September 28th, 2010
I love popcorn; it’s one of my guilty pleasures. When I was a kid, I loved taking the lid off the popcorn popper and watch the kernels explode all over the place. My mother hated it, but I thought it was hysterical how much chaos I could create.
As a thinking person, my thoughts and ideas can act like those kernels, popping out of control without much in the way of harnessing them. So many thoughts creating chaos in my brain; how could I put the lid back on the popper and enjoy a wonderful bowl of popcorn rather than being frustrated with a mess all over the floor.
I was contemplating the best way to utilize social media to get the word out about how IQ Risk Insurance Services helps our clients. There are a million ways to get your name on the internet, but which ones are best utilized for your industry, and how do you effectively approach them?
Sitting down with Jason Lavin, CEO of GoldenComm, a website and search engine optimization (SEO) firm, we discussed some of the chaotic ideas I was having. My brain apparently was like an un-popped kernel of corn, not really aware of how to effectively utilize the tools we have.
In the half hour I spent with Jason, he was able to give me enough clarity about my approach that my brain kernel was able to pop. Now I have a clearer vision of what to do and how to do it.
Jason was able to just scratch the surface of one strategy to get my mind popping, I am anxious to see what he can do with an entire morning. Jason fortunately hosts the number one rated SEO seminar on a monthly basis. I highly recommend registering for upcoming seminars at www.excel-your-business.com. Let Jason pop your brain too.
Posted in News | No Comments »
September 22nd, 2010
Are you paying for benefits that you might not need?
I paid premium monthly dues for a gym membership so I could have access to every single location that franchise maintained, all over the country. How many of those did I frequent? One or maybe two, near my home and office. Paying a lot of money for something that I only use minimally. I went to their membership and asked if there was a way I could reduce my monthly cost but still maintain the benefit of being able to use the two locations. They agreed, and I cut my dues by nearly 75%.
Consider your company’s group health insurance plan. If you are like the majority, your group plan maintains benefits that cover everyone at a fairly good level; copay, coinsurance, deductible, etc. are at a level that would be considered reasonable out of pocket expense if you were a consistent user of your plan.
Now, consider that nearly 80% of the work force spend less than $1000.00 annually on their medical costs and many companies blindly spend a lot on premiums to have benefits that are not consistently used by all. With rising costs of benefit being a primary concern of businesses today, with no end in sight, it would make sense to rethink how those benefits are in place.
With the use of a consumer driven health plan (CDHP) that is paired with a tax advantaged health savings account (HSA), both the company and the participants can benefit from cost savings both in premiums and taxes. CDHPs allow consumers to better control their healthcare and costs by being more selective of providers and better shoppers for medical services. Utilizing a higher deductible plan, the monthly premium savings can fund the HSA which can then use before tax dollars for out of pocket medical costs.
This strategy can reduce high premiums for low plan utilization, provide tax benefits for the company and participants, and allow more informed healthcare decisions.
Posted in Employee Benefits, News | No Comments »
