How changing your benefits broker of record works

The document that makes the change is commonly called a broker of record letter — a BOR letter. The employer signs it, naming the new firm and the lines of coverage the letter covers. The new firm submits the letter to each carrier or administrator on the account. Each company updates its records on its own procedures and on an effective date it will confirm. The prior firm is generally notified by the carrier that it is no longer the broker of record.

Ares Benefit Group advises businesses of every size, from 2 employees to 500+. Small-business coverage remains the core of the practice. Mid-size and large employers, including companies in the 51–200 and 201+ ranges, often use this process when they want a different advisory relationship and do not want to move the plan itself in the same step. Companies with 2 to 50 employees use it as well.

We will not disparage another firm. If you already have a broker and want a structured comparison before you decide, start with a benefits RFP or broker review. A broker-of-record change is what follows if you decide we should be the authorized advisor.

What a broker of record letter is

A broker of record letter is a written, signed instruction from the employer. In plain terms, it tells each carrier or administrator: this firm is now authorized to represent us on the listed coverage, to receive information about the account, and to work on our renewal and service.

The letter typically includes the employer’s legal name, a list of the policies or lines it covers (medical, dental, vision, life, disability, or a stop-loss contract, as applicable), the effective date you are requesting, and an authorized signature. Carriers have their own forms and may require the letter on company letterhead, a specific authorization phrase, or both. We will use the form each carrier actually requires, rather than treat one template as universal.

The letter does not, by itself, cancel a policy, change a rate, or enroll or disenroll an employee. Those actions remain plan or policy decisions, made separately, on their own forms and timelines.

How a change typically proceeds

The sequence is straightforward. The details — especially timing — vary by carrier, so the steps below are the usual path, not a guaranteed calendar.

1. You decide the scope. The letter can cover the medical plan only, or it can include ancillary lines and, where you have one, a stop-loss policy. We will inventory the contracts you actually have before anyone drafts a letter.
2. You sign the letter. An authorized officer or other person with authority to bind the company signs. We do not submit a letter we cannot show was authorized.
3. The letter is sent to each carrier or administrator. Medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and stop-loss may sit with different companies. Each one has to receive its own instruction.
4. The carrier updates its records. Effective dates and any waiting or confirmation period are set by that carrier’s procedures, not by a single industry rule. We will tell you what each company confirms, rather than promise a number of days.
5. Service moves to the new firm. Once the change is recognized, we are the point of contact for quotes, renewals, billing questions, and the service work on those lines. The prior firm’s authority on those lines ends on the terms the carrier recognizes.

If a renewal is already in motion, we will check whether a mid-stream change is practical or whether the cleaner path is to complete the current cycle and take the next one. That is a timing judgment, not a rule that you must wait.

What does and does not change

This distinction is the one we will be careful to explain to HR and to employees, if employees need to be told anything at all. Many broker-of-record changes require no employee action. If a later plan change does require action, that communication should not be mixed up with the advisor change.

When employers look at a change

There is no required anniversary for a broker relationship. Employers typically take a look when:

• The renewal is far enough out that a new advisor can still do useful work
• The company has grown, added states, or crossed the applicable large employer line, and the current support no longer matches the work. See mid-size business health insurance and employee benefits consulting.
• The firm wants a written comparison of fully insured, level-funded, self-funded, and ICHRA options, and that comparison is not being done
• The service model — who answers, how claims questions are handled, how payroll and notices are supported — is no longer a fit
• Ownership or HR leadership has changed and wants its own advisor of record

None of those situations requires you to leave a firm that is doing the work well. They are reasons to review the relationship on the merits.

How we handle an existing relationship

If you invite us into a review while another firm is still on the account, we will ask for the same census and plan information that firm would receive, and we will put a recommendation in writing. We will not use this page, or a first meeting, to criticize another advisor.

If you then appoint us, we will coordinate the letters, request the claims and plan data we need from the carriers, and take over service on the effective dates the carriers confirm. If you decide to stay with the current firm, the review should still have given you a clearer picture of the plan.

What to send us

• A current employee census (ages or dates of birth, dependent status, work locations, and hours or full-time status)
• The current plan or HRA documents, the contribution schedule, and the last renewal, if you have them
• A list of carriers and policy or group numbers, including ancillary lines and stop-loss
• The renewal date, or the date you would want a change of advisor to take effect
• The states in which people work

We do not need a formal procurement policy to start. We do need accurate data and a signature from someone who can authorize the change.

Our agents are licensed in all 50 states. The firm is based in Tampa and works with Tampa Bay employers as well as companies with people in other states.