Open enrollment 2026, without the overwhelm.
Most employees skim a PDF and re-enroll in last year's plan by default. Tobie turns your benefits guide into a branded microsite, plain-English content, and a source-grounded assistant, so people actually understand their choices this year.
Open enrollment is the one window that matters most.
It is also the one most employees tune out. Forty pages of plan language, a few short weeks to decide, and every misunderstanding turns into a ticket or a bad guess.
The PDF goes unread
The guide is accurate, thorough, and unread. People skim the email, put off the decision, and roll into whatever they had last year.
HR fields the same questions
Deductible? HSA or FSA? Is my doctor in network? The same handful of questions land on your team again and again, all compressed into a few short weeks.
People choose blind
When the materials are hard, employees guess. They overpay for coverage they do not need, or skip protection they do. Then they feel it all year.
The terms people get stuck on.
Open enrollment is the once-a-year window to choose or change your benefits for the coming year. Here are the words that trip people up, in plain English.
Premium
What you pay each paycheck to have the coverage, whether you use it or not.
Deductible
What you pay yourself before the plan starts sharing most costs with you.
Copay & coinsurance
Your share of a visit or service: a flat copay, or a percentage as coinsurance.
Out-of-pocket maximum
The most you can pay in a year. After that, the plan covers eligible costs in full.
HSA vs FSA
Two tax-advantaged accounts for health costs, with different rules on who qualifies and what rolls over.
Network
The doctors and facilities your plan has agreed rates with. In-network costs less.
A calmer way to run your 2026 window.
You do not need a bigger team or a bigger budget. You need your existing guide turned into something people will actually use, then a few weeks of steady communication.
Simplify the source
Send us one benefits guide. We turn it into a branded microsite and plain-English content, with nothing invented and nothing left out.
Launch the assistant
Employees get a source-grounded assistant that answers their benefits questions with citations, on their phone, any hour.
Run the campaign
Announce the window and send timely nudges over email, SMS, and Slack, so the right reminder reaches people before the deadline.
Measure and follow up
See what people ask and where they stall, answer the gaps, and give HR its time back for the conversations that need a human.
One guide in, a real experience out.
Plain-English guide
Your plan, rewritten in the words employees use, on a branded mobile microsite.
An assistant that answers
Source-grounded responses with citations, only from documents you approve.
Timely nudges
Email, SMS, and Slack reminders that reach people before the window closes.
Oversight for HR
Every answer logged and reviewable, so your team stays in control of the message.
Answered in plain English.
When is open enrollment for 2026 coverage?
For most employer-sponsored plans, open enrollment runs for a few weeks in the fall, with new coverage starting January 1, 2026. Exact dates are set by each employer, so the window your team communicates is the one that matters. Tobie helps you announce it clearly and keep answering questions the whole time it is open.
How early should we start open enrollment communication?
Plan to start four to six weeks before your window opens. That gives employees time to read, ask questions, and make a considered choice instead of a last-minute guess. Tobie can stand up a branded microsite and a source-grounded assistant from your existing guide in about two to three weeks, in time to launch.
How do you explain benefits to employees in plain English?
Start from the words people actually use, not plan jargon. Translate premiums, deductibles, copays, and out-of-pocket maximums into plain language, show a few real examples, and give people one place to ask follow-up questions. Tobie turns your benefits guide into plain-English content and a chat assistant that answers only from your approved documents.
Why do employees ignore open enrollment materials?
Dense PDFs and long emails ask people to decode insurance language on their own time, so most put it off and keep whatever they picked before. A mobile-first microsite, short explainer videos, and an assistant that answers questions on the spot turn a passive document into something people will actually use.
Can Tobie help reduce repetitive HR questions during open enrollment?
Yes. The same handful of questions land on HR every season. Tobie answers them from your approved guide with citations, around the clock, so employees get a trustworthy answer immediately and your team is freed for the cases that genuinely need a person.
Does open enrollment communication work for a multilingual workforce?
It has to. Tobie delivers benefits content and assistant answers in Spanish and other languages from the same approved source, so nothing drifts in translation and every employee gets the same accurate information in the language they actually read.
Make 2026 the year people get it.
Start with a Guide Review. In a few weeks, your employees get answers they trust, and your team gets its open enrollment back.