Your Insurance Broker: It's someone who can help put together group benefits for you. But do you know what to really look for in a broker? This week we will focus on five tips and questions to ask when it comes to finding the right broker for YOU, as well as what to look for in the answers they provide!

1. What is your professional background with group benefits, specifically experience in the field and continued education to remain current with market trends?
   1. You want to ensure the majority of their time is spent on group benefits and not being a jack of all trades and doing commercial, individual, home and auto etc. You also would like them to have designations specific to group benefits as well.
2. Do you deal with all insurance carriers to ensure market studies give the client all options available to them? If not, why?
   1. Some brokers place the majority of their business with one or two carriers to optimize their compensation through carrier bonus programs. This isn’t in the best interest of the client, especially when you will need to market their plan.
   2. Doing business with the majority of carriers keeps you informed on the products and services of each one to place the client with the carrier best suited to their needs, not just the lowest price.
3. How often can I expect you to inform me on our claims experience?
   1. Depending on the client’s wish, you should expect to meet at least once a quarter to review the plan’s claims experience. Surprises at renewal time isn’t in the best interest of the client or the advisor.
4. How do you get compensated?
   1. Full disclosure on commission should be discussed for transparency. The company should know commissions are included in the rates and there should be value provided by your services.
5. What should I expect at the renewal?
   1. The renewal process should be explained before the group’s effective date, not at the renewal time. Employees should be educated on what will happen to the rates if the claims experience is higher than the target loss ratio.

Belmont Health & Wealth has a team of qualified advisors who can answer these questions for you, and more. Call today and let’s get started!