Beyond Renewal: Practical Ways Brokers Can Strengthen Client Relationships
How brokers can use renewal conversations to guide year-round planning, support employer priorities, and prepare for the next renewal.
Table of Contents
- Renewal conversations can guide what comes next
- Start with the priorities clients shared during renewal
- Give clients more time to evaluate cost-management options
- Keep promising options on the agenda
- Make recommendations easy for clients to share internally
- Use employee feedback to guide ongoing support
- Build a manageable follow-up plan with each client
- Key Takeaways
Renewal conversations can guide what comes next
Renewal season brings several priorities into focus at once. Brokers are working through employer budgets, employee needs, plan and vendor timelines, and available plan options, often while managing several clients at different stages of the process.
Along the way, conversations naturally raise questions that deserve more attention. An employer may want to explore pharmacy spending, revisit a funding arrangement, or find ways to help employees better understand their coverage.
Some of those discussions lead to immediate decisions. Others require additional information, more time for evaluation, or coordination with different service partners.
Whether renewal decisions are finalized or still underway, these conversations can help shape the work ahead.
Keep a brief record of the priorities raised during renewal and any information needed to explore them further. This gives you a clear starting point for year-round client support.
Start with the priorities clients shared during renewal
Every employer approaches renewal with a different set of concerns. For some, the biggest priority is making benefits spending more predictable. Others are focused on keeping coverage affordable, maintaining access to physicians and prescriptions, or reducing the amount of time HR spends answering benefits questions.
Renewal discussions can also reveal what company leadership needs to feel comfortable with a recommendation. A CFO may want more detail about projected costs, while an HR leader may be concerned about how employees will respond to changes in deductibles or provider networks.
These concerns can help guide your next client conversation.
For example, if an employer was particularly concerned about prescription spending, a pharmacy cost review may be a useful next step. If HR struggled with repeated questions during enrollment, additional employee education or member support may deserve attention.
A simple question can help identify where to begin:
“Now that we’ve worked through your renewal options, which priorities would you like us to focus on next?”
From there, agree on one or two areas that deserve attention first. This keeps the conversation focused on what the employer considers most useful.
Give clients more time to evaluate cost-management options
Some benefits decisions require several rounds of analysis, vendor discussions, and financial review. Starting those conversations earlier gives employers more time to understand their options and consider how changes might affect their workforce.
The pressure on benefits budgets makes this especially relevant.
According to Marsh’s National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, employers projected an average 8.2% increase in health benefit costs per employee for 2027, even after planned cost-reduction measures. Without those measures, respondents expected the cost of their existing plans to increase by an average of 11%.¹
With increases of that size under consideration, employers benefit from having enough time to examine what is driving their costs and which options may be appropriate.
Depending on the employer’s plan structure and available information, regular reviews might include:
- Medical claims and utilization: Identify changes in service use, recurring high-cost categories, and spending patterns that deserve further review.
- Prescription spending: Examine specialty medications, utilization trends, and opportunities to evaluate pharmacy costs.
- Budget performance: Compare actual spending with projections and identify areas where costs differ from expectations.
- Workforce needs: Consider whether changes in employee demographics, locations, or healthcare needs affect the current plan.
- Contract deadlines: Identify reporting requirements, renewal notices, and vendor decisions that require advance preparation.
The timing of these reviews will vary. Claims information may arrive with a delay, carriers and administrators may have different reporting schedules, and employers may need additional time to consider their options.
A practical approach is to set review milestones around when reliable information becomes available and when decisions need to be made. That allows discussions to progress at a pace that fits the employer’s circumstances.
Keep promising options on the agenda
During renewal, an employer may express interest in a strategy but decide that the timing is not right.
Perhaps the company wants to evaluate a level-funded arrangement but needs additional financial projections. Another employer may be interested in reviewing its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) contract but does not have enough time to examine pricing, rebates, and service terms before renewal.
These options can remain part of the benefits planning process.
Pharmacy benefits are one area worth revisiting. WTW reported that 58% of surveyed employers had recently audited their pharmacy benefits, examining areas such as claims, rebates, contract compliance, and formulary management.²
For brokers, this provides a useful reason to discuss whether clients have recently reviewed their pharmacy arrangements and understand how their contracts are performing.
