One of the biggest problems I see when new clients hire me is that they never bothered to review the provider contracts they signed years ago. It\u2019s human nature \u2014 you\u2019re excited to get the plan up and running, the provider drops a thick contract in front of you, and you assume it\u2019s boilerplate. Fast forward a few years, and suddenly you\u2019re staring down surrender charges or termination fees you never saw coming.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen it happen more than once. A plan sponsor comes to me ready to fire their bundled provider after years of lousy service, only to discover a 7% surrender charge because they broke a seven-year contract. That\u2019s not just a nasty surprise \u2014 that\u2019s a financial gut punch that could have been avoided.<\/p>\n
The fix isn\u2019t complicated. Before you sign anything, have counsel review the agreement. Spending a few hundred bucks on legal fees today is nothing compared to the thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) you\u2019ll pay later if you get hit with surrender charges. The math is simple: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s the lesson: don\u2019t let your plan\u2019s future be dictated by fine print you never bothered to read. Contracts are written to protect the provider, not you. Make sure someone who knows what to look for reads it first. It\u2019s the cheapest insurance you\u2019ll ever buy.<\/p>\n
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