BerniePortal Erfahrungen

Bernie Review

Kommentare: Great

Vorteile:

The software is super simple! I could list a dozen things that I love about the portal.

Nachteile:

I wish we could customize the portal more. I do not like the date feature for new employees.. I wish you could type the date. I also wish their was a button for a passive enrollment.

Highly Engaged

Kommentare: Efficiency and continuity of information delivery of insurance benefits in addition to legible enrollment forms with complete information.

Vorteile:

The toggle inputs make setting up the portal easy, and, if you have all the pieces (census, subgroup designations, rates, and benefit summaries), a portal can be setup in a day, versus 6-8 weeks on other systems. We utilize the portal mainly during open enrollment since it provides an easy way to post age rates or composite rates and provides a delivery mechanism for ACA required Summary of Benefits and Coverage. It leverages much of the data held in the system to pre-populate enrollment forms and collect actual signatures (via touchscreen or mouse).  It also offers Onboarding capabilities (I-9, W-4, Handbook receipts, etc.) for those companies who want to go paperless.  We launched the portal with our 50+ clients first in order for them to capitalize on the 1095 reporting capabilities with BerniePortal then rolled out portals for smaller clients at their renewal. The system is compatible with any device that can connect to the internet so even field employees can enroll using their phone. We have monthly support calls with our BerniePortal Account Manager to discuss newly released features and provide feedback on cases in progress.

Nachteile:

The system architecture is updated frequently and changes are not always announced, so sometimes we find feature changes that we did not know were happening. Many times these are minor, and improvements, but there have been features removed that we appreciated using. Most rating methods can be accommodated like age rates and composite rates for standard lines of coverage. Disability rate tables can be challenging to setup yourself, but the BerniePortal team is available to handle some or all benefit setups. They have a Defined Employer Contribution mechanism, but currently do not have a Defined Employee Contribution mechanism. Adoption and use by the HR administrator is ultimately needed to gain the most value and utility from the system. Standard client data reports are available for download, but custom reports cannot currently be generated.

Useless Product

Vorteile:

The only thing that I liked about this software, is that employees were able to enroll into their benefits, and BP would send me a summary sheet.

Nachteile:

There is a pto tracker, however it only tracks by hour, and does not work if you have different employees with different amounts of pto earned each year. BP does not integrate well with many of the big name healthcare providers so even though they give you that summary sheet, you still have to enter the information in yourself. Customer service is slow and terrible. It takes days for someone to get back to you, and sometimes, it's just to tell you that they still don't have the answer. I also had an instance where another company's documents were uploaded onto our profile for employees to review and sign off on.

BerniePortal Review

Kommentare: Our overall experience with BerniePortal is great. Our customers are coming around to using it and those that do, love it. I've been able to get Open Enrollments done quicker, processing is quicker since we are not continually tracking down employees to receive needed information from paper apps and in some cases with small groups, the need for employee meetings has reduced.

Vorteile:

I like the clean, easy to read look of the software. It's not a "busy" website where you get lost in knowing what to do next. This software is the most user friendly I've seen from an online enrollment site.

Nachteile:

Sometimes I just don't know how Bernie "thinks". LOL. Sometimes the questions asked can be perceived in different ways. For example, Salary updates: "Effective with first paycheck after this date". Answering this question can be complicated since, we as the broker, are often assisting with this question to make sure that Disability rates calculate correctly during renewal.

Admin Staff and Clients Love It

Kommentare: Buying into an enrollment platform was a big decision, and we did not take it lightly. After vetting multiple options, we made the investment with BerniePortal and it has far exceeded our expectations. We would not hesitate to make the same decision again, and would highly recommend this platform to any broker looking to solidify their standing with clients and expand their book all while making things easier for your admin staff!

Vorteile:

BerniePortal addresses those pain points that our clients and admin staff have complained about for years, and offers a robust solution. So much more than an online enrollment platform, BerniePortal offers HR tools, compliance help, integrated billing with some carriers, payroll integration and integrated COBRA administration. Our clients rave about the portal and our admin staff needs have decreased since we began using BerniePortal. The service provided by the BerniePortal staff is second to none!

Nachteile:

The reporting in BerniePortal could be improved - it is sufficient but could be upgraded to be more intuitive for the admin staff and clients alike.

Use for selecting/adjusting/tracking benefits received through work

Vorteile:

You can view your current benefit selections at any time, even if the HR team is off the clock at work.

Nachteile:

The portal doesn't save all entered data so medical insurance benefits get inputted incorrectly, doctors get assigned incorrectly, and life insurance gets selected at incorrect amounts. It's also difficult to access different parts of the site without getting a direct link from HR, which is tedious.

Positive over all. Great responsiveness from success team. Buildout process can be challenging.

