Whether you have 10 employees or 100, employee benefits should be at the top of your priorities. Such benefits provide protection for your employees, bringing them peace of mind and attracting even more quality workers. Here are a few things you need to know about employee benefits to help you make an educated decision.
Group Health Insurance
Whether your business is in San Diego, El Cajon, or beyond, we at Axelrod Insurance Services have you covered. For starters, there are two different types of health insurance available to cover employees: indemnity or managed care plans.
Indemnity plans include something called Fee-For-Service (FFS) plans. There are two types within this, one called non-PPO, and the other PPO. PPO stands for “Preferred Provider Organization.” A FFS (non-PPO) is health insurance that allows an employee to go to a care provider of their choice, the coverage either being paid directly by the FFS or being reimbursed to the patient. A FFS (non-PPO) is often more expensive for employees.
However, a FFS with a PPO is part of the managed care type of health insurance. Managed care plans often include the following:
- PPO: PPOs send patients to providers that have agreed to give care with a reduced charge. Usually no paperwork or claims are filed to the insurance company. While this type of plan can save money, PPOs are not widely available in every city, so finding a PPO facility might be difficult for employees.
- HMO: A Health Maintenance Organization provides a network of care providers to employees. When they see a doctor within the network, their rates are lower. They usually pay a co-payment when seeing these providers, meaning they won’t have to file a claim after seeing a health professional.
- POS: A Point of Service product is usually part of a HMO plan and allows employees to go to providers outside of the network. However, this means paying more to the care giver as well as filing a claim to be reimbursed.
The bottom line when choosing employee health care coverage is what you want to pay for it versus what will make your employees happy. Speak to an insurance specialist at one of our offices for more advice about selecting employee health insurance.
Group Dental Insurance
Many times employers offer dental insurance as part of a health insurance package. It may be smart to offer employees a few different options that have different price points. For example, a PPO dental insurance policy might be a bit more expensive, but there may be more providers in their area to choose from. Dental insurance is often far less expensive than health insurance and can provide the extra coverage employees need to stay happy.
Group Vision Insurance
Like group dental insurance, group vision insurance is often included as an option under employee health insurance. Vision insurance is usually far less expensive than health insurance and can ensure that employees feel completely covered for all health situations. Vision insurance usually offers a discounted exam as well as reduced cost on lenses and frames.
Group Life Insurance
Life insurance is always a good idea to include in employee benefits. Life insurance is usually a reasonable price and offers employees peace of mind. You can choose from a variety of life insurance levels, including:
- Term Life
- Whole Life
- Universal Life
- Variable Universal Life
Each option offers a different level of insurance at different price points. For example, term life insurance often costs less but limits how long an employee can have it, while whole life is often more expensive but ensures that the employee will be covered their entire lives.
The choice about which types and how much insurance to provide employees is up to you, the business owner. Offering as much good quality employee benefits as possible ensures happy employees, in turn ensuring a successful business model. Please contact us at Axelrod Insurance Services to not only learn more about what is available to you in terms of employee benefits, but to get a free quote.