in charge and that accountability falls on the group to hold their broker to the standard they expect! Of all of them #4 rubs me the most...while they are all failures; this one seems to have the most immediate negative impact on members who have done what they need and expect coverage. And as soon as it happens, the excuses come out, all the while people are suffering. Great stuff as always Allison!
Vice President of Business Development @ Apta Health | Employee Benefits
1 年Good stuff Allison De Paoli! It may be basic but it is also overlooked sometimes because it is basic. How about the very dangerous - "Actively at Work" provision. That can be tremendously devastating especially when changing carriers, Health, Life, DI, etc. When I was running agencies, that one scared me about as much as any other. Preached about it about once a quarter. ??
Keeping benefits agencies simply connected | Founder & CEO, Signal Sync | Founder, Innovative Broker Services
1 年Good reminders! ?