A quote is only comparable if every carrier priced the same people.
Before a single carrier is asked for a number, we fix the census and the plan list. Everything that follows is measured against that file.
Three things are frozen before any quote is requested.
A market test only means something if the differences it shows belong to the market.
Employee and Dependent Counts
Enrolled counts by tier, as of a stated date. A carrier that prices a different count is quoting a different group, and the gap between the two numbers is not the market’s doing.
Ages, ZIP Codes and Tiers
Rating factors travel with the file. Small changes in an age band or a ZIP code can move a rate, so every carrier receives the same fields in the same form.
The Plan List
The benefit designs being compared are chosen up front, including the plan that replicates your current one. Adding a plan halfway through resets the comparison.
A moving census makes every comparison unreliable.
Most bad market tests fail here, quietly, long before anyone looks at a rate.
The Quote That Looks Cheap
A lower number built on fewer enrolled contracts, or a younger file, is not a lower price. It answers a different question, and it comes back up when the carrier recounts at submission.
The Late Hire or Termination
People join and leave during a market test. We record the change, note the date, and tell every carrier at once, so nobody works from a version the others never saw.
The Number Sent Back
If a carrier’s figure rests on a count that differs from the held file, we return it and ask for it to be repriced. We do not average it in or footnote it.
The census is a short list, not a project.
Most of it already exists in your current invoice and enrollment records.
Enrolled Counts by Tier
From the current carrier invoice or your enrollment platform, as of a date we can name.
Ages and ZIP Codes
Needed for rating. We ask for them to price the plan and for nothing else.
A Named Effective Date
The date the census is frozen to, so everyone is pointing at the same moment.
Questions that come up.
Short answers to the questions we hear most. Each links to the full page.
Why do you fix the census before asking carriers for quotes?
A quote is only comparable if each carrier priced the same people. We fix the census and plan list first, so differences between quotes reflect the market, and all later comparison is measured against that file.
What happens if a carrier’s quote is based on a different count?
If a quote rests on a count that differs from the held file, we return it for repricing rather than averaging or footnoting it. A lower number built on fewer enrolled contracts or a younger file is not a real price drop.
What information do you need from us to hold the census?
We need enrolled counts by tier from your current carrier invoice or enrollment platform as of a nameable date, ages and ZIP codes for rating, and a named effective date to freeze the census to. Most of this already exists in your records.
Ready? Send us your renewal, or talk it through with someone first. No cost, no obligation.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Plan-specific questions belong with the plan documents, the carrier and counsel.
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
The renewal letter
Your current plan summary
Contribution split by tier
Enrolled counts by tier
Four documents — two more if your group is 50 or more. Nothing else; every extra one is a reason to postpone.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
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