POT #1 - Full Outsourcing or Co-sourcing of Form 5500 (and Related Forms) Preparation that is customized to Your Firm’s Needs

Clients required that are to file the DOL Form 5500 filing often rely on their benefits advisors preparation assistance.  They also often look to advisors to prepare the required plan documentation known commonly as "wrap plan documents" which memorialize the plan sponsors intentions, protects them legally and reduces Form 5500 filing requirements to a single filing.  Both require specialized domain knowledge and administrative process efficiencies that when taken in-house, can burden an advisors staff, or subject them to unwanted legal risks.   ABV is a 15 year old compliance outsourcing firm, staffed with former brokers, consultants and accounting professionals who are dedicated to Form 5500 consulting and preparation, including delinquent filing options.  They also offer ERISA compliant wrap plan documentation services in conjunction with ERISA attorneys.  Under their full outsourcing model, this outsourcer interfaces directly with the client and / or insurance carriers for data collection, carries the full DOL filing responsibility and does the final delivery to the client. Under their less costly co-sourcing model, the client advisory firm runs client interference and shares responsibility for the collection of required carrier and participant data collections; ABV completes the 5500 and transmits the filings with DOL

PO #2 - Outsourced Employee Benefit Call Center and Backroom Support Services for Agencies

Clients rely on their brokers to handle HR and / or direct employee questions about employee benefit plans thereby requiring agencies to either specifically staff for this need or utilize valuable producer hours to respond to such queries. This consultancy provides an outsourced benefit call center team (average of 16 years’ experience) to improve the agencies group benefits and / or individual policy customer service. Services are available a la carte to build a solution to fits specific agency needs and can include employee answering employee eligibility and benefit coverage questions, maintaining the agency’s electronic client-by-client  book-of-business management system, obtaining quotes for client-desired  coverages, paper processing and more.  Results can include an increase in available selling time, a reduction in number of errors and an increase in agency administrative efficiency.

PO # 3 - Outsourced Employee Membership Processing for Paper-Based or Electronic Annual and Ongoing Enrollments and Other Membership Changes

Employers that do not have electronic enrollment capabilities or those having only a front-end-only, on line enrollment capability can saddled the broker with the administrative nightmare of handling all of the backroom carrier / vendor processing. This outsourcing vendor supports enrollments changes by receiving employee election information, getting employee elections to carriers and other vendors (e.g. COBRA, HSA, Payroll, etc.) and assuring all changes are processed.  The service is supported by a call center to answer membership questions and eligibility reports are included.  Optionally, common billing reports can be made available to show one consolidated bill (See Item PO #4 below) for all employee benefits across all insurance carriers.

PO # 4 – Outsourced Employee Benefit Plan Insurance Carrier Premium Adjudication and Consolidated Billing Services

Clients having multiple health and welfare benefit plans may request that the agency manage multiple carrier invoices in order for the client to see the entire cost and benefits picture company-wide.  This billing consolidation service processes membership changes across all carriers/ plans, verifies that changes have been made on the monthly bill and then produces an accurate consolidated monthly bill that shows adjustments and benefit costs broken down by employee. Employment status changes are monitored for each carrier to assure that the proper premium adjustments have been made. Optional services include sending out COBRA Notices, invoices by family status and 834 transactions to carriers

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PO #5 – Competitively Priced Backroom Actuarial and Underwriting Support

Benefits advisors may from time-to-time need actuarial and underwriting support and may rely on the more expensive and more brand name firms to provide this support. This regional to national level actuarial firm specializes in servicing benefits advisories on a backroom and / or client-facing basis in conjunction with the client advisor. Services include calculating self-funded plan budget rates or calculating actuarially certified COBRA rates, determining Incurred but Not Reported (IBNR) health care or LTD claim reserves, evaluating Rx discounts, assessing the impact of plan design changes, etc., Because they do not have the overhead of the more brand name firm s, services are provided at competitive rates to the agency V1.0 7-11-14

PO # 6 – Local -to-Nationwide Voluntary Benefits Program Outsourced Enrollment Service

Benefit advisory firms may sell an employee voluntary / elective benefits program and lack the ability to conduct enrollments in an optimal manner so as to maximize employee participation. This vendor provides a group of low cost, salaried enrollers and has the ability to do business in all 50 states. A variety of enrollment platforms including face-to-face employee processes, call centers and web-based applications can be used. They develop the enrollment strategy in concert with the benefit advisor in order to meet the needs of the client’s workforce and match the employee demographics. The entire process is carefully and thoroughly managed by the vendor regardless of platforms utilized.

PO # 7 - Outsourced Recruitment for the Agency’s New Sales Associates

Agencies can spend untold hours looking for new sales agents that are the right cultural fit, have the requisite drive for an NBD effort, possess the correct mix of sales and technical skills, are not encumbered by non-competes, etc. This consultancy……  

Note: HR Mining is currently in discussiosn with this vendor 

PO # 8 – Outsourced Agency Sales Management Function

Agencies may struggle with identifying who within the current sales function has the skills to oversee and manage the sales benefits force and in some cases, no such person may exist within the agency overall or at a particular office location.  This consultancy……

Note: HR Mining is currently in discussiosn with this vendor