What plan sponsors need to review at renewal besides the rate

When renewal lands in your inbox, it’s easy to let one number do all the talking. The percentage increase. The new premium. The trend line. Rates matter, of course. But if you only review the rate, you miss the real story - and you limit your options.

A benefits renewal is the best annual opportunity you have to improve the employee experience while protecting sustainability. Think of it less like buying insurance and more like updating a program your people rely on.

Here’s what to review besides the rate.

1. Your plan intent and generosity target

Before you negotiate anything, revisit what the plan is meant to do. Protection? Wellness? Attraction and retention? If your workforce or business goals have changed, your plan intent may need to evolve.

Use the generosity scale again. If 0 is stingy and 100 is the most generous plan imaginable, where do you want to be this year? A small shift in target can clarify decisions fast. It also prevents “death by a thousand cuts” where you remove value in five places without meaning to.

2. What is actually driving costs

Rates go up for reasons. Your job at renewal is to find out which reasons you can influence.

Ask for a clean breakdown. Drugs, paramedicals, dental, mental health, and any high-cost claims. Look for patterns over time. One-time events should be treated differently than consistent drift.

Then look at plan mechanics. Are you seeing overuse due to separate paramedical maximums? Is dispensing fee behaviour affecting drug cost? Is there an access issue that’s pushing employees into higher-cost care later? Your best moves come from understanding the story, not reacting to the headline.

3. The member experience and friction points

Renewal is also a service review. What was hard this year?

Gather feedback from HR. Look at the recurring questions employees asked. Review claim turnaround times and escalation themes. If employees don’t understand how to access care, or they don’t trust the EAP, your plan can be generous and still feel disappointing.

A plan that looks good on paper but feels confusing in real life creates churn, distraction, and resentment.

4. Whether your plan design matches your workforce

For employers with less than 100 employees, a year can shift your demographics, family status, health needs, and even where people live.

Renewal is the moment to sanity-check design against reality. Are you supporting hybrid workers who value virtual care? Are your mental health limits realistic? Do you have the right balance of protection (disability, life) and day-to-day spend (paramedicals, dental)?

This is also where you decide if flexibility tools like an HCSA make sense. Sometimes the best renewal move is not adding more coverage, but giving employees choice within a defined budget.

5. What you will do differently next year

The renewal meeting shouldn’t end with “ok, we’ll pay it”. It should end with a plan.

Pick two or three actions that will influence outcomes over the next 12 months. Examples include:

• A mid-year check-in date.

• A benefits education cadence.

• A targeted plan design change (like combined paramedical maximums).

• A mental health access improvement (like adding virtual therapy options).

These are simple moves that prevent you from feeling stuck next year.

6. How you will communicate the renewal

Employees fill the information gap with rumours. If you change the plan, communicate early and clearly. If costs rose and the plan stayed the same, explain why. If costs rose and you made changes, explain what you protected and what you adjusted.

Use empathy. Use examples. Keep it practical. A renewal communication that respects employees is one of the fastest ways to protect trust.

Renewal is an opportunity to review intent, drivers, experience, fit, and your forward plan, so you stop being surprised by the same issues every year. You become a plan sponsor who runs a program, not just a premium.

Looking for a renewal process that delivers better decisions than “accept or cut”? We can help you understand your cost drivers, pressure-test the member experience, and build a practical plan design and communications roadmap for the year ahead. Connect with us today to get the conversation started.