In just a year, there have been many changes. But the need for health insurance still hasn’t changed. Shopping for Open Enrollment can be a huge burden on yourself. That’s why Cosmo Insurance’s brokers are here to help.
The 2019 Open Enrollment Period runs from November 1, 2018, to December 15, 2018.
Plans sold during Open Enrollment start January 1, 2019.
Here’s why you should use a broker during Open Enrollment:
Get ahead of compliance concerns
According to a recent survey by the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, the most difficult function for employers to accomplish in-house is complete and efficient compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Regulatory uncertainty has many companies worried about the design and stability of long-term benefits plans. Brokers who build benefits plans that reflect potential regulatory outcomes give employers more confidence that future regulatory risk is being managed. When it comes to health care reform, there are many resources available that can help brokers navigate the ACA.
Get Educated
With ongoing changes to the ACA, agents and brokers are spending more time educating themselves on all aspects of the law. It’s very important for agents and brokers to make sure they stay current on all the new rules so that they can be the best advocates for their clients.
Offer A Connected Experience
In the past, many benefits brokers looked at standalone benefit administration platforms for their clients, which required them to be knowledgeable about multiple systems that their clients were using to maintain and extract employee census data.
It cost nothing to use a broker
The rate for a plan is the same with one as without a broker, but with a broker you get a professional to help you with service issues throughout the year and with questions/guidance at renewal time.
Independent brokers and agents usually contract with multiple companies and plans, so you don’t only get a salesperson that is direct with that one carrier and can’t compare multiple options for you!
Once you decide on a broker, think about what plan you should go with and then discuss it with your broker:
Be realistic and think about your lifestyle when choosing a plan and premium.
You are the one who will need to make the premium payment each month.
Focus on what points actually matter in a plan. Are you someone who goes to the doctor every month or sees a lot of specialists? Then you’ll want to make sure you have copays available up front, and not a limited number of them or only available after you’ve paid the entire deductible.
To meet ACA requirements this year, employers were required to pull data related to payroll, human resources, leave of absence and health care benefits, which can be an arduous task when using standalone systems. Having one database for all employee data will help brokers’ clients avoid costly penalties resulting from duplicate entries and mistakes across platforms. Brokers can be helpful by working with a trusted partner who understands these technologies inside and out, and can provide a single solution.
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