When business owners start searching for benefits brokers, many are (rightfully) focused on cost. They see their healthcare costs rising every year with no improvement in the quality of their benefits, and, desperate to save money, they decide to work with a broker who charges less for their services than competing advisers. This decision may seem financially wise in the short-term, but over time, this choice can result in missed opportunities to save money.
If you want to achieve significant savings on your benefits plan, here’s why you should look beyond your adviser’s sticker price:
More For Your Money
Benefits brokers are traditionally viewed as a necessity rather than an opportunity. Most business owners’ interactions with brokers are limited, meeting with them only when it’s time to renew their plan and signing yet another expensive contract.
Your adviser can offer you so much more than traditional brokers would have you believe. Rather than acting as a bare-bones middle-man between you and your insurance company, a great adviser can work with you to provide:
- Employee education – Your adviser can help teach your employees how to use their benefits plant to maximize their quality of care while minimizing costs to them and you.
- Supply chain management – By analyzing the healthcare supply chain at every level, your adviser can find every available opportunity to create savings for you.
- Year-round support – Your interactions with a benefits adviser don’t stop once your contract is renewed. Instead, they work with you throughout the year to adjust your plan based on the changes in your business.
A great benefits adviser may charge more than traditional brokers, but those costs will likely reflect the valuable services they offer.
Price vs. Cost
Imagine that you find and decide to work with an adviser whose sticker price is four times as high as their competitors’. You elect to work with the more “expensive” adviser, while another company in your industry selects the “less expensive” broker. Your adviser gets to know your business inside and out, strategizing with your C-suite to identify your company’s needs and examining the areas in which you may be overpaying for healthcare goods and services. They help you create direct savings, which are then funneled back into the company to help purchase new equipment and increase employee wages. Your production increases, and your employees (who are now paid more, receive better care, and feel valued by their employer) are happier at work, decreasing your turnover rates.
Your competitor, on the other hand, finds that their savings don’t go beyond what they’re paying their broker. They and their employees continue to pay more for their benefits plan year after year. They retain surface-level interactions with their broker, who continues to provide surface-level services. Funds that could have been spent on their employees or other areas of their business are instead spent on overinflated healthcare prices, and their frustrated workers start searching for other employers who could offer them better compensation for their expertise.
By looking beyond the sticker price of your adviser, you can create a chain of positive impacts that radiate throughout your business for years to come.
Service That Pays For Itself
As you meet with brokers and advisers to discuss prices and services, consider not only the services they offer, but also if the amount they save you could be even greater than what they charge. Your adviser should be working with your best interests in mind, and they should assure you of their intentions with a performance guarantee. If your savings potential aligns with their earning potential, you can remain sure that they’ll be doing everything possible to search for opportunities to save you money.
The savings you acquire from a great adviser can go beyond justifying their cost – they can essentially pay for the adviser’s services on their own. The initial price tag can encompass a variety of tools and expertise that can create savings that other brokers wouldn’t even bother to look for.
A Cost That Creates Savings
Like your plan itself, your benefits adviser shouldn’t be treated as a one-off expense. Your adviser is an investment for your business, and spending a bit more to choose the right one can lead to better service, better savings, and a better overall business. Don’t let high adviser charges steer you toward lower-quality broker services – your company deserves the very best.
Contact me today to learn more about how investing more into a great adviser can help your business grow.
