Once a year, every group contract reaches the moment: the renewal notice arrives with the new premium. Most companies risk two mistakes: accepting by reflex, or terminating by reflex. Both can cost money.
What is inside the index?
Renewal increases typically reflect three factors: medical services inflation, the portfolio’s loss ratio (how much the team used), and the insurer’s commercial policy. The first two are objective – the third is negotiable.
When is the index fair?
If the increase tracks medical inflation and usage was not exceptional, the index is usually fair – and switching costs (new waiting periods, transition friction) may exceed the gain. Still, have an expert look before accepting.
When to renegotiate?
- When the increase substantially exceeds market levels without loss-ratio justification.
- When high utilisation drives the jump – fine-tuning the package structure (limits, modules) often beats accepting a raw increase.
- When service quality has slipped: slower appointment organisation, a shrinking network.
When to re-tender?
If negotiation fails to produce a fair result, re-asking the market is the strongest argument – with nine insurers, that is genuine competition. Importantly, re-tendering does not mean automatic switching; often the fact of competition alone brings the incumbent back into the fair band.
What we do at renewal
You receive the renewal notice – if you let us know before the renewal date, we prepare the analysis: is it fair, against what, what is the leverage. If action is needed, one forwarded e-mail suffices and we run the negotiation. Renewal becomes not a risk but an annual optimisation point.
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