Building the Right Benefits Plan for Your Company in Wilmington, MA
If your company in Wilmington, MA, has full-time non-exempt employees, you must provide them with benefits packages. For Wilmington employers who have never had salaried workers before, this experience can be stressful. Here's how an employee benefits broker can help your Middlesex County company navigate this situation.
Why Should You Work with an Employee Benefits Broker?
Employee benefits brokers can help you understand your business's benefits package from an outsider's perspective. For example, if you're a long-time business owner in one of the commercial districts off Main Street, you might not pay much attention to your benefits packages anymore. Talking to a broker for employee benefits insurance in Wilmington, MA, can help you see unfair policies or gaps in your coverage.
Manufacturing makes up the bulk of Wilmington's economy, and this sector requires a lot of capital to maintain a healthy cash flow. Thankfully, working with an employee benefits broker helps you save money no matter your industry. Your broker helps you identify areas where you're overpaying for coverage your employees don't need, such as unused pharmaceutical services. He or she also works with your insurance provider to negotiate long-term payment deals.
If you have employee benefits insurance in Wilmington, MA, your broker can explain cost-saving trends such as switching your benefits to self-insured plans. With this model, your human resources team, accountants, and employee benefits broker work together to run all your insurance programs. Self-insured health plans are much more flexible than those run by third parties, and they usually save you money. Before choosing this option, make sure that you have team members who are knowledgeable about HIPAA concerns and that you're financially stable.
Finally, your employee benefits broker doesn't just help you plan your benefits package; he or she also helps you make it a reality by recommending the right software. Human resource management systems help your HR team oversee insurance claims and new employee paperwork, while human resource information systems help them communicate with your insurance provider and employees. Using HRMS and HRIS efficiently is key to running a fair program for employee benefits insurance in Wilmington, MA, and your broker makes sure that you do so.
How Do You Choose Your Employees' Benefits?
If it's been a while since you evaluated your employee benefits, your broker starts by explaining what changes are required by law. You must be aware of both federal and Massachusetts state laws, including the Affordable Care Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code. These laws govern the kinds of insurance that you offer, the frequency of your communication with employees, and the way in which you report insurance claims. Your broker can guide you through legal changes and ensure that your paperwork's language meets all requirements.
Next, talk to your broker about whether you want to offer optional benefits packages. Dental and vision insurance are popular forms of supplemental coverage, and hospital indemnity coverage helps your employees if they must stay in the hospital for a while. Telehealth plans are increasingly popular as more employees work from home, and accident coverage serves as a supplement to or replacement for workers' compensation insurance.
You can also offer voluntary benefits unrelated to your employees' health. Consider working with your employee benefits broker to get discounted rates on travel coverage, home insurance, pet care, and auto insurance.