Bennie Insurance, LLC Employee Benefits Brokerage and Technology Consulting Services

Date of last update: September 7, 2023

The services detailed below will be performed by Bennie, Bennie Insurance, LLC, Bennie Insurance Services (CA), Bennie Insurance Agency LLC (NY), or an affiliate of Bennie appropriately licensed as an insurance producer, broker or agent in the corresponding states for any insurance policy or policies for which Company (“Company”) has awarded Bennie or one of its affiliates with Broker of Record (“BOR”) designation.

A. Benefit Placement, Renewal, and Ongoing Evaluation

1. Assist in the review and renewal of carriers and administrators, programs, and plans and plan designs; negotiation of insurance premiums;setting of employee contribution rates; development of benefit program communications; and assessing the overall quality of current employee health and welfare insurance policies for which Company has awarded BOR.
2. Act in best interest of Company in all negotiations with benefit providers.
3. Where possible, provide estimates of anticipated renewal rates to enable proactive management of the benefits program.
4. Conduct market analysis using a combination of existing research and ad-hoc research for the purpose of making recommendations on benefit vendor selection and services provided.
5. Provide benchmark analysis of health and welfare plan offerings and costs to determine competitiveness of Company benefit plans.
6. Assist in the review and development of employee health and well-being programs, as needed.
7. Provide communication materials regarding the health benefit plans and support for the annual open enrollment period, new benefit offerings and/or changes to the existing health benefit plan offerings.
8. Provide support for annual open enrollment meeting, if requested.
9. Depending on Company market, Bennie may partner with one of several external general agencies for assistance in obtaining proposals and placing coverage.

B. Analysis and Reporting

1. Where possible and dependent on data available from benefit carriers and administrators, provide Company with review of employee utilization patterns, experience trends, and plan-specific data for the purpose of guiding benefit plan strategy.
2. Provide Company with financial modeling and experience reporting as needed, where available.
3. Provide Company with summary of all vendor proposals obtained on Company’s behalf, detailing proposal differences, assumptions, and cost calculations.
4. Provide Company with written notice of any vendor who declines to provide a quote for services as part of the vendor marketing process.

C. Company Advocacy & Plan Administration

1. Manage the ongoing administration of Company’s employee health and welfare plans.
2. Act as advocate between Company and health and welfare plan providers and represent Company’s best interest in any conversations with health and welfare plan providers.
3. Provide timely customer service and assistance to Company with ongoing service involving but not limited to interpretation of contract language, correction of provider billing issues, resolution of claims issues, and other general troubleshooting and problem resolution relating to benefit program operations.
4. Attend meetings with Company as requested.
5. Facilitate meetings between Company and benefits carrier or administrator representatives as requested.
6. Recommend and help develop enhancements and improvements for employee communications regarding the health benefit plans.
7. Recommend particular broker-sponsored seminars, benefit events and educational forums and roundtables, as available.

D. Compliance

1. Evaluate Company benefit programs on an ongoing basis to assist with compliance with state and federal laws, rules and regulations, including ERISA, HIPAA, and PPACA.
2. Provide information about applicable new or proposed laws, new rules and regulations, regulatory updates, and/or changes to best practices for the effective administration of health plans. NOTE: This information does not constitute legal opinion or advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.
3. Assist with preparation of Form 5500s if applicable, including compilation of required schedules from insurance carriers and delivery of a signature-ready draft filing.
4. Provide education supporting Company compliance with mandated reporting and posting/notice requirements for health and welfare plans.

