National Benefit Partners Newsletter

January
2016
Dear all NBP Allied Distributors :

First and foremost, "Happy New Year" to and your families from the
NBP team...Dan, Frank, Brian, Marcia, Paul, Sandy, George, Doug, Matt, Gail, and Joyce.

NBP, thanks to all of you, has grown and enjoyed a successful 2015. We are excited about 2016 and beyond as the entire industry continues its metamorphosis. As you know, voluntary benefits have become a more centralized part of the benefits strategy for large and small employers.
Here is an update on some of the new products and services that we have been working on for you for the past year:

The eVolve Marketplace - headed by Matt Boeshore and Gail Stark
New NBP Division focused on the small case market (10-250 eligible employees).  A turnkey "best in class" platform (VB Exchange) for you and your brokers with LBT, CI, Accident, Dental, Vision, LifeLock, Legal Access, and GAP.... all with one simple design and "pre-underwritten" guarantee issue underwriting This can include an enrollment technology and consolidated billing at no cost to you or your brokers

New Products and Carriers
Mutual of Omaha - for "true group" DI and Accident, and CI
Lincoln Financial - for "true group" DI, CI, Accident...and possibly Dental
Crescent GAP (Nationwide Insurance Company) ...employer paid GAP

Bankers Fidelity (Atlanta Georgia) - GAP, Short-Term Care, Lump Sum Accident


Code SixFour
Take your service to your clients to the next level. Create detailed analysis specific to your client and present this information in a professional prepared format with Code SixFour.  The next level in client engagement.Visit their website and contact us to set-up a demo.

In This Issue
Happy New Year
NBP New Employee
A Strategic Solution
Save your Client Money, Time
from the desk of Gail Stark
Allied Carriers
Article Headline
Quick Links
Quick Links
 
 

Market LifeLock as Employer Paid Benefit!!! 
  
IDENTITY THEFT PREMIUMS NOW EMPLOYER DEDUCTIBLE

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will  treat identity theft protection as a non-taxable, non-reportable benefit that companies can offer - even when the company in question hasn't experienced a data breach, and regardless of whether it is offered by an employer to employees, or by other businesses (such as online retailers) to its customers, the blog E for ERISA reports. In short: companies can now deduct the cost of offering identity theft protection as a benefit for employees or extending it to customers, even if their data hasn't been exposed to hackers.

The announcement comes only four months after an earlier announcement by the IRS that it would treat identity theft protection offered to employees or customers in the wake of a data breach as a non-taxable event. Comments to the IRS following the earlier decision suggested that many businesses view a data breach as "inevitable" rather than as a remote risk.

The truth of that statement was made clear to the IRS itself, which had to provide identity theft protection earlier this year in response to a hack of its online database of past-filed returns and other filed documents which ultimately affected over 300,000 taxpayers. The new IRS guidance could be a boon to providers of identity protection services such as Lifelock. LifeLock will discount premiums up to 30% with employer paid plans.  Contact your NBP representative today.
 
 


A Strategic Solution
Voluntary Benefits integrated with a Core Benefit Design
BY FRANK DOHERTY 

On March 23, 2010 President Obama signed Healthcare Reform into law and the benefits industry changed forever. This date put a period (or at least a big comma) in the evolution that started with Consumer Driven Healthcare and moved the core benefit business from being primarily "product-driven" to "market-driven".

As a result, the formerly separate worlds of VB and Core have now been integrated into an increasingly more strategic business model. Today, it is just "Benefits" led by strategic integration that demands solutions that go far beyond product decisions.
The old "Core Benefit's" economic model is deteriorating. There are no more automatic 6%-20% increases in annual revenue. Health Plan commissions are capitated, lowered, or morphed to fee-based.
This disruption has created opportunities driven by technology and the strategic use of existing and new product solutions. What follows is a real example of a broker creating a strategic plan design using a GAP plan coupled with Critical Illness, Accident, and LBT:

Existing Case:   XYZ Company with 210 Benefit Eligible Employees
  • Existing Health Plan had a $3,000/$6,000 deductible and a current monthly premium of $350,650

  • New Broker proposed an increase in the deductible to $5,000/$10,000 and thereby decreased the monthly premium to $225,950

  • The proposal included an Employer-Paid GAP with a $5,000 inpatient/$2,500 outpatient to help offset the increased deductible, with a Monthly Premium of $61,130.

