When the renewal is your own year priced back to you, shopping weakens.
A competitor underwrites the same claims the incumbent just saw. The work becomes the carrier’s own arithmetic, read line by line.
Same claims, roughly the same answer.
The question changes from who is cheaper to whether the math is right.
Your Year Priced Back to You
At this size most of the rate is built from your own experience, so another carrier tends to arrive in a similar place.
The Real Variable
What differs between carriers is margin, pooling, trend and the treatment of large claims, more than the claims themselves.
When Shopping Still Pays
A market test can still be right for network, service or terms. It is just not the first place to look for the number.
Where the number can be wrong.
These are the lines we ask about.
Trend Applied to a Claim That Will Not Recur
If a one-time claim is trended forward as though it were a pattern, the renewal carries a charge for something that will not happen again.
The Pooling Attachment Point
The level at which large claims are shared with the pool changes what you pay for them. We ask where it is set and whether it moved.
Margin and Administrative Charges
Retention and risk margin are separate lines. We read them as lines and ask what changed.
A negotiation conducted from the carrier’s own file.
Every challenge has a reason attached.
Questions in Writing
We send the carrier the specific lines we are challenging, with the reason for each.
A Reasoned Response
We compare what came back with what was asked and flag anything left unanswered.
A Decision You Can Defend
You see the original ask, the revised ask and why they differ.
Questions that come up.
Short answers to the questions we hear most. Each links to the full page.
Why does shopping a renewal work less well when the rate is mostly my own claims?
When most of the rate comes from your own claims, another carrier is underwriting the same claims your incumbent already reviewed, so quotes tend to land in a similar place. The more useful work is checking whether the carrier’s own math is right.
What do you look for when you read a carrier’s build-up line by line?
We examine trend applied to a one-time claim, the pooling attachment point where large claims shift to the pool, and the margin and administrative charges, including what changed in each. Any of these lines can be wrong, so each is worth questioning.
What do we receive when you challenge the carrier’s renewal?
We send the challenged lines to the carrier in writing, each with its reason, then compare the replies against the original questions and flag anything unanswered. You see the original request, the revised request, and the reasons for the difference.
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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