E. Benefits Technology Services

1. Use of a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform: To support functionality of the Bennie Platform, Company agrees to use a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform for management of employee and dependent eligibility, enrollment, termination, life events, and any other transactions impacting operations of the employee benefits program, which includes all plans brokered by any affiliate of Bennie. “Benefits Administration Services” as defined here excludes ACA reporting, COBRA administration, EDI feeds, and other services over and above core eligibility and benefits transaction management.
2. Configuration and Management of Third Party Benefits Administration Platform: Bennie will assist Company in identification and management of a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform.
3. Third Party Benefits Administration Platform Provided by Bennie: If Company does not already use a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform, Company’s use of and access to either Ease (www.ease.com) or Employee Navigator (https://www.employeenavigator.com/) will be facilitated by Bennie at no cost to Company, or to the extent legally required or agreed to by the parties, at the cost set out in Company’s Master Service Agreement with Bennie. Bennie contracts with these Third Party Benefits Administration Platforms and will provision access to Company as agreed to by the parties.
4. Other Third-Party Benefits Administration Platforms: If Company is already contracted with a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform, chooses to implement a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform on its own, or offers benefits through an “all-in-one” platform that facilitates management of HRIS, payroll, benefits administration, and/or other bundled services, to the extent legally permitted and subject to Company’s compliance with the terms of this Agreement, Bennie will reimburse Company for the portion of such Third Party Benefits Administration Platform’s fee directly attributable to benefits administration services, provided that Bennie is provisioned access to such Third Party Benefits Administration Platform for the purpose of administering the benefits program in conjunction with the Bennie Platform. Bennie DOES NOT provide reimbursement for any portion of a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform that is not directly connected to benefits administration, including HRIS, payroll, timekeeping, onboarding, applicant tracking, or any other service. In certain states, Bennie may not be permitted to reimburse Company for the use of benefits technology software—please discuss with Bennie for confirmation that such reimbursement is permitted.

F. Benefits Enrollment Services

1. As part of standard services, Bennie will assist Company with identification and implementation of a Third Party Benefits Administration Platform(s) that most closely aligns with Company’s system, organizational, and benefit program goals. Company will keep employee data up-to-date at all times on the Third Party Benefits Administration Platform and use it for submission of all benefit plan transactions, such as enrollment of new hires, life event changes, and termination of active employees.
2. Once Company’s Third Party Benefits Administration Platform is implemented, fully-operational, and access is provisioned to Bennie that allows Bennie to access submitted transactions, Bennie will assist Company with enrollment management services for its active employees to ensure that new hires, life event changes, and active employee terminations are communicated accurately and timely to the Third Party Benefits Administration Platform, provided that Bennie has full access to the Company’s Third Party Benefits Administration Platform and all employee enrollment data is accessible to Bennie via user interface or report (but without limiting any of Company’s obligations in this Agreement). Bennie may partner with one of several external general agencies for assistance in fulfilling enrollment management services
3. Bennie’s services include the following (but without limiting any of Company’s obligations in this Agreement):
   • a. Configuration of external benefit administration system’s plans to facilitate enrollment according to the plan’s eligibility guidelines and according to the Third Party Benefits Administration Platform’s rules
   • b. Project management of initiatives between the Third Party Benefits Administration Platform and benefit vendors, carriers, and administrators to build Electronic Data Interface (“EDI”) or Application Programming Interface (“API”) connections, if available, that automate enrollment transmission after enrollment
   • c. Partnership with Third Party Benefits Administration Platform to accurately configure its form-builder functionality, if available, and ensure completed forms are sent to the correct vendor, carrier, or administrator
   • d. Data entry of enrollment information into the applicable carrier or administrator’s platform or portal, provided that 1) Bennie is granted access thereto and has permissions to update data therein, and 2) the employee’s enrollment record has already been updated on the Third Party Benefits Administration Platform by Company and Company has complied with its obligations in this Agreement
   • e. Delivery to carriers of completed enrollment forms sent by Company to Bennie via secure email
4. Company will comply with its obligations under this Agreement, including the following:
   • a. Timely and accurate payment of any premium and/or fees to benefit vendors, carriers, and administrators (including, if applicable, Third Party Benefits Administration Platforms)
   • b. Monthly review of vendor, carrier, or administrator invoices for accuracy.
   • c. Immediate notification to Bennie if any discrepancies are identified. NOTE: Due to Third Party Service rules, there is no guarantee that Bennie will be able to correct the discrepancy retroactively beyond 60 days.