“We should have got ahead of it by about 90 days.” How benefits agencies keep renewals from sneaking up on them.

Why do renewals sneak up on agencies?

Renewals sneak up because they arrive on the carrier’s schedule while the client’s business keeps moving. The carrier sends the renewal 60 or 90 days out. Then the client hires people, loses people, or changes their mind, and every change eats into that window.

I had a customer with a March 1 effective date. We were talking in late January and early February, and everything was set, until he hired three more people he wanted to be eligible. We moved the effective date to April 1. Those employees took so long on their decisions that we moved it again, to May 1. We should have got ahead of it by about 90 days, but instead it was about 30.

Good problems to have. Three new employees meant three new families we could help. Problems nonetheless.

What do most agencies try first?

Most agencies track renewals in a calendar or a spreadsheet, with a reminder set when the carrier’s renewal lands. That covers the date. It doesn’t cover the work that has to happen before it: new hires, census changes, and the client’s decisions.

A calendar reminder also can’t tell you which renewals are running behind.

Why start the renewal the day it arrives?

Start the renewal the day it arrives because the client needs every day of that window to make a real decision. We send it to the client first, whether it came 90 days out or 60.

There’s a second reason. Some brokers who can’t negotiate an increase any lower wait until the last minute to show it to their client. By then there’s no time to switch, and no other broker gets the chance to do better. Sending it the day it arrives keeps the decision with the client.

Wanna fix it?

Renewals sneaking up get fixed with one list of every renewal date in the book, reminders that start 90 days out, a check for anything that changes eligibility, and a person who sends each renewal to the client the day it arrives.

1. Put every renewal date in one list. Client, carrier, effective date, and who owns it.
2. Start reminders at 90 days. The account manager gets a note to call the client and ask what’s changed.
3. Ask about hires before the renewal arrives. New employees, departures, and anyone who needs to be eligible on day one.
4. Log when the carrier’s renewal lands. The reminder changes to “send it today.”
5. Flag anything running late. A renewal with no client decision 30 days out goes to the top of the list.

What would it look like once it’s running?

Once it’s running, the account manager starts each week with a short list: renewals at 90 days, renewals that just arrived from the carrier, and renewals running late. Each one has a next step. The reminders are automatic. The calls and the advice stay with people.

I haven’t built this for a benefits client yet. My enrollment platform already has a renewal button that copies last year’s plans into a new draft group, where a person enters the new rates. That handles the end of renewal season. The reminders handle the start.

Can you do this yourself?

Yes. A spreadsheet with client, carrier, effective date, the date the renewal arrived, and the date the client decided covers it. Sort it by effective date every Monday, and set a calendar reminder 90 days before each one.

It stops working the first Monday nobody sorts it. A dozen groups, keep the spreadsheet. A full book with renewals every month, let the system send the reminders so nobody has to remember to look.

Quick answers

What is renewal tracking?

Keeping every client’s renewal date in one place and starting the work early.

When do carriers send renewals?

Often 60 or 90 days before the effective date.

When should an agency send the renewal to the client?

The day it arrives, with a client check in 90 days before the effective date.

What pushes an effective date back?

Late changes, like new hires who need to be eligible and take a while to decide.

What goes in an insurance renewal reminder?

The client, the effective date, the days left, and the next step.

Has DoBetter built this?

Not yet. Chris Cordon would build it around a 90 day reminder and a “send it today” rule.