The phrase "open enrollment" has different connotations, depending on whom you ask. For brokers, the two words likely bring to mind a few months filled with teetering towers of paperwork, a flood of questions and phones ringing off the hook. But at least there's a silver lining: It's good for business.
For consumers, the words have even less pleasant associations. Despite concerted efforts by carriers, employers and long-suffering HR departments to shift stubbornly negative views, open enrollment season remains … less than popular.
A recent survey by VSP uncovered just how much people dread it. HR managers, you might want to cover your eyes.
Recommended For You
When asked to rank their preference for seven different seasons, 73 percent of respondents listed the holiday season as tops. No surprise there, right? Other seasons faring relatively well were bathing suit season (48 percent) and back-to-school season (28 percent). It probably won't shock you to hear that tax season was cited by just 20 percent of respondents, but what about open enrollment? Turns out, just 15 percent of respondents listed it. Yes, open enrollment is officially less popular than tax season. But on the bright side, it did beat out allergy season (9 percent) and cold and flu season (8 percent). Hooray?
When asked to describe how they feel about open enrollment, 33 percent of respondents used the words "annoyance" or "dread." Just sixteen percent used the words "excitement" or "eagerness." (While I'm glad to hear there are some glass half-full types out there, I can't say I'd want to hang out with them at a party.)
Of note for those in the industry, only 10 percent of respondents described themselves as "confident" in their enrollment choices at the end of the process. Sounds like there's still a lot of work to be done.
Not that lots of work is anything new for brokers. While open enrollment season is still an especially crazy time for the industry, I'm hearing from many of you that the craziness is spreading throughout the year. The traditional seasonal slow periods have become endangered (or are they already extinct?).
We asked our readers this month to share their best tips and strategies on surviving enrollment season. Yes, more than one answer involved alcohol, but another common theme was the fact that for many, open enrollment season now spans the entire year.
"There's so much pressure to keep your clients informed year round that open enrollment season has become January through December," according to Justin B. White, a benefits consultant at Brock and Spencer Benefits.
Or, as Sozon Vatikiotis, CEO of Alltrust Insurance put it, "What is 'open enrollment season'? It doesn't exist for us anymore. Every season is open enrollment season now. Each day seems to be increasingly difficult with many more complexities to manage."
In the meantime, hang in there and (HR managers, please cover your eyes again), it sounds like you may want to consider swinging by the liquor store on the way home.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the editor-in-chief of BenefitsPRO Magazine and BenefitsPRO.com. He has covered the insurance industry for more than a decade, including stints at Retirement Advisor Magazine and ProducersWeb.
