Most benefit brokers know their key customers: the employer/owner, CFO or HR officer (the "decision-makers"), depending on the size of the account. And as they have become more involved with voluntary sales, benefit brokers have discovered that employees remain an equally important part of the customer chain. This has been a difficult lesson for some traditional brokers since they've had to learn how to market to employees and they have discovered that voluntary enrollment is a sales process rather than an implementation/fulfillment task. But taking care of the employer/HR officer and marketing successfully to employees isn't the whole story. There's someone else in each account that you need to take care of and know by name.
The person who manages the actual deductions and reconciles them against the bill is known as the plan administrator. This is the person who can control the success or failure of your voluntary efforts. The PA may interact with employees regarding the deductions, increasing or decreasing contributions as needed. The PA may work with the carrier on billing discrepancies and changes. And the PA has an important ability to influence another of your other key constituencies: the benefit decision-makers.
PAs can have a variety of titles, from payroll clerk to benefit manager, and they may be located in payroll, HR or accounting. Progressive carriers know who they are, and do customer research on these client PAs. They are often the ones who recognize problems first and usually bear the brunt of mistakes or poor administrative processes. They are at the heart of the day-to-day voluntary mechanism, far more than decision-makers or employees. Most companies provide an administrator's manual; some companies make scheduled phone calls to their PAs, while others send them annual thank you gifts. Because PAs are rarely senior staff, there may be turnover in the position that you might not regularly hear about. A new PA needs training and cultivation just like the original one. You need to find them, train them, and stay in touch with them.
When we ask decision-makers who have shut down a voluntary offering, why they did so, three reasons stand out: low participation, claims and billing problems. Low participation is usually a function of a failed enrollment strategy and a decision-maker often initiates the cancellation. Sometimes, access to employees (working conditions) can't be controlled. Claims problems are sometimes difficult to manage. But using the right carriers and TPAs can control billing problems. Billing problems are deadly in voluntary and the PA usually initiates the complaints. And those complaints go straight to the decision-maker.
As you can see, billing and administrative competence are keys to customer satisfaction and account retention. Roughly 82 percent of employers consider billing, technical, and administrative support as "important" or "very important" in choosing a carrier. They rely on you to screen the field. The carriers and TPAs you choose reflect on your professionalism and are important determinants of your ultimate success with voluntary coverages.
Take care of all of your customers, including the decision-makers and employees. But don't forget the PA and be sure to represent a quality carrier/TPA.
Key questions you should know the answer to, before you represent a specific carrier or TPA:
- Do underwriting practices complicate billing due to pended applications?
- Are accounts and individuals underwritten quickly?
- Are policies and certs issued quickly with a minimum of premium adjustments?
- Can the PA adjust the current bill to reflect changes before paying or do they have to pay the billed amount?
- How does the reconciliation process work?
- Does the carrier have billing clerks ready to work with the PA when there are problems?
- How is the PA notified of carrier-initiated deduction changes?
- Does the carrier offer a full range of payroll cycle options and due dates?
