Last week I started a series of Blogs on The Headache of Enrolling an Employee Late. I wanted to remind everyone how important it is to ensure that employees are added to the Employee Benefit Program within 30 days of the end of the Waiting Period. The below is an article out of “Smallbiz Advisor“:
The Headache of Late Applicants
BY Joe Demelo, TRG Benefits Group | February 26, 2013
Does it really matter when benefits plan forms are completed and sent to the insurance company?
The short answer is yes—and not just to make life difficult for clients and employees.
Avoiding Anti-Selection
The reason for this, in simplest terms, is that if employees were given the option to join a plan whenever it suited them, it goes to reason they may only join the plan when the need arose or they had claims. This selection against the carrier is a disadvantage not only to the insurance company but to all in the group plan. The end result is the potential to leave few non-claimers paying premiums, and a plan filled with only those using the plan. So more claims with fewer premiums, leading to increased insurance costs and less plan sustainability for all.
Avoid the pitfalls of late applicants, timing matters and being aware will help mitigate potential issues even the possibility of declined coverage.
Contact us to review your Waiting Period and the processes you use to ensure employees are added in a timely manner.