American Assets Trust  (AAT) is a Real Estate Investment Trust based in San Diego, California, serving competitive markets throughout California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. The company acquires, develops, improves, and manages premier office, retail, and residential spaces. In the same spirit that AAT uncovers new ways to utilize and breathe life into rentable spaces, its HR team sought to re-envision the company’s benefits process.

Director of HR Michele Perry and her team support more than 255 employees at AAT. “Open enrollment brought many employee benefits challenges and difficult deadlines,” she shared. Each year the team watched premiums climb and broker fees rise, and it was not atypical for her chief financial officer to send Perry back to her broker 3-4 times to negotiate down costs. It was unsustainable — leading her to search for an alternate, easier brokerage experience.

A better, more transparent broker experience

It’s difficult to trust a broker when premiums surge and the brokerage takes a percentage cut of the premium. “It doesn’t seem like a mutually beneficial partnership,” Perry said. Yet it was the model she found in place across benefits brokerages. “All the other brokers we considered had the same pitch inside the same small benefits box. The walls were getting closer and closer.”

Perry wanted financial transparency, which she found when evaluating Nava Benefits. “My broker had an out-of-the-box approach to benefits,” she said. “He proposed an alternative funded arrangement self-insurance for AAT and provided us with an understanding of how to drive benefits progress. The Nava team has taught us how to manage our benefits plan instead of throwing something at us that we fully don't understand but have to run with.”

With the move to Nava, AAT pays a transparent consultant fee, eliminating the surprise fee hikes AAT experienced before.

“The Nava team is just amazing and super responsive. I feel like they work here with me. I'm so appreciative of the fact that you're there, knowledgeable, and quick to respond. I've never had that with other brokers,” she said.

Introducing stress-free open enrollment

Changing the funding model was a key part of Nava’s solution for AAT, leading to significant cost savings.

Moreover, Nava’s guidance helped Perry and her team feel like they have a true partner in benefits planning. “The Nava team doesn’t wait until the 11th hour when we don't have any other choices,” she said. “The team reaches out months in advance with updates, choices, and recommendations. Plus, they educate me on all of the available options so that I can make informed decisions.”

These weighty decisions impact employees’ lives — and open enrollment inevitably brings stress and questions as employees begin to understand what their healthcare options and expenses will look like for the coming year. “I have a heart to help people and so does everyone at Nava,” Perry said during a Nava Benefits customer panel interview. “I was always so stressed about open enrollment and now I’m not at all.”

Nava’s solution for AAT goes beyond benefits plans — it’s also about empowerment and education. “Nava has brought an abundance of knowledge and assistance to our department and we feel fortunate to work with a team of benefits experts that provide a higher performance level, resourcefulness, and professionalism,” Perry shared.

Building a footprint for the future of AAT benefits

AAT’s partnership with Nava Benefits is now several years strong. The team is working together on a 3- to 5-year strategy to reign in benefits costs while still providing the benefits coverage that AAT employees need.

“Nava cares about assisting AAT to provide the best benefits and experience to our employees. We have a good understanding of how all of our benefits programs work and how much they’re utilized by employees. It’s great to see them excited about taking care of themselves and understanding how to use their benefits,” Perry said.

For Perry, the measures of success for a strong broker relationship are all about trust, cost savings, and empathy. Beyond trusting a broker to have a company’s best interests in mind, brokers must have the experience to back their guidance. “At Nava, you have such a trustworthy team, and you earn that trust by being knowledgeable in your field. You’re well-connected and resourceful. You know how and where to get all the answers. I won’t have to shop the market to compare because I know you’ve brought me the best options,” Perry said.

AAT’s CFO no longer asks Perry to renegotiate; he places trust in Perry, Nava Benefits, and the path forward. “It was obvious that he felt what I felt when your team came in,” she said. “It’s apparent that you care. As your client, we can feel it. That’s what sets you apart from other brokers."