Every fall, the trucking company Mike drives for has "open enrollment," a time period when employees may sign up for benefits such as health insurance, dental insurance, vision care, long-term disability, etc.

On this page, we share our personal experience with the 2009 annual event and provide some tips about what to look for and what to avoid.

When Mike's trucking company announced in 2008 that they were changing insurance companies, he knew immediately that he did not want coverage from that company. So, he went shopping for a new health insurance policy. He found a local health insurance broker whose job it is to shop across numerous health insurance companies to find the right policy with the right coverage at the right price for customers. We ended up obtaining health insurance through the company whose policy she found for us.

Furthermore, the company sent out a letter informing employees that they would have to pay more for their health insurance than previously.

When our turn came, we walked back to the office where the "benefits counselor" was. The man was dressed in an open-collar polo-type shirt that bore an adhesive label with his handwritten name on it. Vicki was immediately dismayed because she figured if this guy was a professional, he ought at least to have a professional looking name tag. That set-up didn't sit well with Vicki. However, the man rose, introduced himself and shook hands with both of us.

We came away from our time with the man declaring him to be an "enroller," not really a "counselor."

Based on our experience, we are sharing some money saving tips with you on what to look for and what to avoid when it comes to open enrollment for employee benefits.

Money saving tip:

• Look at all of your options for benefits, not just those that your company is willing to offer you. Remember, you'll be paying for them all year long, so they need to meet your needs.
  
  
• Feel free to ask questions, especially in understanding something having to do with your proposed coverage. If a definition is vague in your mind, ask for "Help!" If you can't get the information you need, ask to speak to the benefits counselor's supervisor.
  
  
• Consider carefully all of your deductible options. The lower the deductible, in general, the more expensive the policy. Vice versa, the higher the deductible, in general, the less expensive the policy.
  
  
• Explore other ways that you can lower your premiums. There are automatic rate-ups (meaning the policy will cost more) for health conditions such as obesity and tobacco use. If you can lose weight, stop using tobacco or take other health and wellness measures, your premium may be reduced.
  
  
• Evaluate your need to shop around, such as through a health insurance broker who will be working in your behalf.
  
  
• If you've been with a trucking company for more than 2 years, chances are good that you know when open enrollment is coming up, more than likely toward the end of the year. Start doing your research early. If your enrollment period is in November, we encourage to start looking in June (five months earlier). This gives you time to know what you're looking at. When you get your company-offered options, you'll know what to compare them to. You don't want to be rushed into making important health care decisions that you'll be paying for all year long.
  
  
• Remember, open enrollment is a convenience for your company's payroll department, so that they can get all of their employees on plans all at the same time. If you aren't comfortable signing up for benefits when they are offered, it is your choice to decline them and shop around.
  
  
• Get a feel for what you can afford. This requires that you have a working and realistic budget.
  
  
• Remember that major medical health insurance is something that you hope you'll never have to use. The reason for having insurance is to "spread the risk." Some people have a need at one time, others have needs at a later time. Theoretically, by everyone in the group paying some, needs are met for everyone at some time.
  
  
• Do you think that you might ever go to work for another trucking company or get out of trucking altogether? If so, then you may want to consider getting an insurance policy with "portability," meaning that you can take it with you when you leave an employer. If this is important to you, check to see before open enrollment if the policies offered allow that.

What to avoid:

• Don't let the benefits counselor up-sell you or talk you into agreeing to a more expensive policy or rate or benefit than you're comfortable with. There is a possibility that the enroller may get a commission from each and every benefit he or she signs you up for.
  
  
• Don't overbuy insurance. You can be "insurance rich" and "cash poor" at the same time. But insurance doesn't pay your bills every month. Only what is left after deductions, taxes, pay advances, etc. will come through to you in your paycheck.
  
  
• Don't just look at your benefits only in terms of payroll deductions. Multiply any weekly deduction by 52 and any monthly deduction by 12 to get a feel for how much money will be taken from your paychecks throughout the year. You need to get the big picture.
  
  
• Don't feel obligated to get insurance through your company just because you can do so on a pre-tax basis (assuming your company allows this). You could save much more than that by shopping around.

What about the potential government-run health care?

There is no doubt that some people don't have health insurance, but there are many reasons for this. One of them is that health insurance is too expensive. We've been there. We've ditched more than one policy because the premium rose beyond what we could accommodate in our budget.

When we talked with our health insurance broker toward the end of 2009, we once again reviewed our health care options and examined the offerings of various health insurance companies. We noted on one pamphlet how the company offered coverage in many different states. Vicki expressed surprise, saying that part of the debate on government-run health care supposedly hinged on insurance companies not being able to sell insurance "across state lines." According to our broker, this is a lie.

She also told us that some of her clients -- against her express warnings –- canceled their policies in anticipation of government paid health care. She echoed the quote,

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."