Open Enrollment
Pre-Renewal Plan Review
The most important open enrollment decision happens before employees ever see their options, when you review your current plans, evaluate alternatives, and decide what to offer for the coming year. Pre-renewal review should happen in August or September, before the renewal deadline locks in rates and options.
Coverage Principle
Pre-Renewal Plan Review should be reviewed against real exposure, not assumed from the coverage label.
The real issue is not whether the coverage exists; it is whether the limits, exclusions, eligibility rules, definitions, contracts, people, property, timing, and carrier requirements match how the risk actually shows up. When those details are not reviewed before renewal or enrollment, a policy can look complete on paper while the most important conditions remain unclear until someone tries to use it.
Open Enrollment
What You Need to Know About Pre-Renewal Plan Review
Rate Analysis
Your current carrier's renewal rate increase is one data point, not a decision. The right response to a 15% renewal increase is to go to market and get competitive quotes, not to automatically accept, and not to automatically switch. The analysis determines which is right.
Plan Design Review
Beyond rates, the annual review examines whether the current plan design still fits your workforce. Changes in employee demographics, utilization patterns, and competitive benchmarks may warrant adjusting deductibles, copays, or plan types.
Benchmark Against Market
Understanding what comparable employers in ND and MN are offering, and at what cost, gives you a reference point for evaluating your benefits competitiveness. Employers who don't benchmark periodically often discover they've drifted out of market without realizing it.