Renewal Best Practices - Knowledge Base | BerniePortal

Renewal Best Practices - Benefits

When it’s time to update your employer’s portal at Open Enrollment, you’ll want to be sure you follow the below step-by-step process and best practices.

Open Enrollment Step-by-Step:
  1. Update and/or create all plans going through Open Enrollment under the “Plans” tab. 
  1. Cloning vs Creating New Plans:
  1. Utilize the “Clone” feature when a plan is renewing with the same carrier. 
  1. To "Clone" a plan, hover over the plan’s action wheel, then select “Clone.”
  2. Update the “Plan Year” and “Renewal Date.”
  3. Update any messaging, links, or PDFs to ensure information is up to date.
  4. Update the rates on the “Premiums” tab if the plan received a rate change from the carrier. 
  5. Cloning a plan ensures all existing employees will remain locked into existing plan rules, such as Guaranteed Issue amounts.
  1. Utilize the "Add New Plan" feature when a benefit type has changed carriers, or a new plan is being implemented at open enrollment. 
  1. Configure “Upcoming Offer” for each “Benefits” subgroup. 
  1. Check out this article​ to learn more about configuring “Upcoming Offer.”
  2. Use the “Offer Overview” tab to ensure all plans are attached. 
  3. If your employer has multiple renewal dates, don’t forget to add the existing plans that aren’t currently going through Open Enrollment to “Upcoming Offer.” 
  4. Think about “Upcoming Offer” as the full suite of benefits that a new hire should be able to elect. 
  1. Open enrollment via the “Open Enrollment” tab. 
  1. Check out this article to learn how to open enrollment in BerniePortal. 

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