When it comes to benefits, participants often make avoidable mistakes—not because they don’t care, but because the systems in place often confuse more than they clarify. By analyzing common errors, benefits teams can take proactive steps to simplify experiences, reduce confusion, and ultimately improve plan utilization.
In a recent internal review, I analyzed hundreds of participant support logs and case escalations. The goal? To identify the most frequent mistakes that caused claim denials, lost funds, and frustration for both the participant and support teams.
As shown, the most frequent errors included:
Missing claim deadlines (often due to unclear communication on cut-off dates)
Incorrect or missing documentation (frequently tied to digital uploads or lack of clear examples)
Submissions for ineligible expenses, particularly in flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
I partnered with the Customer Service and Education teams to develop targeted educational materials, including:
Pre-enrollment guides outlining common claim errors
Visual one-pagers for eligible vs. ineligible expenses
Email templates tailored to specific account types and deadlines
A proposal to host regular internal training meetings based on trending support issues
These interventions reduced escalations and repeated participant inquiries, while boosting confidence and participation in benefit programs.
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Fewer resubmissions of claims
Decrease in support call volume during peak seasons
Higher participant satisfaction and confidence in using their benefits
Often, the loudest problems in benefits aren’t technical—they’re human. But technical tools like data analysis help us understand those problems clearly and build scalable, human-centered solutions.