Advisors, employers and benefitsadministrators want to provide a benefits package that will attracttalent and provide a financial safety net to employees. They alsowant employees to have the coverage they signed up for when theyfile a claim. But it can be challenging for an employerself-administering its own benefits plan, particularly enrollingemployees and tracking eligibility criteria throughout the year.Has an employee ever filed a claim only to learn they're notcovered because of an eligibility issue? Maybe their schedulechanged and they didn't work enough hours to qualify for coverage,but premiums kept coming out of their paycheck?

Employers should remember that if the answer is yes, they arenot alone. As an insurance provider, we see common administrativepitfalls that employers have faced, causing surprises for theiremployees at claims time. No one wants this to happen, especiallywhen the employee is already going through life changes due toinjury, illness, a new baby, or the death of a loved one.

We mapped out common triggers for problems, such as missingdocumentation or changes in eligibility, and created tips to helpemployers avoid these mistakes, which are included below. Manyrevolve around evidence of insurability (EOI) or staying ontop of eligibility criteria. In our poll, we found that 78 percentof employers said it is challenging to stay on top of eligibilityrequirements throughout the year, and 53 percent have seen anemployee experience an unexpected lack of coverage upon filing aclaim.