  • The producer Offered Voluntary Critical Illness and Accident to help offset additional out-of-pocket expenses as well as voluntary LBT to supplement the existing group term.

  • Total ANNUAL Savings of proposed plan = $762,840!

  • Producer Commission revenue almost doubled from $126,234 to $244,127!

  • The numbers can work similarly with smaller and larger cases.
The cost-savings would now enable the employer to add benefit administration/HR technology and ACA tracking tools without increasing the original benefit budget...and, it sets the stage for additional VB offerings of non-insurance products like ID-Theft protection, Telemedicine, Health Concierge and/or Wellness.

The end result was a happier client paying significantly less money, a strategically integrated benefits plan, employees with better choices, and a broker with substantially increased revenue.   
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    Code SixFour is Now Available to Grow Your Business

 

As part of National Benefit Partners we are consistently trying to find the best in class products and services to help your business succeed. We recently announced Code SixFour, a leading technology resource that can make a big impact on how you do business and help you achieve maximum growth and profitability.  We have experienced how powerful this tool can be and encourage you to learn more about it.  Contact NBP to schedule a demonstration.  

 


Save Your Client...Money, Time, even Lawsuits
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And, make you client a customer for life. This is a tall order. I'm sure you are asking how? The answer is HR360. HR360 is available to all of your clients at NO COST through your Allied Distributor. Now, with more state and federal regulations, ACA, and new requirements, Human Resources can be a quagmire. Perhaps your large customers with a well trained staff can maneuver through the current byways of HR but small and medium size businesses struggle. What if your offer them a step by step guide to every process, up to the minute state and federal laws, all the health care rules and the "pay or play" tool? You can with HR 360.

HR360 provides on line access to everything an HR department needs down to job descriptions and posters. There so many notices to post for employees; safety, wage and hour, discrimination are only a few. With HR 360 every state and Federal notice is available on line in English and Spanish and can be printed from the system.
HR360 also provides training videos. Mandatory employee training can be done easily and correctly with little effort. There are also videos to train new managers and new hires.
 
 
HR360 provides information on each step of the hire, fire, and terminate process; by state; including disciplinary steps and required documentation. A misstep anywhere in the HR process can be very costly. Employees are able to sue over what seems like a small infraction. An error can cost a business owner his or her company.

See for yourself what a great tool HR360 can be. HR360 is a great benefit for your client and a great tool to get and keep business.
 
 








A Solution to your Problems
 
from the desk of Gail Stark
 
This last week I had the pleasure to attend The Ascend 2016: T he Agency Growth and Leadership Summit, held in Nashville, TN.  The primary purpose of the "Summit" was to provide information and expert discu ssions relating to voluntary benefits and how to build growth strategies for your business in addition to meeting and greeting some of the leading agencies in the United States. One of the real dangers that I have experienced after going to a conference of this type, is that I have so many great ideas working through my head that I am really stressing my ADHD side of my personality.  But the following is one thought that I just can't get away from so I wanted to share this with you.

It became crystal clear to me there is the potential for the eVolve Marketplace process, our EB in a Box, to really be a game changer for brokers who are experienced in the VB market, or have realized the VB market can provide a significant revenue stream for them.

Bottom line for EB in a Box, is that this is a solution based process.  And our solutions have expanded.  We have recently added Lifelock for identity theft protection, and Legalease to provide legal service access to our members.  So, our solutions for you and your brokers become more effective all the time.  We will be continually looking for new and innovative solutions in the near future.

