Employer-based health insurance in the United States is divided into markets based on the number of employees that work at a given company. These markets determine the kinds of health insurance products that employers can purchase for their employees, impose regulations on insurance companies that set standards for product and quality, and define how prices are set. The “Small Group” market refers to companies that employ less than 50 full-time employees in most states (100 employees in other states), and is often the most neglected segment of the health insurance market when it comes to solutions that improve experience and coverage options for employers.

Benefit Sculptor has developed an innovative solution to this problem with a  technology platform that gives plan advisors a business intelligence approach for evaluating and communicating health insurance options to small businesses.

The Spreadsheet Problem

Plan advisors that work with small businesses still rely on spreadsheets as their primary tool for organizing and presenting health insurance options to small businesses. Traditionally, before a plan advisor meets with small business owners to recommend health plan options for their employees, the advisor will begin a tedious activity of collecting health insurance “quotes” from several of the competing insurance companies in the employer’s area.

Insurance companies rely on these plan advisors to ensure that their products are quoted accurately and fairly, while employers depend on advisors to facilitate the process and help them make sense of options. To manage the back and forth of data, plan advisors have traditionally compiled health insurance quotes onto spreadsheets in order to make recommendations.

The problem with this approach is that even though plan advisors provide valuable market experience in coaching their employer clients, their ability to communicate information is constrained by cumbersome spreadsheets that cannot answer unexpected questions from employers in real-time, or provide a comprehensive overview of all products.

Until now, plan advisors have not had access to tools that allow them to adequately quote and analyze all product options in a seamless way, so they often present options from a smaller subset of popular market products.

This process leaves employers frustrated and confused – the information they receive is generally a market summary that fails to answer three basic questions in their mind:

Is this the best selection of health insurance choices?

Did my advisor overlook better options?

Will my employees be able to find a better deal with my competitor?

Most areas in the United States have over 100 plan options from multiple insurers. Unfortunately, most spreadsheets contain less than ten – a disparity that creates uncertainty for employers.

Plan decisions have a significant effect on the employer’s ability to competitively recruit and retain employees, and they also represent a significant line-item expense on the company’s budget for labor. Uncertainty creates stress, and when employers feel stress toward their health insurance offering, plan advisors are at risk of losing their client to a competitor that explains things better.

Benefit Sculptor Provides an Immense Competitive Advantage

Benefit Sculptor solves the spreadsheet problem by giving advisors a modern solution for communicating health insurance decisions. When advisors use Benefit Sculptor, they have access to every health insurance company and product offered in their client’s geographical area.

More than that, the unique dashboard allows them to visualize plan options using common data-visualizations such as plot graphs and bar-charts, and to evaluate options in a dynamic environment. In real-time they are able to apply filters, create comparables, and manipulate visuals to test strategies and product scenarios for recommendation. This enables both plan advisors and employers to answer questions about finance, provider access, and coverage levels, eliminating uncertainty and driving decision making.

Advisors who use Benefit Sculptor’s innovative technology are already seeing the difference it makes for their firm. For example, Chris Wolpert is a plan advisor in Washington. He has been using Benefit Sculptor for over a year to advise his small group employers – a decision that has saved him countless hours and resources.

“The task of quoting and comparing plans used to take hours, if not days and weeks, but is now done in a matter of minutes. The user-friendly nature of the data and ability to toggle settings allow us to review the options with key decision makers in real time,” Chris says. “Working with Benefit Sculpto has been a huge asset to our firm.”

By using Benefit Sculptor, plan advisors have a clear competitive advantage in the industry. Rather than continuing to use outdated methods that cost time, energy, and still deliver subpar results, advisors can now rely on a platform that speeds decision-making and provides a clear outlook. For plan advisors looking to maximize their abilities and generate impressive results for their clients, Benefit Sculptor is the answer.

To learn more about Benefit Sculptor, visit www.benefitsculptor.com.