How does Service 1st Benefits support my business during open enrollment?

We personally manage the entire open enrollment process — from educating employees to handling enrollment forms and answering plan questions. Our goal is to make open enrollment smooth and stress-free for everyone.

Can employees contact you directly for help?

Yes. Employees can reach out to us anytime for questions about claims, coverage, ID cards, or plan details. We act as your team’s benefits partner, not just your broker.

What size businesses do you work with?

We specialize in serving small and medium-sized businesses, typically ranging from 1–200 employees. If you’re growing or planning to expand, we help scale your benefits as your team grows.

Do you handle communication with insurance carriers for us?

Absolutely. We take care of claims issues, employee changes, renewals, and any carrier communication so you don’t have to spend hours on hold.

Do you offer voluntary or supplemental benefits?

Yes. We can provide optional add-ons like disability, accident, or critical illness insurance to enhance your benefits package at little or no cost to the employer.

What types of group benefits do you offer?

We provide comprehensive group health, dental, vision, and life insurance options for small and medium-sized businesses. We help you compare plans, handle enrollment, and manage carrier communication.

What information do you need to provide a quote?

We typically need: Number of employees Basic employee census (age, gender, ZIP code) Current plan (if applicable) Desired benefits or coverage goals We keep the process as simple as possible.

Do you charge fees for your services?

No. Our services — including plan comparison, open enrollment, and year-round support — are provided at no additional cost to your business.

Employee Benefits During Leave of Absence: OK Employer Guide

Charlie Hopgood
Jul 30
2 min read

In most cases, an employee on FMLA leave keeps their group health coverage on the same terms as if they were actively working — you keep paying your share, and they keep paying theirs. Beyond FMLA, it depends on your plan documents and the type of leave.

FMLA leave: the clearest rule

If you're covered by FMLA (generally 50+ employees within 75 miles), employees on qualifying FMLA leave are entitled to continue their group health coverage under the same terms as active employees for up to 12 weeks. You keep contributing your normal share; the employee keeps paying theirs, typically by direct payment since payroll deduction isn't happening.

Non-FMLA leave: it's a plan-document question

For leave that doesn't qualify under FMLA — short personal leave, or leave at a business too small for FMLA to apply — coverage continuation depends entirely on what your plan document and employee handbook say. This is a common gap: many small employers have never actually defined this in writing, which leaves each situation decided ad hoc.

What to have decided before someone takes leave

How long coverage continues during an unpaid leave before it lapses
How the employee pays their share while not on active payroll
What happens to other benefits — dental, vision, disability, life insurance — which may have different continuation rules than health coverage
Whether short-term disability replaces income during the leave, and how that interacts with benefits eligibility

When leave ends and coverage would otherwise lapse

If someone doesn't return from leave, or coverage would end, COBRA (or Oklahoma's state continuation rules for smaller groups) generally gives them the right to continue coverage at their own cost for a defined period. Getting the notice timing right here matters — missed COBAA notices are one of the more common compliance slip-ups for small employers.

Why this belongs in your handbook, not your memory

The employers who get this wrong aren't being careless — they're making a one-off decision under pressure, for the first employee who ever asks. Having leave-and-benefits rules written into your handbook before the first request means HR isn't improvising during an already-stressful moment for the employee.

Get your leave policy benefits-proofed

If your handbook doesn't clearly spell out what happens to benefits during a leave, that's worth fixing before you need it. Talk to Service 1st Benefits and we'll review your leave policies against your actual plan documents so there's a clear answer ready the next time someone asks.