Sioux Falls manufacturer finds big benefits after partnering with different insurance provider

This piece is sponsored by Holmes Murphy.

Cindy Newman suspected it was time to make a change – and as she interviewed potential insurance brokers, one stood out.

“I was looking for a broker who looked at us as more of a partner than a client-broker relationship,” said Newman, vice president of human resources at Diamond Mowers. “I met with a bunch of brokers, and the customer service at Holmes Murphy clearly stood out.”

Founded in 2000 in Sioux Falls, Diamond Mowers is an industry-leading manufacturer of high-performance attachments for use with skid-steers, tractors and excavators. Employee roles include welding, painting, assembling and shipping.

Diamond Mowers’ almost 200 employees now benefit from the changes the company and Holmes Murphy together were able to make to their benefits.

“We made a number of benefit changes that I would not have considered without them,” Newman said. “It’s a partnership as far as how we execute benefits for our employees that will benefit them in their overall well-being.”

As Diamond Mowers considered funding options, the goal was and continues to be “managing the employee benefit cost spend on a long-term sustainable basis and to continue to deliver competitive and innovative employee benefit solutions to their employees,” said Lori Clausen, vice president of client service at Holmes Murphy.

Clausen works with the company on its employee benefits, while Holmes Murphy team members Brent Hodgkiss and TJ Rolfing help with property and casualty coverage.

 “Immediately, Holmes Murphy was able to provide them with full financial analysis of all the fully insured and alternative funding options to meet their group medical coverage goals,” Clausen said.

“We also completed a full carrier/market analysis for all their other employee benefit coverages, and we made strategic recommendations for some coverage changes. These recommendations change and evolve over time.”

Newman said Holmes Murphy walked her step-by-step through a benefit audit, “and I can prove the savings are there because of what we’ve done,” she said. “We’ve been able to save on premiums because they got us into a captive insurance plan, we’re partnering to lower the cost of pharmaceuticals, and we resolved some discrepancies in our plan that helped the company and employees save money.”

Diamond Mowers has an ongoing desire to consider and research unique and innovative benefit solutions, Clausen added.

“They continually want to educate their employees and provide best-in-class wellness solutions,” she said. “This is a forward-thinking employer with a strong desire and commitment to continually look at benefit solutions that are not of the traditional nature but can be put in place because of data-driven specific details. Some of these solutions are specific, based on their own employee population health and wellness initiatives. Other solutions are targeted at long-term solution planning.”

As an employer competing for talent, “a benefit package is more important than it’s ever been,” Newman said.

“People are leaving jobs for benefits because of the cost of health insurance, and that’s only going to get more expensive. With a low local unemployment rate, you have to be competitive, and your wages, environment and benefit package all come into play.”

The experience for Diamond Mowers demonstrates how Holmes Murphy is able to solve employee benefit coverage goals and objectives, Clausen said.

“We work with each employer to identify their specific needs and lay out two-to-five-year strategic planning objectives,” she said.

“We regularly conduct bench marketing reporting, which allows us to look at an entire array of data specific to the employer’s geography and size.  The bench marketing analysis can provide data for all the lines of employee benefit coverages and plan design features, including cost sharing and premium structure between employer and employee contributions.”

Holmes Murphy also will evaluate leave benefits, understanding employee preferences and market-specific factors based on each employer’s hiring dynamics, as well as the benefit preferences based on employees’ personas.

“What I like about Holmes Murphy is they act like a small-town business, but they’re large enough to bring you all the resources you need,” Newman said.

“You really need a partner to walk with you so you feel comfortable asking questions because benefits are always changing. Holmes Murphy responds to every email and phone call, they give me ideas, they’re a great sounding board, and they help me find creative ways to deliver what’s best for employees.”

 To learn more about how Holmes Murphy can support your business’ insurance and benefit needs, reach out via the website.

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