The Best Ways to Minimize Your Risk When Selecting a Stop Loss Carrier – Part 1

The age-old adage, "you get what you pay for," certainly holds true in the stop loss industry. I cannot stress enough how important it is to look at more than just the premium rates on a spreadsheet.

To understand the importance, let’s use the auto insurance industry as a comparable example. If you were purchasing car insurance for yourself, would you always accept the lowest price without doing a coverage comparison? How would you know if that insurance company might jack up your rates on renewal, or once you have an accident, or possibly delay your claims and find every reason or loophole not to pay them?

Apply that same thinking to stop-loss coverage with larger dollar amounts at risk. Not every stop-loss policy is alike and not every carrier is going to provide you with the coverage you are seeking. As an employer, you want to make sure the employee benefit plan you sponsor for your employees will not result in any significant liabilities for your company. You want the peace of mind of knowing there won't be any surprises along the way.

All stop-loss carrier policies are different. Over my 20-plus years in the industry, I have seen some very unique language and provisions in stop-loss policies that most people would not notice without looking at the fine print. You must be aware of these potential provisions that could cause significant gaps in coverage between your employee benefit plan and your stop-loss policy.

How can you best protect your company? You can start by working with your broker or administrator to narrow down the list of stop-loss providers to those that best meet your needs. Brokers and administrators are best suited to understand the complexities of stop-loss insurance and provide you with the best possible information regarding policies and choices.

By keeping this, and the following items, in mind during your selection process, you should be able to find a carrier to serve your needs.

The most important advice I can provide is to look beyond just price and at the actual stop-loss policy. The lowest price doesn’t always mean the best value. So make sure to:

• Read the stop-loss policy before you purchase your coverage
• Ask for a sample policy
• Understand ALL the provisions of the policy itself
• Ask your broker or administrator to review the policy if you don’t understand all the provisions

Additionally, there are a few other things you will want to look for, or ask about, when selecting a stop loss carrier. In part two of this blog, which will be posted the first week of April, I will discuss some of the most frequent items I have seen that cause issues or gaps in coverage.

_{By Steven Goethel, Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors}