Five Questions a CFO Should Ask Before the Next Benefits Renewal

From

Ezra A. Gonzalez

Date

March 2026

Reading time

Three minutes

Five questions that change the room

Most renewal meetings are presentations, not negotiations. The broker walks through a deck, lands on a number, and the room's job is to accept it. Five questions change that posture — and two of them have answers most people in the room would rather not give.

"What's actually driving our increase — trend, our own claims, or margin?" If the answer is a single blended number, you're being managed. Each component is negotiable to a different degree, and you're entitled to see them.
"If we change nothing, what does this cost us in three years?" Compounding is the whole story. A 9% annual increase nearly doubles your spend in eight years. Putting the three-year number on the table reframes the urgency.
"Everything we've tried — did it remove cost, or just move it?" Shopping carriers, raising deductibles, and shifting premium all relocate cost. If every past move was a relocation, you've never actually addressed the spend.
"Who here is paid to bring us a structural alternative?" Usually, no one. Your carrier earns on premium; your broker earns on the renewal. A structural approach that lowers the spend sits outside both incentives.
"What would it take to lower our spend without touching coverage?" This is the question the first four lead to. If the answer is a shrug, it may be time for a different conversation.

Watch how the room answers

You'll learn a lot from how the room handles questions four and five. The first three are about reading the renewal; the last two are about whether anyone in your current arrangement is structurally able to help. Silence is its own answer.

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Ezra A. Gonzalez

Nationally licensed health & life insurance broker