Our Work: Developing Benefit Solutions
Filling an Income Protection Gap at No Cost to the Employer
Client: Telecommunications company with more than 29,000 employees.
Challenge: The existing group disability benefit left an income protection gap for employees.
Solution: The Baker Benefit Group developed a supplemental disability insurance plan giving employees the opportunity to purchase individual disability insurance policies at no cost to the employer.
Services provided:
- Supplemental individual disability insurance expertise
- Insurance vendor evaluation and selection
- Customized enrollment support at the client and employee levels
- The ability to handle multi-state individual insurance requirements
Outcome: The supplemental disability insurance program closed the income protection gap for participating employees. The solution came at no cost to the client, and The Baker Benefit Group’s management meant the additional benefit required little in the way of client resources.
Developing a Long Term Care Solution
Clients: Multiple universities
Challenge: During a period of volatility in the market, several long term care insurance carriers made the decision to stop enrolling existing customers, leaving many clients without a long term care plan to offer new employees.
Solution: We worked with other long term care insurance carriers to develop comparable programs. We then supported the enrollment and implementation of the new plans. We ensured there was no negative impact on the employees covered by the existing long term care program.
Services provided:
- Long term care product and market expertise
- Extensive carrier relationships
- Project management
Outcome: Employers were able to offer a new long term care program to all employees who did not yet have coverage and to continue offering long term care insurance coverage to new employees without impacting existing policyholders. The clients were pleased to be able to provide long term care as part of their benefits package.
Partnering with Employer to Help Manage Complex Benefit Programs
Client: Global management consulting firm with more than 17,000 employees
Challenge: An international management consulting firm needed effective account management of a complex benefit portfolio. The firm had numerous employee benefit programs with multiple insurance carriers, and with frequent executive relocations there was a need for consistent benefits regardless of the country of residence.
Solution: To manage programs more efficiently, we created a dedicated resource to provide ongoing service support and a single point of contact for the client’s human resources staff and for the various insurance carriers.
Services provided:
- Industry knowledge
- Strong insurance carrier relationships
- Project management
- Exemplary service skills
Outcome: Effective benefit plans are in place, and ongoing support continues. The client has been with us for more than 15 years.
Improving a Short Term Disability Program
Client: University with more than 15,000 employees
Challenge: A client with a decentralized organization had challenges with the claims adjudication aspect of its self-insured short term disability program. The client was faced with in-house resource limitations in managing the short term disability program.
Solution: We showed how outsourcing the short term disability program would reduce costs and provide consistent claims management. We worked with a carrier to develop a customized program and provided a dedicated resource to ensure effective implementation.
Services provided:
- Project management
- Short term disability expertise
- Ability to design a program to support the client’s unique culture, structure and employee population
Outcome: The client’s program has effectively reduced claim costs and internal resource commitment. The client has been with us for more than 10 years.