Open enrollment is a high-stakes process, and your broker plays a critical role in how it goes. Before you kick off this year’s enrollment, make sure you’re asking the right questions.
1. How Many Carriers Did You Shop?
A captive agent works with one carrier. An independent broker can access dozens. If your broker is only presenting one or two options, ask why. In a competitive market, you should be seeing at least three to five competitive quotes.
2. What Changed From Last Year?
Carrier networks, drug formularies, and plan designs all change year to year. Your broker should proactively flag any meaningful changes from your current plan — including changes in network adequacy, benefits structure, or cost-sharing.
3. What Is the Carrier’s Renewal History?
Ask specifically about each proposed carrier’s renewal rate history with similar groups. Some carriers offer aggressive first-year pricing, then raise rates significantly at renewal. Knowing this ahead of time helps you evaluate true multi-year cost.
4. What Are You Available For Beyond Renewal?
Your broker should be reachable year-round — for employee questions, mid-year enrollment changes, billing disputes, and claims issues. If they only show up at renewal time, that’s a service gap worth knowing about before you sign.
5. How Will You Help Me Communicate This to Employees?
A broker who hands you a stack of carrier materials and walks away isn’t giving you full service. Ask whether they’ll provide plain-language benefit summaries, attend your employee meeting, or answer employee questions directly.
At Garden State Benefits
The answers to all five of these questions should be “yes, we do that.” We shop the full market, stay with you year-round, and support your employees directly — not just your HR department.
Reach out to Paul and get a second opinion on your current broker relationship before your next open enrollment.