Other areas to consider include self-funded or level-funded options, provider networks, vendor service performance, administrative expenses, and programs designed to support employee affordability and access to care.
Each option should be evaluated against the employer’s financial position, workforce needs, and willingness to make changes. In some cases, reviewing the available alternatives may confirm that maintaining the current arrangement remains the best choice.
Consider creating a short list of strategies to revisit with each client. For every option, identify what information is needed, who should participate in the discussion, and when a decision would realistically need to happen.
This helps keep useful ideas available for future consideration.
Make recommendations easy for clients to share internally
A recommendation that makes sense during a broker meeting may need further explanation when HR presents it to finance, executive leadership, or other decision-makers.
Those stakeholders may not have participated in the original discussions or reviewed every alternative.
Providing a concise decision summary can make those internal conversations easier.
A one-page summary could cover:
- Expected employer costs, including the assumptions behind projections.
- Potential employee costs, such as premium contributions, deductibles, and copays.
- Provider network and prescription coverage considerations.
- Implementation requirements, timelines, and service responsibilities.
- The main reasons the recommended option fits the employer’s priorities.
For example, if the employer selects a plan with a higher deductible, the summary should explain the expected financial impact and how that decision relates to the company’s goals.
The same approach works when recommending that an employer maintain its current plan. Documenting the reasons, such as provider access, financial considerations, or administrative stability, helps leadership understand the decision.
Keep the summary focused on the information stakeholders need to evaluate and explain the recommendation. It can also serve as a useful reference during future plan reviews.
Use employee feedback to guide ongoing support
Employee questions during enrollment and after implementation can reveal where additional benefits support may be useful.
For example, several employees may ask whether a particular physician participates in the network. Others may have trouble understanding prescription costs, finding information about their deductible, or knowing whom to contact when a claim needs attention.
These questions offer a practical starting point for improving benefits communication.
Working with HR, plan administrators, and member support teams, brokers can identify which issues appear repeatedly and determine what type of assistance would be most useful.
If employees frequently ask about prescription coverage, a short FAQ could explain how to check a medication’s coverage, understand prior authorization requirements, and contact pharmacy support.
If questions involve finding in-network providers, a reminder showing employees where to search and how to confirm network participation may help.
Employee education can also introduce benefits and support programs already available through the plan. Employees may benefit from reminders about virtual care, care advocacy, or other services included in their coverage.
The goal is to make information easier to find and give employees a clear path to assistance when questions arise.
A short review of recurring employee questions after enrollment can help brokers and employers decide which communications or support activities to prioritize next.
Build a manageable follow-up plan with each client
Once the immediate renewal work is complete, consider scheduling a brief conversation to review the experience and identify priorities for the months ahead.
The discussion can be straightforward. Ask what worked well, whether any concerns remain unresolved, and which ideas the employer would like to explore further.
A useful renewal debrief might address five questions:
- What worked well during renewal and should be repeated?
- Which employer priorities deserve attention next?
- Are there cost-management options that need additional information or analysis?
- What would make benefits administration easier for HR or improve employee support?
- Who will be responsible for each next step, and when should it happen?
Use the answers to create a manageable follow-up plan.
For one employer, that may involve a medical claims review after sufficient data becomes available. Another may benefit from a pharmacy contract evaluation, a discussion about alternative funding arrangements, or additional benefits education for employees.
Include appropriate client check-ins, performance reviews, and preparation milestones before the next renewal. The schedule should reflect the employer’s needs and available resources.
A few clearly defined priorities with realistic deadlines can give both the broker and employer a useful plan to work from throughout the year.
Have a client interested in exploring funding options or pharmacy cost-management strategies? Connect with Trinity ARM to review the possibilities and support your next client conversation.
Key Takeaways
- Renewal conversations provide useful direction for year-round client support.
- Earlier plan reviews give employers more time to evaluate costs, options, and potential changes.
- Strategies deferred during renewal can remain part of future planning.
- Concise decision summaries help employers explain benefits recommendations internally.
- Employee feedback can guide communication and support improvements.
- A documented follow-up plan helps brokers and clients keep agreed priorities moving forward.
Footnote Markers:
¹ https://www.mercer.com/en-us/about/newsroom/employers-expect-health-benefit-costs-to-jump-in-2027/