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San Juan County staff recommends switching voluntary employee benefits from Allstate to Guardian; rollout set for Jan. 1
Summary
County staff told commissioners it will terminate its voluntary benefits contract with Allstate after payment and claims problems and is recommending Guardian as the replacement; staff said the change will be implemented Jan. 1 and requires signature/ratification.
San Juan County staff notified the County Commission that it is terminating the county—s voluntary employee benefits contract with Allstate Insurance and recommends Guardian as the replacement provider.
Tranner, the county benefits administrator, told commissioners the county experienced problems this year with Allstate failing to apply employee deductions and with some claims not being paid. "We had a round of checks, a handful of employees received back from Allstate," Tranner said, summarizing the vendor difficulties and the result of a review by the county—s insurance consultant, GBS. GBS offered Guardian as an alternative that the county believes will provide similar or slightly better coverage and more reliable administration.
Staff said the switch is for voluntary supplemental plans that employees elect and pay for via payroll deductions; it does not change core life insurance benefits. Tranner said the county completed open enrollment and, if the commission signs the termination and adoption letters, the Guardian plan will roll out Jan. 1 with Allstate coverage ending Dec. 31. "There will be no gap; that will terminate the end of this month and then starting January 1 the Guardian plan rolls out," Tranner said.
Commissioners asked whether the replacement will improve recordkeeping and the application of employee payroll deductions to the proper accounts. Tranner said the Guardian implementation will include monthly rosters and a more streamlined reconciliation process: "We send those deductions, we send a check from the county into Guardian. And so yes, that should be more streamlined."
The presentation was treated as an informational item at this meeting; staff said signatures are required on termination and adoption letters and recommended the commission place the signed paperwork on the agenda for ratification at the next regular meeting.
What—s next: Staff will provide the formal termination and adoption letters for signatures and the commission expects a ratification item in a future meeting packet.
