Some renewals are better defended than marketed.
A file carrying a live high-cost claim can be re-underwritten by a competitor who has not already absorbed it. When that is your situation, we say so in writing.
Four things that make holding the better call.
None of them is a reason to stop looking. Each is a reason to look at the right thing.
A Live High-Cost Claim
The incumbent has already priced the claim into your year. A new carrier sees it for the first time, with every reason to load the rate for it.
A Renewal Built From Your Own Experience
When the number is mostly your own year priced back to you, a competitor underwrites the same claims the incumbent just saw.
A Rate Already Filed and Approved
In the smallest groups the rate is set before your year begins and there is no one to negotiate it with. Shopping changes which book you are in, not the price of the book.
A Plan Year Close to Ending
A market test takes weeks. Started late, it forces a choice between a number nobody tested and a transition nobody planned.
Holding is a recommendation with work behind it.
We would rather defend a judgment than produce a quote nobody needed.
A Written Recommendation
We state that we advise holding, why, and what would change our mind. You can disagree with it, but you will not be guessing at it.
The Carrier’s Build-Up, Read Line by Line
Trend, pooling and the treatment of large claims are examined for anything that should not be there. This is where holding earns its keep.
A Date to Look Again
Holding is not permanent. We name the event, such as a large claim running off, that reopens the question.
A quote nobody needed still costs something.
The expense is rarely the quote itself.
Your Claims in Front of Another Underwriter
Each submission puts your claims experience in front of one more carrier. Do it when there is a reason to.
Your Own Time
Quote requests, questions and meetings land on HR. We would rather spend that time where it moves the number.
A Move for a Marginal Difference
Changing carriers for a small gap trades a known plan for new ID cards, networks and a first-year learning curve.
Questions that come up.
Short answers to the questions we hear most. Each links to the full page.
When is holding a renewal better than shopping it?
Holding can be the better answer with a live high-cost claim, a renewal built from your own experience, a rate already filed and approved, or a plan year close to ending. None is a reason to stop looking, only to look at the right thing.
What do you do when you recommend not marketing a renewal?
We state the recommendation in writing, explain why, and say what would change our mind. We read the carrier’s build-up line by line, checking trend, pooling, and large-claim treatment, and we name an event, such as a large claim running off, that would reopen the question.
What does it cost to shop a renewal that did not need it?
Each submission puts your claims experience in front of another underwriter, your HR team spends time on requests and meetings, and a switch for a marginal difference trades a known plan for new ID cards, networks, and a first-year learning curve.
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.
Switch to CFH. Unhappy with your broker? Your employees won’t notice. You will. →
Cookies on This Site
We use cookies to keep the site working properly and to understand how it is used. You can decline anything that is not essential. See our Privacy Policy for the detail.
- Essential — needed for the site to load and for you to move around it. These cannot be switched off.
- Analytics — tell us which pages get read, so we know what is worth writing more of.
- Advertising — set by third parties such as ad and social platforms to measure and target campaigns.