How to Market Your Plan to Insurers (RFP Best Practices)

Executive Summary

Too many group benefits plans in Canada are renewed year after year without ever being challenged, benchmarked, or marketed. The result? Employers overpay. Employees under-benefit. And insurers get comfortable.

Running a professional market review—also called an insurer marketing process or benefits RFP—is one of the most powerful tools employers have to:

• Benchmark their current plan

• Drive pricing competition

• Improve plan design and flexibility

• Upgrade service and technology

• Hold advisors and insurers accountable

But there’s a right way and a wrong way to go to market. This article walks you through the entire process, from internal planning to insurer selection, with the tools and templates you need to run it like a seasoned consultant.

1. What Is an Insurer Market Review?

A market review is the process of replacing—or validating—your current group benefits insurer by competitively bidding out the plan to multiple insurers.

It’s your way of saying: “We’re checking if we’re getting the best value.”

It includes:

• Issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP)

• Collecting quotes from multiple insurers

• Comparing proposals on cost, coverage, service, and tech

• Potentially switching carriers based on results

2. Why and When to Go to Market

Good reasons to market your plan:

• Premiums are rising unjustifiably

• Service levels have declined

• You’ve outgrown your current insurer

• You want to change funding model (e.g., move to ASO)

• You’re unsure about competitiveness of current rates

Ideal timing:

• Every 3–5 years (as a best practice)

• 90–120 days before your plan renewal

• After a merger, acquisition, or significant organizational change

Don’t go to market every year—you’ll burn relationships and lose credibility with insurers.

3. Who Should Run the RFP (and Who Shouldn’t)

Qualified to run your RFP:

• Your benefits consultant (if fully independent)

• A third-party advisor or audit firm

Avoid:

• Letting your current broker run it alone without checks—conflict of interest

• Using template RFPs from insurers themselves

• Rushing the process or skipping interviews

Best practice: Use a structured template and external benchmarking to guide evaluation.

4. How to Prepare for a Market Review

Internal Preparation Steps:

• Confirm executive sponsorship (HR + Finance)

• Define your goals (cost, service, flexibility, tech, etc.)

• Assemble plan data (claims history, rates, booklets)

• Set your evaluation criteria

• Establish a clear timeline (typically 6–10 weeks)

5. Building a Professional RFP Package

Your RFP should include:

• 1. Executive summary of your goals

  2. Plan member demographics (employee/dependent counts, age bands, provinces)

  3. Current plan design and rates

  4. Past 24 months of claims experience

  5. Plan booklets and financial reports

  6. Evaluation criteria and timeline

  7. Required insurer response format (pricing tables, service questionnaires, etc.)

6. Choosing the Right Insurers to Quote

Pick 3–5 qualified insurers who match your group’s size, complexity, and geography.

Consider a mix of:

• Large nationals (for scale and tech)

• Mid-market challengers (for pricing and service)

• TPPs/ASO adjudicators (for innovation and control)

7. Evaluating Quotes and Insurer Proposals

Build an evaluation matrix based on:

Use side-by-side pricing comparisons for apples-to-apples analysis. Ask for ASO quotes with and without stop-loss for clarity.

8. Insurer Interviews and Final Selection

Shortlist 2–3 finalists for a 30–60 minute presentation. Ask about:

• Claims process and exceptions handling

• Onboarding and communication strategy

• Client references (especially from similar industries)

• Real-world examples of service and savings

• Technology demo or platform walkthrough

Decision-makers should include HR, Finance, and any third-party advisor or consultant. Rank each finalist using a shared scorecard.

9. Implementation and Transition Planning

Once you select an insurer:

• Sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) to move forward

• Schedule a kickoff with your new account manager

• Finalize contracts and plan booklets

• Send employee communication

• Ensure system integrations (payroll, HRIS) are tested

• Monitor claims in the first 90 days

Good transitions take 4–8 weeks, so start early and assign internal owners.

10. Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Rushing the timeline or issuing the RFP too late

• Failing to define objectives upfront

• Comparing only on cost—not value, service, and tools

• Letting the current broker “soft market” with no documentation

• Not preparing employees for insurer changes

• Ignoring post-implementation monitoring

A successful market review isn’t just about switching insurers—it’s about validating the one you have or upgrading to a better fit.

Final Thoughts

Marketing your benefits plan isn’t something you do every year—but when you do it right, the impact is enormous.

You can:

• Save 5–20% in annual premiums or claims funding

• Upgrade your digital tools and member experience

• Realign your plan with organizational goals

• Reassert control over a major budget line

If you’re unsure where to start—or want an independent advisor to run the process for you—we’d be happy to help.