Should We Use An Employee Benefits Broker?

How Does An Employee Benefits Broker Work?

If you’ve ever worked with an insurance broker, it works in the same way. An employee benefits broker will assess your business and help identify the types of benefits your staff may enjoy.

The first step is a deep dive into your business, discovering what it does and your goals for your new employee benefits package. They’ll take a look at your:

• Employee demographics
• Company budget for benefits
• What you might need in terms of your package.

With more insight into your business and its needs, a broker will go out to market and look for the best deals for the employee benefits you’d like to offer your staff. They’ll gather quotes from different providers to showcase the options available to you.

Off the back of this, your broker will provide you with some recommendations which are backed by years of experience in the industry. It’s then down to you. Using the research and recommendations from the broker, you’ll be able to make an informed decision on the benefits you’re going to get set up.

Key Responsibilities Of An Employee Benefits Broker

An employee benefits broker will help you to set up and regularly review your employee benefits package. They’ll work with you to better understand your business and its needs.

This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some tasks a benefits broker can do for you:

• Handle employee data
• Carry out benchmarking research
• Negotiate the most suitable policy terms
• Help you communicate your benefits to your staff
• Manage scheme administration, such as applications, trusts, new joiners and leavers
• Provide claims support
• Help to implement employee benefits technology
• Carry out annual reviews to make sure your benefits are still appropriate
• Ensure you’re up to date with relevant employee benefits legislation.

By leaving your employee benefits to the experts, you can rest assured that your company is in safe hands. All you need to do is choose which employee benefits are best for your employees and work with your benefits broker to get those set up. They will also provide ongoing support when it comes to your benefits.

Some benefits, such as Group Health Insurance or Workplace Pensions, for example will need to be regularly reviewed and monitored. An employee benefits broker can do this for you. They’ll make sure you’re still getting the best value for your money and renew policies on your behalf.

Why Use An Employee Benefits Broker?

There is a huge range of employee benefits available, some of which may be better suited to you than others. But most employers don’t know where to begin with setting up their employee benefits. Nor do they have the knowledge required.

This is why it makes sense for a company to outsource their benefits to an employee benefits broker. As experts, they can ensure your benefits are set up correctly and follow rules and regulations.

1.  Technical Expertise

An employee benefits broker, such as Drewberry, understands the complexities of setting up benefits. We are knowledgeable in our field and can help to manoeuvre any problems that arise.

Part of the profession includes keeping up to date with the latest insurance products, tax rules, and technologies so you don’t have to. From a technical standpoint, we also will have the knowledge to:

• Ensure you’re meeting new employees’ contractual rights to benefits under TUPE regulations
• Help you make informed decisions on your Group Life Insurance set up; either through a master trust or a bespoke option
• Explain taxation for certain employee benefits. E.g. which benefits qualify as a P11D/Benefit in Kind.

We can answer any tricky questions you may have. We’ll always try to answer these and explain how things work in simple terms. Sometimes all you need is someone to break down the terminology to help you understand.

2. Save Time & Hassle

Setting up your company’s employee benefits isn’t the most straightforward task. We know you’ve got better things to do and an ever-growing to-do list of tasks to ensure your business runs smoothly.

Getting the experts in to set up your employee benefits can save a significant amount of time. We’ll do everything on your behalf. From advice and recommendations to gathering employee data, negotiating costs and managing the admin; a broker does it all.

3. Direct Access To Providers/Insurers

As we work with the UK’s leading employee benefits providers, we have exclusive access. Gathering and comparing quotes is part of our every day, we can go directly to the insurers and get quotes for you.

If you were to request quotes yourself, you’d have to reach out to each individual provider for these. Not only is this time consuming and a bit of a hassle, some providers won’t offer you quotes in the first place. Many don’t engage with companies directly, which is where an employee benefits broker can step in.

4. Negotiate Better Rates

Through the relationships we build with the providers on the market, we’ve got a unique advantage. We’ve got bargaining power on our side, thanks to our work with hundreds of businesses each year.

We can negotiate the best rates from the get-go. We also know the ins and outs of the products, enabling us to find ways of reducing costs for you, for instance.

5. Ongoing Administrative Support

Admin is the bane of our lives; no one likes to do it. But it comes with the territory when managing benefits.

Any new hires you onboard will need to be added to the benefit schemes your company offers, and any employees who leave will need to be removed. You will also need to stay on top of any changes to benefit selections. So, it’s essential to keep on top of your benefits admin. While these tasks might not seem too taxing, admin can soon pile up as your business scales up.

Working with an employee benefits broker, like us, the admin for such tasks is covered. Whether it’s through our benefits platform My Drewberry, or our benefits admin team, you can ensure your company’s benefits package is up to date. We’ll also handle any annual renewals, for benefits such as Company Health Insurance.

Nadeem Farid
Head of Health & Wellbeing Benefits

6. Support Your Communication Strategy

A key part of your employee benefits package is communicating it to your staff. This needs to be planned effectively. It’s no use setting up a variety of benefits if your employees don’t know anything about them.

Here’s where an employee benefits broker can support you. We’ll help roll out your communication strategy once your benefits are up and running. Whether that’s sharing info or reminding staff to complete their nomination forms, we’re here to make sure your staff knows what’s on offer and how it works.

7. Financial Protection

If you set up your employee benefits yourself, the responsibility lies with you. Not only does this create more work for you, but you also lack financial protection.

Employee benefits brokers are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide specialist financial advice. Should advice not be appropriate for your business, you’re legally protected. This offers an extra layer of protection and reassurance should anything be amiss.

