Unlocking efficiency: Why benefits advisors need to embrace digital connectivity
With over 25 years of experience in the benefits and technology sectors, I’ve seen the employee benefits landscape evolve significantly. Both at RevGem and during my time at Ideon, one key insight has stood out: digital connectivity is critical for transforming how brokers and employers manage benefits. While traditional factors like price, plan design, and functionality are still important, modern digital connectivity offers an opportunity to reduce administrative burdens, cut costs, and save valuable time for brokers and their clients. It’s time to prioritize this element when evaluating benefits solutions—and here’s why.
Digital connectivity: The backbone of a modern benefits ecosystem
For decades, the employee benefits industry has relied on electronic data interchange (EDI) to transmit enrollment data between HR systems and carriers. While EDI served its purpose, it’s been slow and prone to errors, which ultimately affects both efficiency and accuracy. At Ideon, we focused on solving this problem by transitioning to application programming interfaces (APIs), which enable faster, more scalable, and more efficient data exchange. Despite the advantages, widespread API adoption has been slow, and brokers have a critical role to play in advocating for better connectivity across the benefits ecosystem.
Platforms and carriers that leverage API-powered data exchange offer brokers, employers, and employees significant advantages: quicker enrollments, fewer errors, simplified account maintenance, and improved overall efficiency.
For example, the traditional process for adding a new benefit via EDI takes 8-12 weeks, requiring manual file building, testing, and coordination between brokers, carriers, and platforms. By integrating APIs, we reduced that timeline to just a few days, allowing brokers to extend their selling season and enabling employers to make updates closer to open enrollment.
Additionally, API connectivity minimizes the risk of human error by identifying and correcting inaccurate or poorly formatted enrollment data before it causes delays or coverage issues. This not only reduces the administrative burden but also ensures a smoother experience for both brokers and employees.
In short, API-driven platforms allow benefits administration to become fully automated—creating a more seamless experience with little to no manual intervention. This is especially valuable for small groups, offering significant operational efficiencies for everyone involved.
Why benefits advisors should advocate for API adoption
As a benefits advisor, your role is about more than just recommending plans—it’s about enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire benefits experience. Here’s how you can lead the charge for API adoption and drive positive change:
1. Stay informed on API solutions
In my career, I’ve learned that staying up to date on the latest API capabilities across carriers and benefits platforms is essential for delivering the best possible solutions. At RevGem, I help clients navigate the complexities of benefits administration, ensuring they adopt the most efficient technologies available. Understanding the ins and outs of API connectivity allows you to educate your clients and recommend the most effective solutions for their needs.
2. Be a vocal advocate for change
Brokers have a unique opportunity to influence the benefits ecosystem, and now is the time to use that influence to advocate for API adoption. When I was at Ideon, we saw how transformative modern connectivity could be for both the benefits experience and the administrative process. At RevGem, I’m committed to helping brokers understand that API-powered solutions aren’t just a “nice-to-have”—they are an essential element of the future of benefits.
As brokers, you can help push the industry forward by demanding that carriers and platforms prioritize modern API connectivity. The tools to create a more connected, efficient, and user-friendly benefits experience already exist—it’s time to make them the standard.
3. Ask the right questions about digital connectivity
When evaluating carriers and platforms for your clients, asking the right questions is key to understanding how they approach data exchange. Here are a few questions brokers should ask to better assess digital connectivity options:
Do you offer API data exchange? If not, is it part of your roadmap?
What does your API strategy look like over the next 1-3 years? What new features (e.g., EOI, enrollment, case installation) are planned?
Which carriers and platforms are you currently connected to, and what integrations do you expect in the near future?
How long does it typically take to implement a new group or add a benefit?
Who are your preferred carrier/benefits administration partners? How do these partnerships enhance the experience in terms of connectivity, added services (e.g., decision support), and operational efficiencies?
Driving the benefits industry toward a more efficient future
Throughout my career, I’ve seen how digital connectivity can transform the benefits experience, from reducing errors to improving overall efficiency. By prioritizing API-driven solutions, brokers can play a pivotal role in improving the entire benefits ecosystem, helping to create a more connected, automated, and streamlined process for employers and employees alike.
At RevGem, we work with clients to help them adopt modern, efficient solutions that improve their bottom line and create better experiences for their teams. The benefits industry is ready for change, and brokers have the power to lead the charge in pushing for API adoption and digital-first solutions. Let’s work together to usher in the next era of employee benefits, where seamless data exchange and modern benefits administration are the norm.