November is a magical time of year. Leaves change color, cooler temperatures and of course, TURKEY are the first thing that we think of when we think about November. Why not, Thanksgiving is a great time of year. I feel like the month alone just puts people into a better mood. Simple things such as raking the leaves that fell off of the trees into piles and jumping into them are some of my favorite childhood pastimes.
When I was younger, my deepest thoughts on and around Thanksgiving revolved around turkey and football. Was my family going out to eat or are we going to a relative's? Will the turkey be fried, smoked or roasted? What football teams will be playing? Where was I going to play during halftime or after the games? These are some very important questions to a boy from the ages 9-18.
Fastforward to adulthood, my thoughts revolve around my small business clients. That’s because the small business open enrollment spans from November 15th- December 15th. This is the time of year where the participation rate from the insurance carriers "goes out the window" for small groups and they will accept groups that have at least two employees who are not married.
So, what’s participation rate? Participation rate is the percentage of employees that are required to join the plan in order to offer the insurance. To find the participation rate you divide the number of employees enrolling onto the plan by the number of eligible employees who don’t have other group coverage. Carriers may require 70% or 50% of your employees to enroll onto your plan outside of the small business open enrollment, which can be hard for some employers.
But employees always want the coverage, right? Sometimes. Sometimes they don’t or needs change. And if they don’t for some reason, it can stop your company from finding the right employees who only want to work for a company that’s offering the benefits.
So, this Thanksgiving right before you add the gravy to your turkey, take a second to think “can group medical insurance help my small business and improve the wellbeing of my employees?” If the answer is yes, the small business open enrollment may be the perfect time for you to start your plan. Call us today. But first, enjoy your turkey!