Friday, August 19, 2022

Employers, there are more options than you think for providing employee benefits


Are you a Florida employer? Do you feel torn between your company’s bottom line and providing your employees benefits? The good news is there that there are more options than you might think. Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the options? The good news is Insurance Policy Centres, located in Kissimmee, Florida, is here to help you navigate and understand what’s available and makes the most sense for you and your business.

Getting Started

We spoke to Douglas (Doug) Myrick, owner at Insurance Policy Centres. He specializes in small business health and voluntary benefits. As an employer, when you meet with him or another insurance broker at Insurance Policy Centres, they will first get to know you and your business. “We seek the story,” Doug says. “First, we're finding out what you’re trying to accomplish.” Here are some questions he will ask you as an employer:

  • Do you offer any benefits?
  • What is the number one concern of your staff?
  • Is this for employee retention?

Insurance Policy Centres will work with you and your business’ HR in order to find out what your needs are, and which options/combinations of options might be best for you.

Benefits don’t have to hurt your bottom line

When you think benefits, you’re probably thinking "expensive". Doug points out that, while health insurance is expensive, there are other benefits that are low cost. Doug gave some examples with average price per month per employee.

  • Vision/dental: $30
  • Accident coverage: $25
  • Bundled coverage that includes pet insurance: $30
  • Long-term disability insurance: $6

“Long-term disability insurance is really under-rated,” Doug says. It’s low-cost, something you hope never to need, but in the event that employees do have a disability that interferes with their ability to work, “It can be a real life-saver,” Doug says.

Another option is voluntary benefits, meaning the employer has the freedom to decide how much they’ll contribute to things like vision, dental, short-term disability, critical illness, gap protection, pet insurance.

Insurance Policy Centres can educate your employees

Health insurance and benefits can be pretty opaque sometimes. Doug observes that many times people he consults "don’t understand what they have". Insurance Policy Centres doesn’t expect you or HR to understand all the ins and outs. They “add a personal touch” by traveling to your office to explain the health benefits to your employees. And this will translate to your employees understanding and feeling at liberty to use what you as the employer have provided. In other words, it helps your employees understand what you’re giving them, a true win-win.

To book an in-person consultation, contact 407.244.0972 or hello@dougmyrick.com.

Insurance Policy Centres is part of the Osceola County Preferred Business Program.