When Renewal Savings Were at Risk of Missing Open Enrollment

Story Overview

A California law firm with 125 employees had long relied on the same HRIS and benefits administration platform. As its January renewal approached, the firm identified medical plan and ancillary carrier changes that could reduce costs. Then the platform provider said it could not complete the renewal build in time for open enrollment.

Challenge

That turned a cost-saving strategy into an execution problem. Without a workable alternative, the firm would have had to keep less favorable plans, absorb a higher renewal increase, and pay added fees to make changes in the existing system. The gap was clear: the incumbent platform could not move on the client’s timeline.

When open enrollment was at risk, execution became just as important as strategy.

IMA’s Strategy and Actions

IMA’s HR technology and service team acted to support the client by:

• Assessing whether Ignite could replace the current benefits administration setup in time for the January 1 renewal
• Compressing the normal build timeline so open enrollment could start sooner during the busiest part of the season
• Recreating carrier connections for the medical and new ancillary plans so enrollment changes could continue electronically
• Building a payroll integration back to the client’s HRIS so deductions would flow automatically
• Coordinating with the service team so plan strategy and implementation stayed aligned

Why It Worked

IMA could move quickly because the team controlled the platform and the implementation support. Instead of waiting on a third party with rigid deadlines, the client had a coordinated team handling the build, integrations, and questions directly. The client also saw a clear improvement in responsiveness during the process.

Key Takeaways

This case shows that renewal strategy and benefits technology cannot be treated separately. IMA helped the client preserve planned savings by pairing broker guidance with a practical platform solution and fast execution when the original system could not deliver.