HR and benefits manager Doug Reys looked around for ways HR could save money for his company and not just be seen as a cost center. He found a big nugget just by making one phone call.

His story:
We’re always looking for ways to save a few dollars on the costs of our benefits and show HR’s value to the company and our employees.

One way we did that was by negotiating a three-year fixed rate for company-sponsored life insurance. It seemed like a good deal: We signed on for a fixed term and the insurer agreed that our rates wouldn’t rise.

Pretty smart, right?

In the middle of that term, however, I noticed that we hadn’t had any claims on the insurance.

I wondered: Should our rates drop if we have no claims? That’s the question I asked our insurance rep.

A ‘small’ discount
She said she’d check on it. A day later she called back and said, yes, it looked as if we could get what she called a “small” discount on each employee’s premium.

When I got the letter with the new price quote, I almost fell over. The total premium decrease amounted to a little more than $3,000.

You should have seen the look on our CFO’s face when I showed him the letter.

And all of that resulted from making just one quick phone call and asking one question.

(Doug Reys, Columbus, OH)

Tags: benefits, life insurance