No matter what type of health insurance your business needs, consider hiring a broker to find the right health care company. Brokers sell and manage contracts from multiple health plans and insurers. Some states require that you purchase company health insurance through a broker; others allow you to go directly to insurers if you want. But the benefits of using an insurance broker to find health care companies make it worthwhile in almost any situation.

The majority of health insurance plans is "written", or sold, by self-employed agents or brokers who work for agencies representing health care companies. Often, these agencies will handle multiple benefits for your company: health, dental, and vision plans, life insurance, and more. They develop relationships with the providers that let them act more efficiently on your behalf. They can also help your employees process claims or resolve problems: many have “patient advocates” who your employees can contact for assistance.

Your costs will be based on your employee demographics, so expect the quotes you get from any broker to be fairly similar. Because of this, you should choose a broker based on the level of service they can provide. Some attributes to look for:

• Flexibility – remember that the broker works for you: they should be able to help you get the best deal from the right health care company.
• Responsive – even during the evaluation process, pay attention to how long it takes the broker to get back in touch with you.
• Multifaceted – by managing several benefits and handling employees’ questions, the brokers make themselves more valuable to you.