CORE Insurance is a full-service insurance firm specializing in employee benefits, retirement plans, risk management, and compliance services. For SMBs to large-scale businesses, CORE Insurance leverages best-in-class technologies to create well-rounded employee benefit programs and streamline processes like payroll enrollment.

In an interview with Manage HR, Bill Huang, Partner at CORE Insurance, shares valuable insights on how the firm structures its benefits administration solutions to help clients reduce the time spent on cumbersome administrative tasks.

Recent Changes in the Benefits Management Landscape

In the past few years, there have been tremendous strides in the areas of mental health and affordable care act (ACA) compliance. The recent laws pertaining to ACA have significantly broadened the scope of insurance coverages and have enhanced access to affordable health services, including mental health. Especially with the pandemic, the emphasis on employee wellness is greater than ever.

Carefully vetted strategies and appropriate communication between the leadership and the workforce can help companies better align with the increased attention on these aspects. CORE Insurance, to this end, offers customized wellness and employee as well as manager training programs to boost staff productivity. We also have a complete compliance package tailored to meet the requirements of organizations regardless of the workforce size.

The CORE Mission

The rising healthcare costs and internal budget constraints often prevent employers from delivering all-inclusive benefits programs to their employees.

The primary goal of CORE Insurance is to reduce clients’ insurance rates without having to compromise on their existing benefit programs. CORE insurance helps companies lower the human capital and resources spent on cumbersome administrative procedures by bringing in best-in-class technologies to automate processes like employee onboarding, benefits, and insurance enrollment. We simplify benefits administration by making it paperless. Devising benefits programs are also instrumental in attracting and retaining top talent. By combining benefits expertise and technology, we help reduce cost for clients.

The CORE Insurance Approach to Customizing Benefits Administration Solutions

Functioning as an extension of the client’s HR team, CORE Insurance does most of the heavy lifting. From planning to implementation and monitoring, our employee benefits services come with various value-added perks to enhance an organization’s benefits offerings. We take a highly customer-centric approach where our team delves deep to understand clients’ requirements.

Onboarding at CORE Insurance usually begins with a need-based analysis where we scrutinize information related to business goals, company culture and workforce size. Then, our extensive planning process involves budget analysis and employee satisfaction surveys to structure a comprehensive and customized benefits package that meets industry standards. The solutions come with many options for employees, allowing them to choose programs that best meet their unique needs.

Once the programs are in place, our dedicated account manager handles programs and tasks, including carrier updates, auditing, orientations and employee seminars. In addition, clients can avail of 24/7 access to an online benefits management portal where they can monitor their benefits administration programs.

CORE Insurance regularly meets with clients after the launch to ensure the programs run smoothly.

Customer Success Stories That Affirm Core Insurance’s Expertise

One of our clients, based in California, approached us to help them minimize their ambulance bill. They had to deal with additional expenses, as carriers are often unwilling to pay for availing ambulances that are out of their network.

We went in and coordinated with them for maximum payment and assisted employees in negotiating the lowest final bill possible. We also provided additional sessions to educate employees on the benefits of using in-network ambulances.
In another instance, a technology company was looking to increase employee paid time off (PTO) from a set period to unlimited hours. The transition required a lot of corporate wellness and employee advocacy training programs to mitigate communication barriers between the leaders and the employees. Here, CORE Insurance assisted the client in revising their handbook and training the managers on how to properly administer the PTO.

Differentiators that Set CORE Insurance a Notch Above

We strive to reduce time spent on cumbersome administrative procedures for our clients by providing a streamlined process from onboarding payroll and benefits enrollment to communicating with the employees. In addition, the expertise in leveraging the latest technology for all benefits administration functions, including salary benchmarking, ensures that employees get access to best-in-class solutions.

Depending on our client’s industry, we partner with technology solution providers and consultants to bring additional solutions to their problems.

Our team at CORE Insurance always goes the extra mile when catering to clients. As a result, we have had a high client retention rate for the past 25 years. Some of our clients have stayed with us for more than two generations.