As businesses grow and evolve, keeping employee information up to date becomes increasingly difficult, especially when it comes to group insurance. Employee information changes frequently, from new hires to job title changes, salary adjustments, and even employee terminations. Group insurance providers require up-to-date information to ensure that their coverage plans are accurate, which can be a daunting task for employers who have to manually update employee information. In this blog post, we’ll explore the difficulties of keeping employee information up to date in group insurance and the benefits of systems that can make this task easier.
One of the primary reasons why keeping employee enrollment information up to date is difficult is the sheer volume of data that needs to be managed. Companies with hundreds or thousands of employees may struggle to keep track of their employees' personal and professional details. Even with the best intentions, HR departments can make mistakes or overlook certain updates, which can lead to significant problems down the line. For example, if an employee gets married and doesn't update their marital status with the company's HR department, they may not be able to add their spouse to their insurance policy, resulting in a coverage gap.
Another challenge is the complexity of group insurance plans. Group insurance plans typically include several coverage options, each with its own set of terms and conditions. Keeping track of who is eligible for which coverage option can be difficult, especially when employee information changes frequently. For example, an employee's job title may change, making them eligible for a different type of coverage, but if the HR department isn't aware of the change, the employee may miss out on the new coverage option.
Fortunately, there are systems like Sentro available that can help make this task easier. Sentro offers online portals that allow employees to update their personal information in real-time. This means that employees can easily update their information whenever they need to, without having to wait for HR to do it for them. Additionally, Sentro can help automate the process of updating employee information, making it easier for HR departments to keep track of changes and ensure that coverage plans remain accurate.
It is also important to think about how the information is handled along the journey from employee, to employer, to broker and finally to the insurer. Each handover point is not only a potential point of delay and friction, but also an opportunity for errors and duplication to happen. Platforms like Sentro address this by providing user experiences for people responsible for updating employee information (HR, brokers and insurers) to have a secure, shared view of group information. Sentro also provides API and bulk file update capabilities which further streamline information updating for groups.
The benefits of systems that make it easier to keep employee information up to date are numerous. For one, they can help reduce errors and coverage gaps, ensuring that employees have the coverage they need when they need it. Additionally, they can save time and reduce the administrative burden on HR departments, freeing up time for other important tasks.
Keeping employee information up to date in group insurance is a challenging task, but it's essential for ensuring that coverage plans remain accurate and effective. When choosing group insurance providers, employers look for providers that can make this task easier. We are hearing more and more evidence that insurers who cannot offer employers capabilities to update employee information in their the plan more easily, such as online portals, bulk processing capabilities or automated HR software integrations, are being ruled out of procurement bids. Employers understand these capabilities reduce errors, save time, and improve the overall employee experience.