Kommentare: It is highly customizable which is very valuable to our firm and the small group market we primarily serve.

Vorteile:

It tackles online benefits administration and onboarding in a very unique way. It is designed by brokers with brokers in mind. It is intuitive and has a user interface that is easy to understand. It is constantly being updated and improved. It gets better every day.

Nachteile:

The build out process can be painful. The build out request form leaves a lot to be desired. There are always a lot of errors in the way the groups and plans are built and because testing a portal is difficult sometimes those errors don't get discovered until the site is live. There is not user guide/manual/step by steps/instructions available so you can't independently trouble shoot, I always have to send an email.

Bernie Portal is great!

Kommentare: I am finding Bernie Portal to be a great value add for my agency. My groups like the portal, it is easy to use, and it helps me get new business and retain what i already have. I am a big fan!

Vorteile:

I like the fact that Bernie Portal is so focused on the broker. The fact that they build each website for me and update each year on renewal makes Bernie Portal such a great partner for my agency.

Nachteile:

Every now and then i run into something that a group may want to do that Bernie Portal just can't accommodate. Usually however, many of these small issues at some point in time get resolved as Bernie continues to innovate and upgrade their portal.

GREAT HR SOLUTION - ESPECIALLY FOR THE COMBINATION CFO/HR ROLE

Kommentare: BerniePortal has allowed me to entirely streamline our HR functions. Insurance renewal time is a breeze, onboarding is a non-event, and we now are compliant on all employment sign-offs, etc. I am able to now financial steer the company instead of reacting to HR events.

Vorteile:

- The onboarding solution streamlines the process - The insurance application process allows for ease of submission directly by the applicant - We were able to upload our updated Employment Handbook and all related policies in to require signature from employees. - The PTO solution takes the record-keeping burden off of my group as managers directly approve PTO requests. - The customer service group is very responsive - The development team seriously considers user feedback (implementation of a PTO calendar view)

Nachteile:

The PTO solution requires a bit more flexibility with regard to rolling-over unused PTO to the subsequent year and/or loading the annual PTO at the beginning of each year

Definitely a little bit of a learning curve, but we're coming around

Vorteile:

Lots of useful tools that we are able to utilize as a broker. Love the 1095 build outs and quick reports.

Nachteile:

Can be a little difficult for a new person to navigate. Would love to see a help feature similar to something you might see on a Microsoft Office programs.

Decent Portal for Smaller Benefit Packages

Kommentare: After utilizing Bernie Portal for a few weeks, there are a few comments/suggestions I would like to pass on. Employee enrollment changes – When I go back to correct errors I have to completely recreate the employees enrollment, from start to finish. When an employee elects to make an HSA contribution change, I shouldn’t have to completely remove and re enter his enrollment just to update something so simple. Reporting – First, I cannot pull a report with HSA contributions, they come over as a PDF with a page for each employee, even if they are not enrolled in an HSA. I then have to search for changes. Second, our spousal and children vol life or AD&D plans are not tied to the spouse or child, they should be tied to the employee. When I pull a report for the vol life and AD&D plans, have to manipulate the data and move it to the employee as it is populated on a line/record that has census data for the spouse or child. I would like to see the data tied to the employee. Pending enrollments – some of our plans require additional steps such as evidence of insurability forms to be completed be fore the employee is actually enrolled in the plans. I would like to see Bernie Portal have the option to mark an employees enrollment as pending and thus exclude it from billing and payroll deduction reports.

Vorteile:

Bernie Portal has good customization options, and they responded quickly when we needed to make a change to the view/setup of our plans.

Nachteile:

We offer 12 different benefit plans with multiple options and tier selections. Bernie Portal isn't equipped to handle this many plans effectively. The reporting feature is not customizable and cumbersome to extract the data that I need. There is also not the option to edit/change an employees enrollment without completely starting over. Pending enrollments that require approval or additional processing such as an Evidence of Insurability form cannot be removed from reports or the billing feature. This causes lots of manipulations to the reports on our end to ensure accurate data.

Review by Company Administrator

Kommentare: From the brokers admin standpoint the software provides an online solution to administer and maintain benefits, especially for the smaller to midsize groups. It gets more complicated with larger groups that have multiple levels. Working closely with a BP rep that is a good fit for the firm is extremely important to make these build outs and renewals go smoothly.

Vorteile:

The software's functionality is fairly easy to use from the standpoint of the brokers admin. I am able to easily train our groups admins to manage their groups benefits, enrollment and renewal process.

Nachteile:

The reports feature is limited and not very robust. It would be great to create reports with only the information needed and in the order your like to see it displayed.

Rolka Loube's Review

Kommentare: Rolka Loube is very happy with BerniePortal and is excited to keep using the portal/new services for years to come.

