Congrats! You made it through a successful Open Enrollment season! You worked so hard the last few months choosing the right plans for your clients and their employees. And while the tough stuff may be out of the way (for now), the job’s not quite done yet.
Now that your clients have their 2023 plans determined and administered, they now must ensure everything is running smoothly for their employees after Open Enrollment. As a broker, it’s important to ensure you’re taking this time to double-check that your clients have everything they need to help their employees manage their new or renewed plans.
Here is a list of some important Open Enrollment management tasks you should consider now that Open Enrollment season is over.
Top Steps to Set your Clients up for Success After Open Enrollment
- Aid in Communication
With new benefits comes lots of new questions. To get ahead, be sure your ongoing communications are prepped and ready to go for clients to use. This can include a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) or general email templates to help you quickly and efficiently respond to a range of topics. Additionally, ensure you have your clients’ summaries of employee benefits handy as well as any relevant plan documents, emails or helpful literature that can boost your communication efforts and solidify your commitment to always keeping your clients up-to-date and informed.
- Coordinate New ID Cards
Any change in benefits will likely mean new insurance ID cards for employees. The beginning of the year is always a great time to remind clients to check in with their employees to make sure they have received their new insurance ID cards and that all the information is listed correctly. Depending on any specific error, it could result in a delay of coverage or interruptions in service.
- Help Employers Set Up New Account Credentials
If a client or employee has elected benefits for the first time or if they have added new benefits to their existing plans, they may need to set up new login credentials on new account portals. Be prepared to help them with any questions they may have while creating their online accounts. A great way to prepare is to draft a quick “How-To” of the steps for each specific platform that can be shared quickly when requested.
- Remind Employers of Any Plan Requirements
Depending on the benefit plan and its specific features, you may need to remind employers of any annual requirements. For example, health insurers may require an annual physical health exam to be completed before a certain date within the year. Additionally, it’s best to remind employers of any deadlines to file taxes, new contribution limits for the year and any additional timelines that need to be met when planning their benefits.
- Doublecheck That Plans Are Billed Correctly
While it may be rare, there is always the off-chance that an employee’s new benefits may not be properly deducted from their paycheck. As a precaution, have employers doublecheck to make sure new plans are being billed and deducted correctly from their employees' paychecks so that any issues can be corrected early before any major corrections would need to be made.
- Encourage Employers to Utilize Convenience Features
You and your agency exist for one purpose: to make life easier for your clients and their employees. In addition to offering a comprehensive benefits package, remember to educate your clients on the various convenience features that come along with their plans. For example, automatic payments, mobile apps, health spending trackers and debit cards are all incredible features that can significantly reduce stress for employees who may already have a difficult time navigating their plans.
Open Enrollment Help and Service that Really Supports
You didn’t think we would forget about you, did you? While you’re ensuring your clients and their employees have what they need in the new year, Clarity Benefit Solutions will be here to help you every step of the way! Our Benefit Administration technology simplifies the entire employee benefits administration lifecycle with a platform that is highly configurable and designed to automate the entire HR, benefits, Open Enrollment management, and payroll process.
We can help you support your clients with our automated communication, decision support tools and compliance support. Plus, employees enjoy a wider range of plan choices with more cost-effective options, all while reducing confusion around benefits offerings. Not to mention our commitment to “service that really supports” with dedicated representatives that can help you with an array of employee benefit needs and Open Enrollment help throughout the new year.
Schedule a call with your Clarity rep to ensure you have everything you need to set your clients up for success!
