01 Jul Is Your Information Source Reliable?
What is the Information Source for Your Group Benefits Program?
Many Canadian businesses are making misguided decisions with regard to their benefits programs because they are missing critical information. Let’s take a look at two common scenarios that we hear time and time again:
Scenario #1
- You ask your broker for detailed information on what is being claimed under the health and dental benefits of your plan, as you are interested in knowing what is being claimed by members and potentially making plan changes to address your members needs.
- The response you receive from your broker is that detailed information is not available, and you are instead given a brief report, on your brokers letterhead, showing the total amount of health and dental claims that have been paid in the last year. High-level information that is interesting, but not informative.
- The outcome is that your benefit plan continues as is, as you have no meaningful information to base potential changes.
Scenario #2
- The annual renewal for your health and dental benefits that you receive from your broker includes information that is on their letterhead, or in a PowerPoint presentation. No actual reporting or information from the insurance provider is included.
- You are presented this information only, and therefore have no knowledge of what the insurance providers renewal reporting analysis indicates.
Do these scenarios sound familiar? You are not alone, but you should be concerned. Here’s why:
All insurance providers allow brokers access to claims reporting, in most cases through an advisor web portal. If your broker is saying that health and dental claims reporting is not available, they either have not bothered to register for the providers portal, do not know what information is available, or they just do not want to take the time to download any detailed claims reporting for you.
If your broker provides reporting on their letterhead, how can you be certain of the accuracy? Manual transcription of numbers and information is subject to errors. Whether errors and omissions are unintentional or intentional, you could potentially make decisions based on inaccurate information.
Renewal reporting from providers will standardly include health and dental analytics, to substantiate the proposed rate action. Why is your broker not sharing this information with you?
When a broker is conducting a marketing on your behalf, what information are they including? Is it information only on their letterhead, or will they include actual provider reporting for health and dental benefits? If there are errors or omissions in the information provided, the quotes that are received may appear attractive, however the outcome is not sustainable – leading to difficult future renewals and more attempts by your broker to do yet another marketing.
It is time to think about your benefits program in a way that serves the best interests of your hard working team and your organization.
At JRP, we know that transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of managing your investment in benefits. Provider claims reporting, and customized reporting that provides proprietary analytical information adapted to specifically meet your unique needs and requirements, are included with every quarterly review that we prepare, for every one of our valued clients.
We will manage your investment in benefits as if it was our own.
YOU DESERVE MORE THAN YOU THINK®