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.

Why Your Vision Plan Covers an Eye Exam But Not New Glasses the Same Year

Service 1st Benefits

29 minutes ago

2 min read

Showed up for your annual eye exam and found out new frames aren't covered again yet? That's not a mistake — vision plans are built with different renewal clocks for different parts of your benefit.

The "12/12/24" Structure

Most vision plans are built around a frequency pattern shorthand like 12/12/12 or 12/12/24 — the numbers referring to how often, in months, you can use each part of the benefit: eye exam, lenses, and frames, in that order. A 12/12/24 plan covers a new exam and new lenses every 12 months, but new frames only every 24 months.

Why Frames Are Often the Odd One Out

Frames tend to have the longer renewal window because they're the most durable part of the benefit — a pair of glasses doesn't wear out at the same rate a prescription changes. That's why it's common to get your annual exam and updated lenses covered on schedule, while the frames themselves stay on a two-year clock.

Contacts Are Usually "Instead Of," Not "In Addition To"

If your plan offers a contact lens allowance, it typically replaces the glasses lenses/frames allowance for that benefit period rather than stacking on top of it. Choosing contacts one year generally means no separate glasses allowance that same period.

It's a Plan Design Choice, Not a Fixed Rule

Whether your specific plan runs 12/12/12 or 12/12/24 — or something else entirely — is decided by the employer's plan design, not a standard every vision plan follows. That's why the answer can be genuinely different from one employer to the next, even among plans that otherwise look similar.

What to Actually Do

Check your specific plan's frequency schedule before assuming new frames are covered just because your exam is. If you're not sure which structure applies, that's a quick one to confirm rather than guess at the register.

Final Thoughts

An eye exam being covered doesn't automatically mean everything else on your vision benefit renewed at the same time. Knowing that exams, lenses, and frames can each run on their own clock is what keeps a normal benefit structure from feeling like a surprise denial.