How to choose an employee benefits broker in Michigan.
Most employers choose a benefits broker the way they chose the last one: a referral, a familiar name, or whoever answered first. The decision deserves more care than that, because the broker shapes what you are shown at every renewal, what gets questioned, and how much of the work stays with HR.
This is the process we would want an employer to run on us. It is written for middle-market employers, where the plan is large enough that claims experience, funding choice and compliance all carry real weight. Already have a renewal in hand? Send it to us for a second opinion before you decide anything.
Six things that separate one broker from another.
Price is not on this list. A broker does not set your premium; what the broker does is change what the carrier asks for, and that depends on these six things.
Who actually does the work
Ask who will be on your account day to day, not who is at the pitch. The person who sells and the people who service are often different. For proper coverage of an account we work in teams of 5: an account executive, an account manager, a plan analyst, customer service and IT.
How the broker is paid
Commission, fee or both. Neither is automatically better, but you should see it in writing. For plans covered by ERISA, brokers and consultants are now required to disclose their compensation to the plan fiduciary, so a broker who is vague about it is telling you something.
Independence
Ask who owns the broker and whether any carrier or national group has a stake in what it recommends. CFH has been independent since 2007, and no carrier or national group owns us.
What happens between renewals
Some brokers appear in the sixty days before the renewal and disappear. Ask what happens in the other ten months: claims and utilization review, plan design, mid-year market checks and the compliance calendar.
Depth on funding
Ask the broker to explain fully insured, level-funded and self-funded options in terms of your own group, including who carries the risk and what changes if claims run high. A broker who can only explain the option it places most often is not advising you on funding.
Specialists on call
Benefits questions turn into compliance, tax and legal questions quickly. Ask who the broker brings in. Our clients have access to CPAs and attorneys through the firm.
Six things to ask every broker you interview.
Ask each firm the same questions and the same order, and ask for specifics. A broker working renewals can describe one in detail; a broker reciting a pitch cannot.
Ask for the team, by role
Names and roles, not a general promise of “a dedicated team.” Ask who handles a billing error, who reads the carrier’s renewal, and who is in the room when the plan is reviewed.
Ask for a renewal they pushed back on
What the carrier first asked for, what the broker questioned, and what changed. A specific story tells you far more than a claim of average savings.
Ask how they test the market
Every year, every few years, or only when the renewal is bad. And how they choose which carriers to approach for your group, and why.
Ask what you will receive, and when
A written renewal analysis, a compliance calendar, a plan performance review. If it has no date attached, it is an intention rather than a deliverable.
Ask for a reference of similar size
A client with a comparable plan and a comparable workforce can tell you what the first year was like, which no pitch deck will.
Ask what they would not do
A good broker will tell you about a funding model that does not fit, a carrier switch that saves too little to be worth the disruption, or a rate outcome they cannot promise.
What we do, and who it is not for.
What we do
CFH Insurance Consultants is an independent employee benefits consulting firm for middle-market employers, based in Bloomfield Hills with offices in Colorado Springs and Houston. We run the program rather than place a policy: the renewal, the market check, the compliance calendar, enrollment and the questions that come up all year, with a chat bot available 24/7 for day-to-day questions.
Who it is not for
If you want a single quote and nothing after it, a transactional agent will fit better and we will say so. Our model is built for employers who want someone to work on the plan with them across years. See what we do and who we are.
The questions that come up before a switch.
Ten questions employers bring us when they are deciding whether and how to change brokers.
How many brokers should we talk to?
Three is usually enough. Fewer and you have nothing to compare; more and the process becomes a part-time job for HR. Send each the same documents, ask the same questions, and compare how each one responds as well as what each one proposes.
What should we send a broker so they can give us a real proposal?
The current renewal, the plan summaries or benefit guide, and a current census. For a self-funded or level-funded plan, add claims reports. A proposal built without those is a sales document, not an analysis.
How long does it take to change brokers?
Changing brokers does not change your plan or your carrier. It is typically a broker-of-record letter to the carrier, and the coverage stays as it is. Timing varies by carrier, so ask the new broker for a carrier-by-carrier timeline and never let a renewal wait on the paperwork.
Do we have to wait until our renewal to change?
Often not. Many employers change mid-year, subject to any agreement they have with the current broker, so read it first. The practical sweet spot is several months before the renewal, so the new broker has time to analyze it and test the market.
Is a larger national firm better for a larger employer?
Not automatically. What you receive is the people on your account, not the logo on the proposal. Compare the named team, how quickly requests are answered, and whether the firm will put its service commitments in writing.
How do we compare two proposals that look different?
Line them up on what each one assumes: the trend, any rate guarantee versus a projection, fees, what is included in service and who delivers it. Differences in the headline number often come from differences in the assumptions underneath.
Should we decide on price?
Not on price alone. A broker does not set the premium; the carrier does. What differs between brokers is what they question, how well they test the alternatives, and how much of the work they take off HR, so compare those.
What if our current broker is fine but not great?
Get a second opinion before you decide anything. Send the renewal to a firm that is not your current broker and see whether it finds anything the current one did not. If it does not, you have lost nothing and gained confidence.
What should be in writing before we sign?
The scope of services, the compensation disclosure, the named team and response expectations, the deliverables and their dates, and how either side can end the agreement. If a broker is reluctant to put these in writing, treat that as information.
How will we know the broker is doing the job?
Define it at the start: renewals questioned with a written rationale, compliance filings on time, requests answered within an agreed time, and a review after the first year. Without measures set in advance, the first sign of a problem is usually a bad renewal.
Ready? Upload your renewal, or talk it through with someone first. No cost, no obligation.
General information, not legal advice. Plan-specific legal questions belong with ERISA counsel, and we will bring them in.
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and what questions we’d be asking your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
Switch to CFH. Unhappy with your broker? Your employees won’t notice. You will. →