Sep 30, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting benefit plans, renewals, staffing, and tech adoption, according to the 2020 Fourth Quarter Preparedness Report. LISI partnered with EASE to survey brokers, account managers, and agency owners for the report.
These Are Brokers’ Chief Concerns Over This Enrollment Season:
- 31% Winning new business
- 26% Laying off staff
- Lost revenue -- 38% of agency owners say they had lost revenue from clients going out of business during the pandemic
Brokers Expect These Plan Changes:
- 33% Expect to offer more plan options while 24% expect to offer fewer plan options
- 14% Expect to add telemedicine
- 29% Expect other plan changes including offering EAP benefits and implementing Ease with more existing groups
Brokers Have Had to Help Their Groups with These Activities:
- 81% Laying off employees/navigating COBRA
- 74% Furloughing employees
- 69% Hiring employees and conducting onboarding/benefits election remotely
- 33% Implementing a telehealth option
- 7% Closing a business
- 19% None of the above
Tech Adoption Gets a Major Jolt:
- 83% of agency account managers say that their groups are more eager to use benefits administration technology
- 78% of agency owners who have not brought their groups online are interested in adopting benefits administration software for groups from 2-250 employees for this year’s open enrollment
- 76% of brokers and 83% of agency account managers say they’re likely to conduct an entirely remote enrollment for at least one of their groups. All respondents who use Ease say that at least half of their traditional open enrollment activities will be conducted virtually
- 79% say that superior customer service has been the deciding factor in acquiring new clients, followed by the ability to conduct business digitally, and having enrollment meetings online.
Your LISI Regional Sales Manager can help with a seamless tech transition for open enrollment this year.