8. Remain Competitive With Benchmarking

When we get to know your business, we’ll also take a look at what other companies in your industry are doing in terms of their employee benefits package. This information can then be used to your advantage, as we can help ensure your business is seen among your competition.

Benchmarking employee benefits will give us a better idea of what your company might need to offer in order to attract and retain staff. We’ll use industry knowledge to provide benefits your employees truly value.

Support from an expert in the employee benefits industry is often a no-brainer. Brokers come equipped with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

We’ve set up benefits for all types and sizes of businesses. Our team can help make the process easier. We’ll also ensure your staff gets access to their benefits at the most competitive rates for your budget.

Danielle Bines
Employee Benefits Consultant

What Employee Benefits Can A Broker Help Set Up?

Many employers might not be aware of the options available to them. This is where a good employee brokers comes into play.  They can guide you through all you need to know and help to set up the best employee benefits for your staff. And it’s not just about the benefits they can help arrange, but the ongoing review services they offer as well.

Core Employee Benefits

There are mandatory employee benefits you have a legal obligation to offer, including Workplace Pension Schemes. Starting here is key. Here are some of the core benefits employers also offer:

• Death in Service Insurance
• Group Income Protection
• Group Critical Illness Cover
• Business Health Insurance.

Other Types Of Employee Benefits

Alongside the core benefits most employers tend to offer, there are a great deal of other employee benefits to consider, including:

• Electric car schemes
• Cycle to work initiatives
• Retail discount platforms
• Holiday trading
• Flexible working options.

How To Make The Most Of Your Employee Benefits

It’s important to offer benefits your employees value and utilise. There’s no use setting up a package if none of your staff members are interested, so it pays to consider what your employees want to ensure a valuable package is created.

We recently asked UK employees what benefits they’d like from their employer, so you can get a direct insight into popular employee benefits. For example, survey respondents told us they’d like the following top 5 paid-for benefits:

• Company Health Insurance
• Group Critical Illness Cover
• Group Income Protection
• Workplace Pensions
• Money towards home office equipment.

Benchmarking services can also be useful here, as it can help to identify if the benefits you’re offering are up-to-date and competitive in your industry.

Reviewing your existing benefits and its policies is important too. This enables you to see if you’re getting the best terms for the best price.

You might offer Group Income Protection, but if it has a long deferred period e.g. 13 weeks, this benefit becomes less valuable.

1 in 5 employees couldn’t survive a week on their savings, so employees would find your benefit much more valuable if it paid out after just 4 weeks rather than 13.

Joseph Toft
Senior Employee Benefits Consultant

By using an employee benefits broker, they can tweak your current benefits to ensure they run effectively. For example if you have Group Health Insurance, they have the ability to negotiate free cover limits, so you can offer a good level of cover to all your employees regardless of their health.

Brokers can highlight any key dependencies your business has and use that data to introduce benefits, such as Key Person Insurance, to help ensure a business stays afloat in the event a key person is unable to work.

Using Technology To Your Advantage

Some brokers, like Drewberry, offer technology to businesses to support the management of your company’s employee benefits. My.Drewberry for example, helps your HR team work more efficiently, empowers employees, and overall makes benefits management much more streamlined.

How To Choose The Right Employee Benefits Broker

Every business has different requirement when it comes to their employee benefits, so it’s important to work with a broker who’s going to provide the right level of support and guidance. There are a few questions to think about when looking for a broker, including:

Do They Have Experience In Your Industry?

An employee benefits broker is likely to have worked with many types of businesses. But some may have more experience in a specific industry than another.

It’s worth keeping this in mind when enquiring about the broker’s services. Have they set up employee benefits for a company similar to yours? Do they understand the needs of your sector in terms of employee benefits?

What Do You Want From A Broker’s Service?

One key thing to think about before appointing a broker is what do you want them to do. By doing this you can make sure you get the most out of the relationship.

For example setting up employee benefits for a new small business can be daunting and you might want help knowing where to start or what the best benefits for a small budget are. If you are bigger, you might want them to review your existing package and benchmark it against your key competitors. By understanding what it is you need help with you can narrow down which brokers to use.

How Do They Use Data?

Data analysis often informs brokers about your business needs. It also identifies where your company stands alongside your competitors.

Do they conduct an audit of your employee benefits and benchmark your company against those in your industry? They can then identify what employee benefits you should consider for your team and highlight any gaps in the package.

What Do Past Clients Think Of Their Service?

Have a look for any reviews the broker/brokerage has. These can be a helpful indicator of what to expect and whether they’re the right broker for you.

You can also ask other business owners you have connections with. They might be able to provide a recommendation.

How Do They Charge?

Brokers charge for their services in several ways, such as:

• Through commission
• Consultancy fees
• Billable hours.

How you pay for their services will depend on what level of support you require from them. You need to ensure your company budget allows for a broker, and if so, in what capacity? These questions will help you make a decision during your enquires with brokers.

Get Expert Advice From A Regulated Employee Benefits Broker

Looking to introduce or improve your employee benefits package? We offer regulated advice on all employee benefits, so we can help find the right ones for your business and set those up.

We can save you time and make the process stress free for you. Call us on 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk. We can get the ball rolling.

Why Speak to Us?

We started Drewberry™ because we were tired of being treated like a number.

We all deserve a first class service when it comes to things as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.

• We are award winning 🏆 independent insurance advisers who work with all the leading UK insurers
• You’ll speak to a dedicated expert from start to finish
• We are very proud of the 3758 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5
• We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find us on the financial services register here 🧐
• Claims support when you need it most.