Questions employers ask us.
If yours isn’t here, call (920) 243-4006 and ask it.
What does a benefits administrator actually do?
Everything that happens after the plan is chosen: enrollment, eligibility maintenance, carrier coordination, premium billing and reconciliation, COBRA, ACA reporting, and employee support.
What kinds of plans do you administer?
Fully insured and level-funded group plans, across medical, dental, vision, life and disability. Level-funded is our specialty — a fixed monthly cost, your own claims experience rather than a pool you will never see a report on, stop-loss so a bad claims month doesn’t land on your cash flow, and a share of the surplus back in a good year. If you are fully insured today and have never been shown your own claims data, that is worth a conversation. How level-funded works ›
What is a level-funded plan?
You pay a fixed amount every month, the way you would with a fully insured plan. That amount covers expected claims, administration, and stop-loss insurance. If your group’s claims come in under what was funded, you may get a share of the surplus back at the end of the plan year. If claims run high, stop-loss absorbs it and your monthly cost doesn’t move mid-year. The practical difference from fully insured is that you can see your own claims experience instead of being rated on a pool you’ll never get a report on.
Do we have to change brokers?
No. Plenty of our groups come to us through their broker and stay that way — we agree up front who owns the relationship and how commission is handled, in writing. We are also a licensed agency, so if you would rather have one team place the coverage and administer it, we can do that too. Your call, not ours.
Do you sell the insurance as well as administer it?
Yes. Benefi is a licensed agency and a managing general agent, and our National Sales Director is licensed in 22 states. We can quote and place your group coverage, administer it, or both. Most employers find the second part is where the value is — but having the same team on both means the plan you were sold and the plan that gets administered are the same plan.
How is this priced?
Typically per employee per month, based on which services you use and how many lines of coverage you have. We’ll quote a specific number after we see your plans and census. Ask us anything about the pricing before you commit — surprise fees are a bad way to start a relationship.
How long does implementation take?
Most groups are fully live within about six weeks.
Can we switch mid-year?
Yes, and it’s common. You don’t need to wait for renewal.
How much notice do we need before renewal?
Carriers typically release renewals 60 to 90 days out, depending on when the carrier releases them. That window is enough to evaluate alternatives and implement cleanly — but it’s tight, so earlier is better.
We’re small. Are we too small?
Probably not. Smaller employers often need this more, because there’s no benefits specialist on staff — it’s whoever also does payroll and hiring.
Will our employees have to learn a new system?
They’ll enroll in one system instead of on paper. Most tell us it’s simpler. And they can always call us instead.
What states do you operate in?
We can help an employer in any state where we’re licensed — 22 of them: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you’re somewhere else, ask — we add states when a client needs one.
What happens if something goes wrong?
You call us and a person answers. If we made the mistake, we fix it and tell you what happened. That’s the whole differentiator.