Employee Benefits FAQ

As a small or mid-size employer, what employee benefits should I provide?

As an employer, there are certain benefits you’re mandated to provide depending on your size. Examples can include Social Security, unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation. Offering additional benefits to your team comes with distinct advantages – like helping you recruit and retain top talent, and building employee morale and loyalty. Health insurance, dental/vision insurance, disability insurance, life insurance and retirement plans are all employee benefits worth considering to determine which make the most sense for your business and your team. Talk to a Coalter Insurance Group agent to learn more about your options.

The cost of providing health insurance continues to increase. Do I have options?

Health insurance plans come with a monthly premium alongside deductibles and co-pays, most often provided through one of these four options:

o Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
o Preferred Provider Networks (PPOs)
o Point of Service (POS) Health Care Plans,
o High-Deductible Plans with a Health Savings Account (HSA)

The level of coverage you choose for your employees determines how much you pay. Talk to a Coalter Insurance Group agent to learn more about your options for reducing those costs.

Should I provide short- or long-term disability benefits to employees?

Offering a short- or long-term disability plan to cover serious injury or illness can be a great benefit for your team. There are options for employer- or employee-paid plans, though many companies cover the cost of this coverage as part of their employee benefits package.

Should I provide life insurance coverage for my employees?

Many employers do decide to offer team members the option of life insurance coverage, the most common of which is term life insurance (term coverage typically only applies for as long as the employee is employed.) How much coverage this policy covers is up to you – factors to consider include coverage cost along with the competitiveness of your hiring market. Talk to a Coalter Insurance Group agent to learn more about your employee life insurance options.

Which makes more sense: A self-funded or fully-insured plan?

Fully-insured plans are more common than self-funded. For the former, your company pays a premium to an insurance carrier, and that premium is fixed for a year based on the number of employees participating in the plan. Employees are responsible for the plan’s co-payments and deductibles, as well as a share of the premium. Larger businesses are more likely to consider a self-funded plan, with the company operating its own health plan. While self-funded plans can save businesses money because they forgo paying a profit margin to an insurance company, those plans do open companies up to risk if more claims than expected must be paid. Many companies with self-funded plans carry stop-loss insurance which reimburses you for claims that exceed a predetermined amount.

As a small business owner, what are my best options for employee benefits?

There are many options for small employers when it comes to employee benefits like health insurance, but we are especially proud to partner with the Missouri Chamber Federation to offer the Chamber Benefit Plan.
Administered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, this plan is available to small group employers in Missouri who are members of qualifying Chambers of Commerce. You can learn more about this plan and all the ways it helps small businesses here: www.coalterinsurancegroup.com/chamber-benefit-plan/

What should I know about COBRA coverage?

COBRA, the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, allows individuals who lose their group health insurance coverage due to a job change, divorce, job loss or other reasons to keep their group coverage, at least temporarily. COBRA does not apply to all employers, however, and many states have mandated other continuation-of-coverage options for people who are not covered by COBRA. In some states, continuation coverage mandated by the state may be more generous than COBRA. To learn more about COBRA and how it may affect your business, speak with a Coalter Insurance Group agent.

Didn’t find the information you needed?

Give us a call at 573-339-1222 and we’ll be happy to help!

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