Broward County provides health and pharmacy benefits under a self-insured arrangement to approximately 5,500 benefit-eligible employees. Stop Loss coverage protects the County against catastrophic health and pharmacy claims costs on an individual basis (for claims costs over $400,000) and on an aggregate basis (for over 115% of expected plan costs). Purchasing Stop Loss coverage makes it easier to budget, protect reserves, and maintain financial stability of the plans.
The County moved to a self-insured arrangement for health insurance in 2015 under Humana. As part of self-insuring, the County purchased Stop Loss coverage through its health insurance carrier (Humana for 2015 and 2016; UnitedHealthcare for 2017). In an effort to ensure that the County is receiving Stop Loss rates that are competitive in the marketplace, the County, through its Benefits Consultant, is seeking to obtain quotes from several Stop Loss carriers.
Due to the complexity and various options of Stop Loss insurance coverage, the use of an agent/broker is recommended to leverage the agent/broker's knowledge, expertise, and experience to obtain best premium rates and contractual terms. Article 4.3 of the Agreement between the County and Benefits Consultant requires Board approval for the Benefits Consultant to act as an agent/ broker.
This item requests the Board’s approval for the Benefits Consultant to act as an agent/broker for the limited purpose of obtaining quotes for Stop Loss insurance for a fixed fee of $5,000 and zero commission. By using the Benefits Consultant, the County can ensure that the most favorable terms and best protections to the County are incorporated into our Stop Loss policy/agreement.
The Benefits Consultant will provide quotes, analysis, and recommendation to the County for its review and the County will independently enter into a Stop Loss policy/agreement and pay directly to the insurance carrier. |