Attention Small Employers! Large Brokerage Firms Do NOT want your business!

If you have under 50 full-time employees and you are working with a large health benefits brokerage, the odds are high that you’ve experienced some of the following:

1. Renewal numbers arrive about a month before your renewal date and arrive in a spreadsheet via email.
2. You hear “let’s look at this for next year” when it comes to implementing or taking a look at new ideas.
3. You have a different account manager every couple of years.  You aren’t sure who to call for each particular service question. 
4. Your employee education program consists of a benefit packet and a group meeting. 
5. You have a voluntary benefit rep (Colonial, Aflac) that you haven’t seen in years. Your participation in these programs is low and the billing issues are more trouble than it’s worth.
6. You feel like a small fish in a big pond. 
7. Your old broker/consultant did a great job, but he has moved on to bigger accounts.  You are now serviced by someone you don't know. 
8. You are using paper enrollment forms for new hires, terminations, changes.
9. You have 5+ employees on your health insurance and have not looked closely at self-funded options.
10. You do not know what referenced-based pricing means.
11. You don’t offer a H.S.A. option for yourself and employees.
12. Your H.S.A. participation is low (low contributions, low enrollment numbers, no investing).
13. You are not personally taking advantage of the "Ultimate Financial Account", the health savings account. 
14. Your consultant has not taught you how to invest your H.S.A., and reimburse yourself several years down the road.
15. You have never heard of an SPD Wrap Document.

 
 
Consolidation, mergers, and acquisitions are rampant in the employee benefits brokerage world today and it is causing harm to employers with under 50, and even 100 employees! 
 
Large Firms have made a conscious decision to put your small business into a “house account” pool.  You will be given a standard list of services, but you will not be given their full attention and effort.  You will continue to experience customer service problems and will generally not receive forward-thinking advice.  You will be given advice that is geared towards a path of least resistance. At a time when you need help and guidance more than ever, you have been shipped to a junior associate. 
 
Your business deserves better.