Vorteile:

All around good product/software. The team(s) at BerniePortal are always there to help and are extremely professional every time I have spoken to them.

Nachteile:

The only con I would say that I have would be with the PTO feature we have set up. It has been giving us issues almost the entire time we have been using it. But will say that BerniePortal is always there to help with those issues.

difficult to pull information

Kommentare: difficult, slow, and not intuitive to users needs, many issues with items that required varying amounts of coverage

Vorteile:

less paper electronic, quicker turnaround time for employees

Nachteile:

slow to find employees, reports are not customize-able. many steps just to find a small piece of information

BP Review

Kommentare: It's okay, I really appreciate the help, direction and response time of our team, but the portal itself it just clunky.

Vorteile:

Basic enrollments (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, STD, LTD) and normal contributions, it's really easy to build and use.

Nachteile:

Anything that needs to be slightly customized it doesn't have the capability. ie: A group I had contributes a flat amount for Medical, Dental, Vision and EE Group Life. The group does not contribute to dependent group life, vol std, vol ltd, fsa or hsa. It is unusual set up, but I had to find different work arounds, non of which were "easy" and slightly confusing for both the employer and employees The other thing is that updates given to the plan, do not automatically update on the subgroup level.

We use Bernie Portal for about 50 groups, almost all without a hitch.

Kommentare: It makes employee benefit open enrollment and carrier updates so much faster and smoother.

Vorteile:

The customer support is amazing. My questions are answered promptly, and they are responsive to suggestions and ideas.

Nachteile:

The reporting functions are pretty basic. There is a spreadsheet of data that is useful, but I have to sort through it all to get what I want.

Bernie Portal Review

Vorteile:

Customer service, reporting, build out support

Nachteile:

Cumbersome, reporting features nice concise

It serves a purpose

Kommentare: My employees have found it easy to maneuver around the system and I puts spelling and ss numbers in their control so errors are less likely.

Vorteile:

It helped move our benefit selection to an online process

Nachteile:

It won't let me pull reports properly - it keeps telling me I already downloaded the report and I cant get it again even with different parameters.

Not very user friendly

Kommentare: Overall I like the system, it has made my job easier to sign employees up for benefits. However, it is not very user friendly and can sometimes be frustrating to navigate.

Vorteile:

When it works right employees are able to easily click on a link in an email and sign up for all our benefits.

Nachteile:

Quite often employees don't recognize the sender and never read the email so I have to chase them down and try to manually get them enrolled. And it's 50/50 as to whether BerniePortal will let me sign them up manually. Sometimes I have to delete them and reload them without an email address. And I can never talk to them directly, I have to contact my broker to get answers. Most employees, when they see the name "BerniePortal" think it's some kind of spam and deletes it.

HR Benefits Coordinator

Kommentare: It s a great experience

Vorteile:

Easy to use, fast, to the point. It isn't difficult to use

Nachteile:

Nothing. I have experienced great things with this program

Bernie Portal Review

Kommentare: The Bernie Portal has been great for us. It has helped eliminate the amount of paperwork required. I work with our rep from The Hatcher Agency and he has been super helpful. He helps me with any problems.

Vorteile:

I love the ease of the software. I am hoping to use more of the features.

Nachteile:

The one con would be during open enrollment, employees are to choose each of their benefits again. Is there a way to list all of their benefits and then if they wanted to change, give them that option.

Bernie is a good benefit management tool

Kommentare: Has been excellent and the employees loved it.
Problems have been solved quickly when a solution is available.

Vorteile:

The customer support in getting started and setting up the portal as your benefit enrollment solution. The simplicity of the screens and the ease of following through from start to finish

Nachteile:

Wish the reporting was more customizable Needs development on the more intricate elements of benefit management; beneficiaries designation variances between multiple policies, dependent designations and qualifications Ability to import images to benefit descriptive page to reflect carriers

Onboarding with ease

Kommentare: Overall a good experience so far.

Vorteile:

User friendly interface simplifies complicated information

Nachteile:

Some restrictions on how information is communicated

BERNIEPORTAL

Kommentare: This made it quick and organized for open enrollment

Vorteile:

It is a great tool for completing open enrollment

Nachteile:

as far as I know I like everything so far

Good product and the creators "get it"

Kommentare: I am still new with my Bernie experience; however, I believe it is a great product that will enhance my ability to write and maintain business as a broker.

Vorteile:

The capabilities are very nice, and the main reason I selected Bernie is because they build the site for me

Nachteile:

Communication process is poor. I believe that your product would go from good to great if you had a dedicated customer support line that handled broker and client questions. Now, I have to go through the same person who builds the system. He is super nice and good at building sites, but he is often unavailable because he is building other sites (as he should be). For example, getting simple questions answered to COBRA was quite a challenge and setting up COBRA to much longer than it should have. Communication was the real issue