TRBenefits | San Jose Group Health Insurance Broker

A group health broker can help a business sort through the wide range of insurance plans available out there, helping it choose one that suits its needs well, as well as fits the budget. While some employers may not need professional assistance, most others would probably be better off seeking professional guidance, as choosing the right plan may be a daunting process.

However, choosing a health broker or agent randomly may not cut it. You would need to be sure that the agent or broker you hire can actually help you make the right choice.

With that being said, here’s a rundown of some of the important factors you need to consider while choosing a group health broker or agent.

Asking for References

It’s important to find a reputable broker in order to make sure that you don’t run into unexpected problems later on. Asking for references from companies that are similar to you in terms of size and scope should definitely be an ideal start to the selection process.

Similarly, you can also call your state insurance commissioner’s consumer hotline, and inquire about the record of the broker you’re looking to hire. Also try to find out whether they have ever been sued by a client.

While you may not necessarily find all the information you need that way, it may surely help. Finally, you can also do a simple Google search on the broker’s name to check whether it brings up anything that helps you with your decision.

Analyzing Your Needs

Analyzing your company’s needs is crucial when it comes to choosing the right broker. This is especially true given that there doesn’t seem to be a particular standard in the industry, and the services may vary from one professional to another.

This makes it important analyze your company’s needs, as you would only be interested in the brokers who are experienced with the plans you’re considering to purchase. Similarly, when the broker comes up with their recommendations, you need to make sure whether certain plans aren’t included because they really weren’t right for the business or it was just because their provider doesn’t offer those plans.

Finally, if you’re a small business, you wouldn’t want to go with a broker that usually offers services to large businesses, and vice versa.

Single Account Manager or Multiple Representatives

You would also want to find out whether you would have a dedicated account manager. Having to deal with multiple representatives may sometimes get very annoying, especially if your group insurance needs tend to be different and you would need the assistance of a professional frequently.

On the other hand, however, an individual health insurance broker may not offer the same level of services as a dedicated account manager working for a large organization.

Handling of Renewals

Last but not the least is how the renewals are handled. It surely wouldn’t be a good experience if the professional comes up with the renewal notice just before it’s due. Ideally, you would want the renewal process to start 3 to 4 months before the renewal date, especially if you’re a large business.

You would need to have a meeting with the broker to discuss the goals for the year. Also, you need to review all the plan details before the renewal to make sure they remain relevant to your business’ needs and goals.

Call TRBenefits 408-290-3824 for all your business health insurance needs in San Jose

One of the most important decisions an employer has to take with regards to the group dental insurance coverage for their employees is choosing a group dental broker or agent. However, surprisingly, many employers don’t take this decision very seriously, relying on just a personal source or subjective recommendations, which usually lead to a wrong choice.

With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the important factors involved when it comes to choosing the right insurance broker for your business.

Type of Agent/Broker

One of the most important factors is the type of agent/broker to go with. When it comes to agents, there are usually two types, independent agents and the ones working as an employee for an insurance company.

The first type, as the name suggests, aren’t an employee of any particular insurance company, but usually an insurance agency, which typically has access to many different insurance providers. However, they may not have access to ALL insurance companies, though some of them may exaggerate on this front.

On the other hand, agents working for direct-writing insurance companies obviously have access to only the company they are working for. This means very limited choices when it comes to the insurance plans, and usually few to no alternatives if the plan doesn’t fit your needs.

An insurance broker, however, is a licensed insurance producer who isn’t allowed to sell insurance plans offered by a company that their agency has a contract with. The difference between an agent and a broker is quite technical, and usually agents may call themselves both an agent and a broker.

Many states have even done away with the distinction, calling both agents and brokers as insurance producers.

Evaluating the Knowledge

Choosing the right group dental broker or agent isn’t about finding the lowest price or a broker that you’re very familiar with. Making sure the broker is actually knowledgeable enough can be very challenging, especially given that the licensing requirements in most states require a bare minimum of insurance knowledge.

While asking for professional designations such as the CIC or CPCU may help, they cannot be considered absolute either. A professional designation other than such typical ones, however, is one of the few things that may help you get a fair idea of the broker’s insurance knowledge.

Finally, you may want to ask them to submit their resumes or CVs (to check whether they are just good salesman or experienced insurance producers too), as well as about the last insurance book he or she read or the seminar they attended.

A Detailed Written Proposal is Important

Although it may seem obvious, some employers still don’t bother ensuring that the proposal they receive from their broker is detailed enough, The written proposal should just not mention the cost, but all the other important details too, such as coverage, limits, sales, and rate, just to name a few.

Also, ask the broker to not just quote the coverage off your old dental insurance plan, but to come up with suggestions, alternatives and improvements.

A Look at the Different Plans Offered by Blue Cross

If you’re looking to become a group Blue Cross health insurance broker, one of the important things you need to know about are the different plan levels the company offers to businesses. This will help you understand whether the plans are fit for your potential clients or not.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at some important details about the plans offered by Blue Cross, a reputed insurance provider.

Small Business Group Health Insurance Plan Levels

Something really impressive about the small group health insurance plans offered by Blue Cross is that they are designed to meet different and specific needs of businesses. In order words, it means that businesses won’t have to settle for a plan that’s closest to what they wanted, but may be able to find something that fits the bill perfectly.

Similarly, the plans are also quite flexible, making them a perfect product for most small businesses.

Coming to the different plan levels, there are four of them, being explained below.

• Bronze: The bronze plans cost the least but obviously mean higher medical expenses.
• Silver: The silver plans are slightly better than the bronze plans in terms of covering expenses, but cost a bit more.
• Gold: Most gold plans may be ideal for many small businesses, as they offer a great value, thanks to lower medical expenses and not being too expensive
• Platinum: The platinum plans are the best in terms of covering medical expenses, but cost the most.

However, a great advantage about these plans is that they come with the same types of health benefits and quality and amount of care. The only thing that differs is the coverage amount and medical expenses (besides the cost, of course).

This makes them great for a small business on a tight budget, as it can simply go with a bronze plan and still provide its employees with a great quality of care and many benefits, though the medical expenses taken care of by the plan will be less.

Another important point to note that Blue Cross provides the clients a broker refers to them with some useful information such as the things covered and not covered under the plan, exclusions and information about cost-sharing, as well as some coverage examples to make it very easy to understand for even those not familiar with how insurance plans work.

Wide Range of Plans for Large Businesses

Blue Cross believes that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to large businesses. Perhaps that’s the reason it offers a really wide range of different group health insurance plans to large businesses.

It tries to offer unique solutions to every business, helping them achieve the balance they are looking for in terms of being generous with offering benefits and managing the budget.

Some of the important plans Blue Cross offers to large businesses include:

• Medical plans: Besides the usual traditional medical plans, Blue Cross also offers wellness plans or plans that allow you to pair them with health spending accounts
• Drug coverage: This is basically to minimize the costs through management programs
• Dental plans: The employees will be able to choose from many different types of networks, as well as even the copay levels and deductibles

Vision plans: These are unique offerings of Blue Cross that they offer with the help of their “vision care” partner to offer both convenience and savings.

Call TrBenefits Insurance services today: 408-290-3824