Go to www.evolvemarketplace.com or contact us at (615) 988-4555 and let us help you become an even more important resource for your clients.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
Supplement your Benefit Plan: NBP now offers Supplemental Medical

NBP has aligned with Beazley to offer new flexible and affordable solutions for your customers. Like NBP, Beazley is committed to helping employers broaden benefit options and reduce healthcare costs. Their signature product is Supplemental Medical, which reimburses certain eligible out-of-pocket medical expenses - thereby enabling employees to offset expenses and fill gaps in coverage. It is available to groups with Major Medical in place, and is particularly well suited to those with high deductible plans. Supplemental Medical is gaining in popularity, because it offers distinct advantages for brokers, employers and employees alike. Employers are attracted to the product, because it is relatively affordable, can be offered on a voluntary basis, and helps minimize the burden of rising deductibles for employees.
What's more, this presents a great opportunity for health brokers to diversify their health product portfolios and add a new revenue source.   Talk about filling gaps!
 


Got Gaps? Get Gap
As previously announced, NBP is now offering Supplemental Medical. While the product is gaining in popularity, it is still relatively new to many brokers and customers. We're here to answer questions and help fill in the gaps about Gap.
 
What is Supplemental Medical - aka Gap Medical?
Supplemental Medical Expense insurance reimburses out-of-pocket medical expenses. As more employers migrate to high-deductible plans, a Supplemental Medical plan can help fill gaps in coverage, providing employees with a little peace of mind. It doesn't replace health insurance, but rather reimburses certain eligible out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance).
The Supplemental Medical Expense (out-of-pocket) plan is not a major medical plan. The product is designed to reimburse certain covered expenses, and is only available if an employer has a major medical plan in place.
 
Why is it needed?
As more employers put high-deductible plans in place, employees are responsible for a greater portion of their health expenses - taking a bite out of their budgets, or worse, putting their income and assets at risk. A recent study found that the majority of personal bankruptcies are due to medical expenses, even for those with health care coverage in place. Furthermore, a 2013 study shows growing interest in supplemental health benefits. More than a third of employees surveyed say such benefits are a reason to stay with or join an employer.. 

What does it cover?
Plan design options include reimbursement of eligible inpatient expenses, outpatient expenses in select settings, ambulance transportation, as well as office visits and prescription drug charges.
It may be offered on a voluntary basis, but increasingly employers are receptive to funding all or some of the plan for employees. Coverage is available for employees, as well as dependents.Best of all, it is always offered on a guarantee issue basis (no medical questions).
 
Who's the carrier?
The plan is offered by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., rated A by A.M Best. They are a subsidiary of Beazley Group, founded in 1986. Since then, the company has steadily expanded its scope in terms of products offered and markets served, and currently writes more than $2 billion in annual premiums through its global operations.
 
We selected Beazley, because of their alignment with our strategies and their suite of gap protection products. To learn more about Supplemental Medical call NBP

CALL YOUR NBP REPRESENTATIVE TODAY! .
 
Allied Carrier Partners
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Allied Service Partners

         
  
      



NBP has a NEW website
check out the latest products and information

 NBP has a new website with easy access to product information.  All product information is in one place and the interactive links provide more detail on products and services.
NBP also has blog and the latest industry news. 

  

        Our business is helping you grow your business!
 
Your Employee
Benefits Specialist

National Benefit Partners is an independent marketing organization that specializes in developing turn-key product and service platforms for voluntary employee benefits.

 

Our mission is to provide employees and their families with comprehensive solutions to protecting their financial future through group life and health insurance plans. As part of our mission, we partner with brokers across the country to help them deliver an affordable employee benefit package that meets or exceeds their customers' expectations.

 

Our alliance with a select group of leading Carriers enables us to build and provide "best-in-class" product, service, technology, and communication platforms - all from a single point of contact. Our team of seasoned NBP professionals is dedicated to bringing knowledge, expertise, and high-touch personal service to our relationship with our brokers and their clients.

 

NBP (866) 614-8749

West Coast Regional Office (714) 255-0280

East Coast Regional Office (610) 247-8186

 

www.NationalBenefitPartners.com