Renewing Employee Benefits: Why Should You Keep Your Current Provider?
When deciding between a new insurance provider and keeping your current one, there are key factors to consider, from fair premium prices, service quality, and plan flexibility, to whether they meet your organization’s evolving needs.
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Whether your company’s renewal period is coming up or you’ve just signed a new contract for the year, this Pacific Prime article will give you some insights into what to look for when reviewing the performance of your employee benefits plan over the past year.
Why It’s Important to Review Your Benefits Provider Annually
With insurance costs rising each year, your company must take time to review whether or not you’re still getting the most value for money with your employee benefits plan. It is important to remember that the cost inflation is tied to your company’s claim data from the past year.
Reviewing your employee benefits plan should also entail a review of the provider of those benefits. It may be that you have an attractive platform that’s valued by the staff you have.
An annual review is always a solid idea for a company looking to not only maintain a good benefits plan but also control costs and test the market.
What to Look for from a Provider
When looking for an insurance provider, it is important to look at factors such as whether they offer fair market premium prices, their commitment to continued high service, plan and benefits flexibility, and whether or not they can keep up with your organization’s current business needs.
In this section, we will cover each key factor in detail to help you make the important decision of whether your current provider is still right for you.
Fair Market Premium Price
Each year, your benefits provider will issue you notice of how much your company’s premium will increase. Whether it’s due to rising medical costs in your country, a significantly expensive claim year for your staff, or something else, there’s no excuse for paying more than market value.
Your benefits provider should offer you a competitive price on your premium, taking into account the various impacting drivers on their own costs. They’ll not only make a fair offer but help you understand why the costs are rising by the amount they are.
If something doesn’t feel right about your renewal premium, you should ask your benefits provider for more information or consult with an insurance advisor like Pacific Prime.
Commitment to Continued High Service
A good benefits package is worthless without a comprehensive and supportive service delivery framework. You’ll know if you’re getting bad service: your HR teams will likely have horror stories of delayed claims, unhelpful service staff, and benefits or levels that don’t quite meet their needs.
Those with great benefits providers will either have stories of praise or even no mentions at all of how their staff have interacted with their perks.
Having expert and efficient service that fits your company’s particular needs can be priceless, so it’s worth considering the support you get from your current provider before opting for a cheaper insurer.
You’ll want to be sure you’re getting better service elsewhere before giving up a relationship that works for both your company and your staff.
Flexibility With Benefits and Levels
A good benefits provider will work with you to make changes to the plan if and when necessary. This can be for a number of reasons: to help control costs, to improve the relevance to staff, to match talent management, or due to changing demographics among staff.
Stay with a provider that not only knows your business but also knows how best to support it via your benefits. Renewing employee benefits might not be an easy task, but it can be made easier with an understanding and proactive insurance provider by your side.
The traditional one-size-fits-all employee benefits plan may no longer work with your company, and if that is the case, an alternative solution is required. Options for a flexible benefits plan may allow you to provide better benefits and safe costs down the line.
If you are interested in implementing a flexible benefits plan, Pacific Prime can help you. Our expert advisors possess the expertise to assist clients in crafting and executing adaptable benefits packages tailored to their specific needs.
Leveraging our flexible benefits portal, we can ensure that clients can efficiently manage and maintain a flexible benefits program that not only benefits the organization but also meets the diverse needs of its employees.
This integrated approach ensures that the benefits package remains dynamic and responsive to the evolving requirements of both the company and its workforce, fostering a harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship.
Keeping Current With Your Businesses Needs
Businesses can save effort and money by strategically structuring their benefits platform. Consider consolidating your regional plans into a single international solution. Companies with overseas offices should ensure their current provider supports the company’s employees—wherever they are.
Making a Decision When Renewing Employee Benefits
Identify the reasons why you should stay with your current provider for a clearer understanding of how your platform works as a whole and to save you money.
If you find your current provider isn’t meeting your expectations, then it might be time for you to look elsewhere. Whilst you can go through the effort of doing it alone, the best way to enhance your benefits renewal process is to get the support of an expert broker.
Optimizing Your Employee Benefits with Pacific Prime
Pacific Prime is an expert employee benefits specialist with a unique approach to renewals and negotiations that puts you and your company at the center of all of our decision making.
When you partner with Pacific Prime, our team of expert advisors will carefully examine your historical claims data and specific business requirements. This detailed analysis allows us to craft a customized employee benefits plan that aligns perfectly with the needs of your business.
Through strategic partnerships with leading global insurance providers, Pacific Prime equips our expert advisors with a wealth of options to offer our clients, allowing us to present tailored insurance plans, ensuring that clients can select a solution that aligns with their needs and preferences.
Pacific Prime’s Prime Care Portal for HR Managers
At Pacific Prime, our commitment to service goes beyond mere sales transactions. Through our exclusive benefits management platform, the Prime Care Portal, we empower HR managers to efficiently coordinate across various regions where they operate.
By integrating cutting-edge technology and user-friendly interfaces, this groundbreaking tool not only streamlines the intricate task of managing employee benefits but also cultivates a culture of seamless collaboration within organizations.
Its robust features simplify administrative processes, enabling businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively. With this tool at their disposal, organizations can enhance their overall productivity and optimize their employee benefits management strategies.
Contact our team to arrange a meeting today, or check out our corporate website to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can we help employees understand changes to their benefits?
HR managers can prepare a range of communication materials such as brochures, emails, and webinars to help employees comprehend any alterations to their benefits package. These resources can help clarify changes effectively and ensure that employees are well-informed about their benefits options.
Can employees provide feedback on the current benefits package to inform changes for the upcoming renewal?
Encouraging employees to provide feedback on your current benefits package can give a clear indication on whether or not your current plan benefits your employees. This feedback can give HR managers insights to what changes they need to make for upcoming renewals.
How will the premium costs for the renewed plan compare to the current plan?
Due to inflation, the premium costs for renewed plans will typically be higher but the cost will ultimately depend on your organization’s loss ratio. At Pacific Prime, our expert advisors will analyze your past claims data to help manage your loss ratio for better renewal premium costs.
Born and raised in the cultural melting pot that is Hong Kong, and having studied at an international school, Vista has developed a multicultural perspective that he uses in his writing and strives to connect to people of different backgrounds.
In his free time, Vista enjoys immersing himself in different worlds, from video games to light novels and movies. His hobbies help him expand his writing style by putting himself in the point-of-view of different people and characters.
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Are there any tax implications or considerations for expats when choosing or renewing employee benefits that cover multiple countries?
When choosing or renewing employee benefits that cover multiple countries, expats should be aware of potential tax implications, such as whether employer-provided benefits are considered taxable income in their host country or home country. Double taxation treaties, local compliance requirements, and varying regulations on tax-deductible benefits can all influence the structure and cost of your benefits package. To avoid unexpected liabilities, consult with a tax advisor familiar with international employment laws and consider working with an insurance broker like Pacific Prime to ensure your benefits plan aligns with local regulations and remains cost-effective.
For personalized advice on managing expat benefits and global compliance, visit our Contact Us page!
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