Providing Additional Services As Group Producers

[ABC]

With all of the mergers within the broker community I am seeing a demand to provide additional services to groups without passing on the cost to them.

Any of you Group producers providing additional services?
If yes what are you providing?

Getting the best rate for the group, plan design, admin, employee education and claims support is not enough anymore.

 

[Full Throttle]

Re: Providing Additional Services

With all of the mergers within the broker community I am seeing a demand to provide additional services to groups without passing on the cost to them.

Any of you Group producers providing additional services?
If yes what are you providing?

Getting the best rate for the group, plan design, admin, employee education and claims support is not enough anymore.

What type of services are you talking about?

Here every broker, even with small and micro groups, provides COBRA/state continuation support and for groups in the 10+ range, some sort of HR online resource. I also create a one page client log-in where they can access their plan sumamry, rates, and carrier forms. Low cost and very easy to do.

 

[JayIvy]

Re: Providing Additional Services

With all of the mergers within the broker community I am seeing a demand to provide additional services to groups without passing on the cost to them.

Any of you Group producers providing additional services?
If yes what are you providing?

Getting the best rate for the group, plan design, admin, employee education and claims support is not enough anymore.

For groups over 20 employee's we offer cobra administration to them at no additional cost. Saves them the money and headaches, and takes out the liability for them if something were to go wrong.

 

[ABC]

Re: Providing Additional Services

I am exploring HR services but I am going to hire an outside firm to consult the groups on compliance and other issues outside of health insurance.

Any Cobra admin I source out because I sure do not want that liability.

As for the online access to plan design. Do most of your groups use the carriers online resources?

I have had my ass handed to me by a couple of national broker houses with all the services they provide that they claim are free.

So I realize the broker of the future is going to have to offer additional services without passing on the cost. I have seen small brokers offering wellness coaches on site without charging.

There also seems to be a push from HR people to not want to do their job and pass those responsiblities on to the broker.

I am seeing a real shift from the traditional broker approach.

 

[stuy119]

Re: Providing Additional Services

What are the services that they are killing you with, specifically? It's likely a matter of time before those start bleeding down to some smaller groups, and we all see.

Help us out here.

 

[ABC]

Re: Providing Additional Services

What are the services that they are killing you with, specifically? It's likely a matter of time before those start bleeding down to some smaller groups, and we all see.

Help us out here.

I wish I could say exactly. The big thing I am seeing right now is wellness coaches on site.

It's not just large group. The national brokers are starting to go after all size cases.

 

[stuy119]

I can see that. I like the Ceridian wellness plans, and if you can bundle them in for all groups, it makes a lot of sense. IIRC, it was roughly $4,000 for a group under 100 lives. Makes sense, but it's expensive for a 10 life group unless you have a program rental in-house.