14-day election notice deadline
The plan administrator must send the election notice within 14 days of receiving notice of a qualifying event. Our engine detects the event and generates the notice within that window, every time.
The most rigorous COBRA notice compliance an employer can buy.
The COBRA Administration & Compliance Engine runs an employer's entire continuation-coverage obligation end to end — qualifying-event detection, statutory-notice generation to the DOL model standard, election tracking, premium billing and reconciliation, carrier reinstatement confirmation, and an audit-defensible proof-of-mailing record — so no notice is late, no notice is deficient, and no penalty letter or class-action complaint ever lands.
Every deadline of IRC §4980B and ERISA §502(c)DOL model notice conformance, gate-checkedQualifying-event detection from HRIS/payroll feedsClosed-loop carrier reinstatement confirmation5-business-day SLA
Why COBRA fails
A single late or deficient notice can trigger $110/day in penalties — per participant.
COBRA administration is a high-stakes, deadline-driven workflow where the employer carries non-delegable liability. Miss the 14-day election notice window, omit a required element, fail to reconcile a premium, or neglect to confirm carrier reinstatement — and the employer faces IRS excise taxes of $100 per qualified beneficiary per day under IRC §4980B, plus ERISA statutory penalties up to $110 per participant per day, plus uncovered medical costs.
Since 2016, the plaintiffs' bar has filed over 70 putative COBRA notice class actions, with at least 17 approved class settlements ranging from $65,000 to $1.6 million. Most failures trace to a short, fixable list: missed deadlines, notices that deviate from the DOL model, premium mis-reconciliation, and — the single most damaging operational miss — failing to tell the carrier a beneficiary elected, so claims are denied and coverage is never reinstated.
The COBRA Administration & Compliance Engine exists to close that gap with a single, exhaustive standard applied identically to every file.
70+
COBRA notice class actions filed since 2016
The benchmark
Measured against the letter of the statute — subsection by subsection.
We do not summarize the law and hope. Every pack is scored against a versioned rule pack tied to the exact text of IRC §4980B, ERISA §502(c), and the DOL model notice. These are the provisions each pack is held to.
60-day election period
Qualified beneficiaries have 60 days to elect COBRA coverage. Our system tracks the election window and flags any late elections for specialist review.
45-day initial premium payment
Beneficiaries have 45 days from election to pay the first premium. Premium billing and reconciliation are automated, with grace-period tracking.
DOL model notice content
Every notice is drafted to conform to the current DOL model notice, including all required elements: qualifying event description, coverage continuation details, premium amounts, election procedures, and deadlines.
Proof-of-mailing requirement
Courts assess penalties for failure to provide required notices. Our system produces a dated, defensible proof-of-mailing record for every notice sent, including certified mail receipts where applicable.
Carrier reinstatement confirmation
After a beneficiary elects and pays, the carrier must reinstate coverage. Our engine confirms reinstatement with the carrier and documents the confirmation, closing the loop that most administrators miss.
How a pack is built
Intake to specialist release, with deterministic gates the AI cannot overrule.
AI extracts and drafts. Deterministic rules — running as code, outside the model — decide what is complete. A human specialist signs every release. That order is never reversed.
01
Compliance Gap Scan
Upload your HRIS/payroll feed and carrier eligibility data. We return a free completeness read: which qualifying events are detected, which notices are due, and which elements are missing.
02
Event detection & notice generation
As your authorized clerical agent, we ingest status changes and carrier feeds, detect qualifying events, and generate each required notice to the current DOL model standard.
03
Election tracking & premium billing
We track elections, calculate premiums, send invoices, and reconcile payments against grace periods — all within the statutory windows.
04
Deterministic completeness gates
Notice content is checked against the DOL model; deadlines are verified; premium amounts reconcile to the plan; carrier reinstatement is confirmed. Any failure blocks release.
05
Specialist release
A benefits-compliance specialist reviews the exception queue and signs the release. High-value or complex matters route to attorney review first.
06
Delivery
You receive the compliance pack: all notices sent, election status report, premium reconciliation log, carrier reinstatement confirmations, and a litigation-grade proof-of-mailing record — ready for audit or defense.
The bar we hold
Rigor you can measure.
100%
Specialist-released
No pack ships without a human signature.
5 days
Standard SLA
From complete intake to released pack.
<1%
Critical-defect target
Tracked against a gold-standard pack library.
4
Notice types covered
Election, subsidy, termination, and conversion — every required COBRA notice.
Why COBRA Engine
Built to be the most thorough option an employer has.
Documentation-complete, by design
The deliverable is completeness itself — every statutory notice, deadline, and confirmation accounted for or explicitly exception-coded. Nothing is left implicit.
Deterministic, not vibes
The gates that decide completeness are code, not a model's opinion. A drafting error cannot slip past a statutory requirement.
In its lane, on purpose
We prepare documentation and run searches as your clerical agent. We never contact the beneficiary, give legal advice, or administer the plan.
Engagement
Flat per-participant-per-month fee, plus per-qualifying-event fee. No hourly billing, ever.
Simple, predictable, and aligned with a compliance standard — not a cut of any recovery.
- A free Compliance Gap Scan before you commit — see exactly what is missing.
- Blended ~$0.75–$2.00 PEPM on covered employees plus $18–$45 per qualifying-event notice packet.
- Optional fixed-fee attorney review for complex or high-exposure matters.
- Penalty-and-defense indemnity SLA available for qualifying engagements.
FAQ
Questions, answered precisely.
Is the COBRA Engine a law firm?
No. The COBRA Administration & Compliance Engine, a service of Your Deputy, Obuke LLC, provides documentation-completeness services. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent you in any legal matter. Attorney review is available and recommended for complex or high-exposure matters.
Do you contact beneficiaries or collect premiums?
Never. The COBRA Engine is not a debt collector and does not contact qualified beneficiaries. The employer remains the plan sponsor and the party responsible for all communications and plan administration.
What makes a pack 'complete'?
Completeness is defined by the statute: all required notices generated within deadlines, DOL model conformance verified, premiums reconciled, carrier reinstatement confirmed, and proof-of-mailing documented. Deterministic gates enforce each one before release.
How fast is it?
The standard SLA is five business days from complete intake to a specialist-released pack. The free Compliance Gap Scan is returned much sooner and tells you exactly what is still needed.
How are you priced?
A flat per-participant-per-month fee plus a per-qualifying-event fee. No hourly billing and no contingency. All pass-through costs are disclosed upfront.
See what's missing before it costs you a penalty.
Start with a free Compliance Gap Scan. Send your HRIS/payroll feed and carrier data and we'll return a completeness read against every deadline and notice requirement of IRC §4980B and ERISA §502(c).
Documentation-completeness service · not legal advice · the employer remains plan sponsor.