The truth is, you may not know if you need BRG. If you’re a business owner, chances are you’re busy running the business you’ve worked so hard to build. You may not have the time or expertise to keep track of all the benefit issues that impact your business. The same is true for busy HR Professionals with overlapping responsibilities. During our initial consultation, we usually uncover issues which many business owners are unaware of, and which we can address with a custom-made solution.

In general, if you are worried about the rising cost of health care, maintaining competitive benefit programs and fulfilling your fiduciary responsibilities, then you need BRG.

Contact us today at (216) 520-5000 for more information and an initial consultation.

BRG’s service model is to be an extension of our clients' Human Resources department. We have a dedicated team of qualified staff members ready to assist you in the design, implementation and ongoing management and service of your benefit plans.

As an HR Professional, BRG can help you contribute to the development and accomplishment of your organization’s overall business plan and objectives. In addition to creating effective, cost-efficient benefit plans, BRG gives you the information on research, trends and regulations you need to stay adaptable and flexible in this ever-changing economic environment.

Brokers in healthcare typically "shop" the market each year. At BRG, our approach is different. We take the time to consult with you to bring creative solutions that are unique to your situation. It’s much more than simple plan shopping; it’s actively looking for ways to uncover savings, create opportunities and do things more efficiently. Incorporating consumer-driven healthcare, implementing wellness initiatives and conducting dependent audits are just a few of the ways we help manage our clients’ plans. In the retirement division, we also serve as co-fiduciary on our clients’ plans. In doing so, we ensure that each one of our clients are meeting their fiduciary responsibility and implementing the proper protocol and processes to ensure this takes place. This kind of commitment goes way beyond the services provided by a broker.

We are proud that our clients consider BRG to be one of their most trusted advisors. We work closely with our clients’ full network of business professionals to provide creative, multifaceted solutions. This synergistic combination of legal, financial and benefits experience helps us minimize risk and maximize success for our clients.

With BRG, you get the best of both worlds. We are large enough to bring the resources you need but small enough to bring customized personal service on a timely basis.

Many national brokers and consultants take a commodity approach to service delivery…but at BRG, we strive for long term relationships with our clients. The effort we make to understand clients’ businesses brings significant value as we begin to speak the same language, thus increasing the efficiency and level of trust. This can only happen on a local level, while we sit across the table from each other at face-to-face meetings.

A local firm like BRG also has the distinct advantage when it comes to familiarity with the local marketplace and products. We have positive, long term relationships with most providers and as a result, our clients can expect responsive assistance and competitive rates.

Your business is dynamically changing every day. BRG’s comprehensive, proactive approach helps us continually understand your changing needs and objectives. Instead of reacting to business and regulatory changes, we can stay in front of economic challenges and prepare you to meet them. For example, as a result of the recession, many of our clients have been experiencing significant staff fluctuations, a development which has a direct impact on their benefit plans. We help them manage this process by staying in touch throughout the year.

We constantly update our clients by sending timely electronic bulletins with the latest legislative issues. On pressing issues, we personally call our clients to ensure they are in compliance with any upcoming deadlines. We also are members of industry legislative groups such as AALU (Association for Advanced Life Underwriting), PSCA (Profit Sharing Council of America), NALU (National Association of Life Underwriters), SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), and are CEBS (Certified Employee Benefits Specialists) to name a few. These organizations provide us with daily updates on any legislative issues impacting your business.

BRG’s service delivery model can be custom-designed for just about anyone. Our typical structure, however, consists of a Lead Consultant and seasoned Account Manager overseeing delivery and providing consulting services throughout the year. A dedicated Account Manager is assigned to work with your staff. The Account Manager is supported by individual(s) dedicated to marketing the insurance products and providing technical support in terms of claims reporting and financial analysis. Upon implementation, our team works closely with clients to develop a service calendar outlining the service delivery expectations for the year. The service calendar includes such milestones as when experience reviews will be delivered, when the pre-renewal meeting and subsequent renewal meetings will occur; and activities such as assistance with open enrollment communications and/or employee meetings, legislative updates throughout the year, etc. Our goal is to plan and outline as much as possible in advance, and schedule events to make every effort to not only meet, but exceed our clients’ expectations.

That depends upon what service you choose.

Are you interested in BRG marketing your insurance product? If so, we’d like to begin discussions with you at least 90-180 days prior to the plan’s anniversary date (depending on the size of your organization). This provides us with ample time to understand the current structure and develop a strategy designed specifically to meet your unique objectives far in advance of the renewal date. This approach will also provide adequate time for effective employee communications and will ensure a smooth transition.

Are you interested in BRG stepping in as your consultant? If so, the process is much shorter and can be accomplished in less than thirty (30) days.

Contact us at (216) 520-5000 to get started.

Absolutely. Your Account Management team is skilled in creating the materials and communications you need, not only for open enrollment but also for educational purposes throughout the year. For example, if your strategic objective includes implementing a Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) in the future, we will work closely with you to develop a communication initiative that educates employees on how CDHPs work, their own role in consumer-driven plans and how they can benefit. We have a substantial number of document templates that can be easily modified for any topic and any population, or we can create custom-designed materials depending on your need.

Very often, the best benefits solutions cover multiple benefits. When designing appropriate retirement benefits for key executives, for example, we would take a comprehensive, integrated approach and use a combination of qualified retirement plans supplemented by a non-qualified executive benefit program. This kind of approach is particularly important when a plan sponsor is failing their discrimination tests under a qualified plan.

The key is to understand where the gaps are and blend plans effectively. For instance, many group long term disability plans will not provide an executive or partner with adequate benefits due to certain limitations. Thus, we will layer an individual LTD plan on top of the group plan to provide adequate benefits. BRG’s integrated approach goes beyond a single methodology and skillfully combines multiple resources to help you achieve your goals.

Expenses should be documented and benchmarked against marketplace data at least once per year. Every 3-4 years an RFP should be conducted to make sure plan expenses are commensurate with the market. Often, we can use the information from other vendors to help negotiate a price reduction with your incumbent vendor.

We recommend that life insurance policies be reviewed every 2 years to make sure that they are performing as expected. Sometimes we find that insurance products have not been reviewed for several year or that the policies are in danger of lapsing due to decreasing interest crediting rates. Variable life policies should periodically be reviewed as market cycles change because the performance of the separate accounts has a direct impact on the policy’s performance. Term insurance policies also need to be reviewed to determine if insurance is required beyond the expiration date. If this is the case, a conversion to a permanent policy may be necessary or a new policy should be explored.