Symetra Benefits Blog

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Customized and personal account management

Employers are assigned a dedicated account manager who will tailor their approach to your clients’ individual needs. Whether a group needs plan or industry expertise, support for benefit fairs and enrollments, or assistance with cost control, their account manager will be there to provide customized and personal service. Think of them as an extension of your client’s HR department.

Learn more about how we eliminate the noise with our group life and disability products >

No surprises

We’re known across the nation for writing clear, user-friendly policies.

With over 40 years in the stop loss business, we have the foresight and expertise needed to help your clients navigate and protect their self-funded plans through even the most complex situations. Our best-in-class policy mirrors the group’s plan document—without conflicting internal limits or definitions—ensuring that their self-funded coverage works as intended.

Learn more about how Symetra can help your self-funded clients >

Real people answer the phone

All calls to Symetra Select Benefits are answered by one of our experienced specialists—not by an overseas call center or automated phone tree. Our Select Benefits specialists are ready to answer any questions you may have about our suite of fixed-payment, critical illness and accident policies and packages—plus minimum essential coverage (MEC) plan administration.

Learn more about Symetra Select Benefits. 

What’s VTS?

We’ve been in business over 60 years, with a commitment to creating employee benefit products that people need and understand. Our guiding principles of Value, Transparency and Sustainability (VTS) are at the core of all we do.

Value: We provide valuable benefits solutions people need and understand.

Transparency: We communicate clearly and honestly.

Sustainability: Our products stand the test of time. We’re financially disciplined so we’ll be there when our customers need us.

Learn more about Symetra and how our group benefit solutions can help eliminate the noise 

 

Impact of the final tax bill on health care reform efforts

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law on December 22, 2017 contained one significant piece of health care reform. Namely, the effective elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate to have health insurance that qualifies as minimum essential coverage (MEC) beginning in 2019. Learn more about the impact of these revisions and what, if any, additional changes are expected >

Streamlined implementation

Changing carriers doesn’t have to be complicated. When asked to rate their implementation experience, our group life and disability customers gave Symetra an overall satisfaction rating of 4.6 out of 5.

Your clients can expect a high-touch implementation process with regular communication from their dedicated implementation manager. Working in tandem with their assigned account manager helps ensure a seamless progression from implementation to ongoing account management.

Learn more about Symetra group life and disability >

48-hour reimbursements for catastrophic stop loss claims

We’re known across the nation for writing clear, user-friendly policies that eliminate gaps between what plans cover and what is eligible for reimbursement; and for following through on our promises by paying claims on time, or ahead of schedule—even the ones considered large or catastrophic. Our innovative Preferred ASO Claim Advance option can significantly reduce your clients’ wait time for large or catastrophic claims—with reimbursements paid within two business days.

Learn more about Symetra stop loss 

Stop Loss in 2018: cost vs. value; striking the right balance for your self-insured clients (part 4)

Part 4: Underwriting practices—is the policy renewal-friendly?

In this series, we examined our evolving stop loss market, contract quality and claims service. In addition to these critical details, it’s important to ask potential stop loss carriers about their underwriting practices before signing a contract.

Some things to consider:

• Stop loss is an annually renewable policy and we see a wide range of renewal underwriting practices. If a customer’s loss ratio exceeds established tolerance levels (known as the “target loss ratio”), some carriers will set renewal pricing based solely on the customer’s unique experience. Other carriers may partially “pool” the needed increase by applying it across their national block of business. Carriers with smaller blocks of business and MGU’s are more likely to set renewal pricing based on individual case performance.
• If your carrier partner has rigid underwriting practices and forces clients into difficult maximum liability scenarios for the renewal period, finding a suitable replacement carrier could be challenging. If, for example, a participant has a known condition requiring a prescription that runs $70,000 per month, some carriers will build expected claims in excess of the deductible directly into the renewal premium.
• Does the carrier require a signed disclosure form at policy renewal?
• Does the carrier reserve the right to "laser" plan participants at renewal or increase existing lasers at renewal? (A “laser” is a deductible level higher than the individual stop loss case levels.)
• Does the carrier offer a renewal rate cap? This option might come into play if claims experience has been adverse, or if there are ongoing significant claim liabilities in the new policy year for which the carrier may need to rate.

When you’re evaluating carrier options, take time to review their renewal policies so there are no surprises in the future.

We hope you enjoyed this four part series and gained some insight into things to consider when choosing a stop loss carrier. If you have any questions, or want to learn how Symetra’s stop loss policy stacks up, please contact your Symetra stop loss representative.

Stop Loss in 2018: cost vs. value; striking the right balance for your self-insured clients (part 3)

Part 3: Claims service— How efficient and proactive is your carrier partner? Cash flow is king!

In earlier posts we explored how the stop loss market continues to evolve and things to look for in a stop loss contract. Another important factor to consider when evaluating potential stop loss carriers is claims experience.

Some questions to ask:

• Does the carrier have 100% claim authority for reimbursements to your clients? Or, do they first require authorization from their reinsurer before a claim can be paid? Stop loss carriers often purchase reinsurance for several reasons—the most common being to mitigate their liability on catastrophic claims (those exceeding $2 million).
• How many days does the carrier average for claim reimbursements?
• Does the carrier offer true advance funding of claims in excess of the specific deductible to facilitate cash flow for your clients? If so, is this advance funding available for the duration of the contract, including the last 30 days of the policy?
• Are your clients able to find out—in advance of a reimbursement request—how the carrier will reimburse a stop loss claim?  This could help the employers clarify their intended Plan Document coverage for experimental/investigational treatments or procedures involving new technologies.

An experienced carrier with knowledgeable claims staff and efficient processes will help ensure your clients’ self-funded plans work as intended.

Stay tuned for our next post as we close out this series with underwriting practices. Is the policy renewal-friendly?