Most of what a benefits broker is worth happens when nothing is being bought. Renewal is visible and finite. The rest of the year is administration, chasing and answering, and it is the part that decides whether a scheme is a benefit or a filing cabinet.
This page sets out what that work consists of, so you can ask whoever does it for you what their version looks like.
Every arrival and departure has to reach every insurer, in the format that insurer expects, within whatever window the policy allows. Miss it and somebody is uninsured, or the employer is paying for someone who left in March. It is unglamorous, it is constant, and it is where most quiet failures start.
What is covered, how do I claim, where is the document. These arrive at HR because HR is the visible thing. Whether they stay there depends on whether anyone else has agreed to take them.
Most claims are handled by the member and the insurer without anyone else involved. Some are not: a decision that looks wrong, a delay with no explanation, a form that has gone somewhere. What matters is whether there is a named person whose job it is to take that up with the insurer, and how far they will take it. Ask for that in specific terms, because "we support your people" is not a commitment.
A renewal negotiated on the day the terms arrive has already lost most of its options. The preparation is the part worth asking about.
Reasonable things to expect a broker to know, and to tell you, before terms are on the table:
It is not a promise about price. Renewal outcomes depend on claims experience, the size and shape of the workforce, and the state of the market on the day. No broker can honestly guarantee a saving, and one who does is telling you something about themselves.
It is not a promise that nothing will go wrong. On any scheme of a few hundred people there will be a slow insurer and a knotty claim in a given year. The question is not whether that happens; it is what happens next, and who does it.
It is not a description of one particular firm's service. Ask for the specifics of whatever arrangement you are considering, in writing.
Administration and servicing: processing joiners and leavers with each insurer in the format that insurer requires, answering questions from the employer and from members, taking up claims problems with the insurer where a member needs that, collecting claims and usage reports from the providers that produce them, and preparing the ground for the next renewal. The exact scope varies between firms and should be set out in writing.
No. Renewal terms depend on claims experience, the shape of the workforce and market conditions at the time, none of which a broker controls. A broker can test the market where a line is not inside a rate guarantee, present the comparison and negotiate, and can tell you when staying where you are is the better answer. Anyone guaranteeing a saving is making a claim they cannot support.
A rate guarantee is a period during which the insurer has agreed to hold the rate, commonly one year and sometimes two or three on group protection. It matters because a line inside a rate guarantee usually cannot be improved by going to market, and a line coming out of one is the case for testing it. Knowing which is which, well before terms arrive, is preparation rather than reaction.
This guide is general information about a type of employee benefit. It is not a recommendation, not advice about whether any product is suitable for you or your employees, and not a description of any particular insurer's policy. Cover, eligibility, exclusions, limits and price vary between policies and between employers. Whatever you are considering, the terms that apply are the ones in the policy document, and the people who can confirm them are the provider or your broker.
| Alltoogether | How this page was written Supports: the boundary above and the decision to describe categories rather than any particular policy Published or updated: set 15 August 2026. Retrieved: 15 August 2026. Limitation: this row records the method, not a fact about any scheme. |
|---|
A call, not a pitch. We look at what you hold, tell you what we see, and say so if the answer is that you are already in the right place. Our broking is paid by commission from the insurers, typically already built into the premiums you pay, so appointing us adds no fee and no new cost line. What applies to your schemes depends on your insurers and products, and we set that out in writing before you commit to anything.
Book a call →