January, 2012
Welcome to Karen Hudgins, Account Manager for Beach Benefits Group!
Karen joined our firm at the beginning of January 2012 and we've been keeping her a secret! Now that Karen has learned the ropes, we felt it was time to introduce her to the world and to our clients!
I hope that you take the time to talk with Karen with regard to any matters regarding your employee benefit plan.
Karen comes to us with a strong background in Human Resources. She has worked on your side of the fence, on the employer side in the Human Resources role. This was a critical point in gaining a better appreciation as to what your needs and your expectations are. We do hope that you have a chance to speak with Karen soon and that you will find she is an energetic, outgoing and tenacious individual who is empathetic and will go above and beyond to meet your needs.
Welcome Aboard!
Posted on Feb 14, 2012 in Company News
The Debate Over Agent Commissions Continues
Here is an interesting article with regard to the value that is being placed on the role of having a representative. As it currently stands, the compensation that an agent receives is currently being counted as part of the overhead of the insurance company. Should it? Are we working for the insurance company? Or are we working on our client's behalf to find them the best Insurance Carrier, the best coverage and negotiate the best price on behalf of our client, the Business or the Individual.
Many say that when Obamacare is fully implemented, it will force most of the agencies out of business because of one of two reasons. The first being that employers will drop coverage and pay the penalty for not carrying coverage and have their employees purchase through the Healthcare Exchange. The second being that as we are now seeing, the compensation being paid to agents, in some cases, is being cut drastically. We have seen in the individual market that compensation has been cut in half. When you are dealing with an individual, of course, you have to deal in volume in order to cover just your overhead. Since compensation is being cut so much, it will force agents and agencies to send people to figure everything out on their own within the exchange.
The true value of the agent is that if they are being unbiased, which our agency is, and not swayed by bonuses or other enticements, then you will get great guidance. Your guidance is just a part of the cost of doing business. If the insurance company has to count that as part of their overhead, then you will see this guidance slowly dwindle away. Since you choose to work with an agent, it is typically understood that you have hired us to represent you. Therefore, this is where the compensation should be placed. The same is true of most products that you buy. Whether it is building, a piece of equipment, the services of an advertising agency, etc. If you told Caterpillar that they had to spend 80% of the cost of their equipment on the equipment and pay sales staff, support staff, research and development staff, et al out of the remaining 20%, then you would most likely have poorly made equipment and very little help in choosing what would be best for your needs.
I finish this entry with a link to the article that Senator Jay Rockefeller is referenced in saying that our commissions hurt consumers. I ask the Honorable Senator to his local Social Security office and ask for assistance with deciding on which Medicare plan he should enroll in.
Here is the article, courtesy of The Life & Health National Underwriter.
Posted on Mar 16, 2011 in Health Care Reform
It appears that under Obamacare, the current administration, the IRS and the business community have recognized the undue strain that the requirements to issue a 1099 for every individual and corporation where more than $600 in goods and services have been purchased from needed to be changed. Please see the attached document on the status of how this could quite possibly be repealed!
Obamacare 1099 Repeal Effort
Posted on Mar 09, 2011 in Health Care Reform
We often wonder why we are gaining weight, why we are tired, where did our energy go, and on and on..... At our agency, it is our stand that we can have a positive impact on our own lives and those around us, if we learn to take better care of ourselves. Let us start at just the simpliest step. Our nutrition. It is the easiest step we can take. Improve your diet and so many positive results will occur.
Here is an article written about a doctor, whose life has always been hectic, who took the steps to correcting this with his own life and now he is impacting others. Enjoy and Bon Appetit!
A Physician Making a Difference
Posted on Sep 23, 2010 in Wellness
With all of the "news" on the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) Legislation, you must be sure that you are getting your information from a legitimate source. The following article appeared in a recent issue of Employee Benefit News. The article resounded with our company because we actually received an email from a client that told us someone had been calling them, telling them some of this incorrect information.
Make sure you get the facts. Make sure you go to the source.
Read more about the W-2 Provision and how it will impact your business.
Chris Beach
Posted on Sep 14, 2010 in Health Care Reform
The Focus on Healthcare and how Expensive it is, is it really the Insurance Companies at fault?
We are moving very quickly toward a new way of getting our healthcare, but can it really be less expensive if the controls that Insurance Companies have in place are not also utilized in our public plans?
This forum is meant to be an open forum on what truly needs to be looked at when controlling the cost of healthcare, without getting to the point of rationing what little resources we have.
An excellent article was issued this last week on Bloomberg Businessweek that highlights the fraud that has occurred in just one state. Imagine how much care could have been bought if this fraud was never allowed to happen in the first place.
Read the Article Here at Bloomberg Businessweek.
Posted on Aug 27, 2010 in Fraud & Waste
