Written by Nick Tranguch, Chief Growth Officer | 5 minute read

Selecting the right employee benefits consultant is essential to ensuring your employees have access to top-tier healthcare options. While BSI is often classified as an employee benefits broker due to our ability to secure competitive rates with leading carriers, our clients view us as a trusted consulting partner deeply integrated into their daily operations. 

We believe that being a great consultant goes far beyond simply securing the best plan. A great consultant offers year-round engagement, comprehensive evaluations, add-on benefits, wellness programs, innovative solutions, and personalized support. With strong communication and continuous support, a skilled broker helps cultivate educated healthcare consumers, which in turn drives business success and growth.

That’s why choosing the right broker is so important—it’s the difference between a good partnership and a great one. When evaluating or selecting a new broker, it’s crucial to focus on four key areas that will help you effectively manage a comprehensive benefits package for both your HR team and insured members. Below are the top four areas to prioritize during your search.

Four Main Areas of Support Every Great Employee Benefits Consulting Broker Should Provide

1. Healthcare Renewals

During annual plan renewals, your broker should make the renewal process smooth and collaborative. The goal of every renewal is to ensure that you enter the new year confident with the benefits package you’ve chosen. While benefit brokers have access to the same providers, plans, and healthcare costs, their true value lies in their ability to support you in selecting the right plan for your employees.

Questions to ask yourself about your current benefits broker in supporting healthcare renewals:

• Do they conduct a full market evaluation every year?
•  Do they provide renewal information early enough to allow time for adjustments before deadlines?
• Do they address your team’s questions throughout the renewal process with thorough, thoughtful responses and no lazy answers?
• Do they offer tailored recommendations that align with your employees’ needs, budget, and company goals?
• Do they suggest cost-saving strategies to help maintain sustainable year-over-year budgets?

“Recently, we onboarded a client facing a 24.26% renewal increase due to employees with high claims and their previous broker’s focus on the same fully funded option year after year. This is just one example of how often employers settle for the same transactional, once-a-year support,  and never questioning the level of service or accepting renewals without challenge.”
– TJ Ford, VP, Benefits Consulting 

2. Open Enrollment (OE)
Open enrollment is a critical time for educating your employees about their benefits, and how your consulting broker approaches this process can make a significant difference. It’s the moment to empower employees to make informed choices about their healthcare plans. According to several surveys, a significant portion of Americans do not fully understand their employee benefits, with estimates suggesting that around one-third of workers don’t understand the benefits they selected during open enrollment, particularly among younger generations like millennials; meaning a majority of Americans lack a complete understanding of their benefits package.

Questions to ask yourself about your current benefits broker in supporting your team during OE:

• Do they take the time to educate employees about the available benefits, options and differences?
• Do they provide clear and timely communication to ensure employees make informed plan selections?
• Do they offer tools and resources to make the OE process easier?

3. Compliance Support
Staying compliant with relevant laws and regulations can be complex and time-consuming. A good consulting broker should equip you with the necessary tools and support to ensure you’re always on track with compliance.

Questions to ask yourself about your current benefits broker in assisting with compliance:

• Do they keep you informed about changing regulations, laws, and industry standards?
• Do they guide you through compliance-related best practices?
• Do they conduct regular audits to ensure you’re adhering to all applicable regulations?
• Do they help update policies and procedures to stay in line with the latest requirements?

4. Year-Round Employee Advocacy & Support
Benefits can be confusing, and employees who don’t understand their benefits may not use them effectively. A great broker should support employees throughout the year by helping them understand, select, and use their benefits.

Questions to ask yourself about your current benefits broker providing year-round support:

• Do they provide a team to answer employee questions regarding benefits?
• Do they assist employees with navigating claims and resolving issues.
• Do they provide ongoing educational resources and tools to help employees fully utilize their benefits?

How to Choose the Right Employee Benefits Broker
If you’ve answered “no” to many of the questions above, it may be time to reconsider how well your current broker is truly supporting you. It’s essential to partner with a broker who understands your company’s unique needs and helps you secure the right benefits for your employees. A great broker will optimize your benefits spend within your budget while staying open to alternative funding strategies. If your HR team is small or overwhelmed, choose a broker who can ease their workload with proactive support, streamlined processes, and efficient solutions.

The relationship with your broker is crucial, not just for managing benefits, but also for enhancing your benefit packages, boosting employee loyalty and wellness, and improving HR efficiency. By carefully considering the questions above, you’ll find a broker who not only meets your current needs but also grows with your business, ensuring a healthy workforce and long-term success.

At BSI, we take pride in our expertise in implementing cost-control strategies that deliver exceptional results. Recently recognized by MarshBerry as a top-ranked independent employee benefits firm, coupled with a Net Promoter Score of 90.1, we are proud of the trust and satisfaction our clients have in our services. Our unwavering commitment to excellence, combined with exceptional client feedback, drives us to continually raise the bar for others to follow.