Dental, vision, life and disability are priced off a card, so the saving comes from the shopping.
Inside a size bracket the carrier works from published rates. Nobody is building a number for you, which changes what a broker can honestly do.
A card rate is a starting point, not a bargaining position.
The levers are different from medical, and so is the work.
Rates by Size Bracket
Carriers price these lines off rate cards for ranges of group size. Two groups in the same bracket with the same plan design are quoted close to the same rate.
What Does Move the Price
Plan design, the rate guarantee period, participation, and whether the lines sit with one carrier. Those are the levers. Arguing the rate is not one of them.
Rate Guarantees
A longer guarantee can trade a lower starting rate for a commitment. We show the guarantee beside the rate so the two are never compared apart.
We shop it, and we say what the shopping found.
The work is comparison, done carefully.
A Like-for-Like Comparison
Same benefit levels, same waiting periods and exclusions, same census, so a lower rate is lower for the same coverage.
The Bundle Question
Bundling can lower rates and can raise them. We price it both ways and show you the difference before you decide.
The Fine Print
Waiting periods, benefit maximums and the definition of disability matter more than a small difference in rate.
A smaller job than medical, and often a quicker one.
Which makes it a sensible place to start.
Timing
Ancillary quotes usually return faster than medical, so they can be run early in the process.
Who It Touches
Employees feel a change in dental or vision network or the disability definition directly. We check network disruption before recommending a move.
When We Leave It Alone
If the rate is competitive and the plan is right, we will tell you to leave it. Shopping for its own sake is not a service.
Questions that come up.
Short answers to the questions we hear most. Each links to the full page.
Why are dental, vision, life, and disability shopped instead of negotiated?
Carriers price these lines from rate cards by group size, so groups in the same bracket with the same plan design get similar quotes. The savings come from comparing options, not from negotiating the rate.
What affects the price of our ancillary coverage?
Plan design, the rate guarantee period, participation, and whether lines are placed with one carrier all affect price. The rate guarantee should be read alongside the starting rate rather than judged on the first number alone.
How do you compare ancillary quotes for us?
We compare like-for-like coverage, price bundled and unbundled options, and weigh waiting periods, benefit maximums, and disability definitions above small rate differences. We also check for network disruption before recommending a change, and we say so when your current arrangement is competitive.
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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