Group Coverage

The Malone Company Simplifies Benefits Administration


Administering and communicating employee benefit plans is complicated and time-consuming. Regulatory and legislative compliance demands more and more staff resources. Onboarding new employees is a mammoth task of its own.

We estimate HR staff at a 100-employee company spend nearly 400 hours a year explaining benefits, reviewing enrollment forms and handling paperwork for new hires alone. Preparing information packets, holding meetings and answering questions during open enrollment is another huge investment in staff time.

The Malone Team can handle as much or as little of that load as you want. Our administrative services instantly reduce the burden on your HR department. Our team specialists have deep industry knowledge, and our HR-specific technology suite saves your HR staff and employees time.

Improve Communication and Reduce Confusion


Employees need to clearly understand benefit plan options to make wise choices. And clear, consistent communication is a hallmark of a company that values those who work for it.

The Malone Team customizes employee benefits materials to make communication easier for you and your people. Custom materials can include:
 
  • Benefits announcements and educational material, from flyers to posters and emails
  • Benefit statements, which summarize overall compensation, salary and benefits
  • Consumer-Directed Health Care materials for HSA or HRA implementation
  • Handbooks and policies, from a complete employee handbook to individual policy documents

Employee education is a big part of what we do, and part of our job is putting the a benefits plan in context to show its true value as part of a broader landscape that includes compensation, vacation time and other aspects of employment.

Clarity and Convenience


Clarity and convenience drive all of our tools, forms, education materials and benefits announcements.

No where is this more evident than our consolidated enrollment form, which gets raves from employees and HR staff alike. Rather than juggle separate forms for medical, dental, vision, and ancillary coverage, employees make their choices and sign one document – not a pile of them.

The Malone Company also recognizes the role technology plays in the lives of your employees and benefits staff. Using our online platform, for example, employees can enroll from home when they have the opportunity to take their time and discuss plan options with family members. We make it even easier by providing free mobile apps for employees and HR staff members.

Whether to “go paperless,” use paper enrollment forms or give employees both options is your call. The Malone Team won’t force your company and its culture into a box.

Onboarding New Hires and Transitioning Employees


Additionally, we can ease your load in onboarding new employees, explain their benefit plan options and answer questions.

For individual employees who face a “qualifying event” that may affect their plan coverage, Our entire Malone Team works with them to ensure a smooth transition that meets their needs.

These could include an employee with a son or daughter about to turn 26 who will no longer be eligible for health care coverage under your group plan; an employee nearing age 65 who plans to continue working but could save out-of-pocket costs by enrolling in an approved Medicare plan; or an employee who loses group medical insurance coverage through a job transition, move to another state, or reduction of hours.

We also work with remote employees and those in other states where you have facilities to ensure they have access to – and understanding of – all their options. Our job is to provide all your employees, wherever they are, access to correct, up-to-date information as well as a Pancoast point-of-contact for questions.

Whether during open enrollment or mid-year hires and changes, Pancoast will be right there with you, acting as the conduit with vendors, providing on-site meetings and answering questions. As a Malone Company client, you always have a choice – we can handle everything or designated parts of employee communication and interaction. Our flexibility is your benefit.

Medical Cost Assistance/QSEHRA


Does your small trucking company need to hire and keep more drivers?  Here’s how one company went from 12 to 21 drivers in three months!

Over the years, many small truckers have never started or been forced to eliminate their health insurance benefits due to ever-increasing premium costs that led to lack of employee appreciation and participation.  This often costs them drivers they would like to hire or keep who want help with their healthcare expenses.

Now, a bi-partisan change in the Tax Code allows trucking companies with at least 10 but less than 50 full time equivalent employees to enjoy the recruiting, employee-relations and retention advantages of a benefits package, but without the “trap doors” of company-sponsored health insurance plans that can end up actually hurting employees relations.

Introducing the Medical Cost Assistance Package, featuring the NEW, Federally-approved Qualifying Small Employer Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) from The Malone Company & Benefit Enrollment Services, Inc.

This is not a group health insurance plan – it’s a package that makes any plan your employee has better and more affordable!

Medical Cost Assistance/QSHERA solutions are specifically designed to provide a valuable Employee Benefits package, not a health insurance plan.  Instead of forcing employees into an expensive plan you pick for them, they keep their own plan either on a personal plan, the Federal Healthcare Exchange, or other Federal coverage, or through their spouse.  You simply provide funding to help them with the costs of their own plan, along with a low cost package to enhance their coverage.  This makes what you are doing for them totally visible instead of hidden in group insurance premium cost-sharing.  The fact that you can do so at an easily budget-able, highly stable cost makes for a powerful employee relations too that has staying power!

Medical Cost Assistance/QSEHRA Benefit Package Advantages

 
  • Expenses are entirely controllable by Employer.
  • Employer's spending is entirely visible to
    employees.
  • Expenses are predictable into the future - NO rate increases.
  • Employees have the coverage they choose - not what you choose for them! If they hove problems with an insurance plan they have purchased, it is the insurance company's problem - NOT YOURS! They con even decline the reimbursement if they would be disadvantaged in terms of any Federal Exchange subsidies they might enjoy. They still would receive the benefit of Medical Cost Assistance package's coverage enhancement features, which are exempt from ACA considerations.
  • Premium reimbursements and Cost Assistance package costs are entirely tax deductible to the employer.
  • If an employee's expenses ore lower than the reimbursement level you set, what you pay does not exceed their actual expense level.
  • Premium reimbursements are not taxable for the employee.
  • Low-cost employer-paid Supplemental Benefits package makes any employee's coverage BETTER!

For more information or to discuss how a QSEHRA/Medical Cost Assistance package would benefit your company, call Jim Malone at 931-993-9438.
 
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Top 5 Questions for Employee Benefits


1.​ ​Can a group medical plan help prevent turnover in my company?
The​ ​cost of employee turnover is expensive​ and is estimated at the equivalent of 6 to 9 months in salary. Other studies predict the cost is even more - that losing a salaried employee can cost as much as 2x their annual salary, especially for a highly-educated employee. Health benefits are the number one benefit offered by employers, and are an important part of employee recruiting and retention strategies. Many employers look at health benefits as an investment in employees. Employers can save approximately half of these expenses, $10,000 or more per replaced employee, with a health benefits plan that helps them recruit new employees and retain existing employees.

2. How can I avoid penalties and fines from the Affordable Care Act reporting requirements?
By working closy with a benefits broker, you will be able to determine whether you are an Applicable Large Employer (ALE). Your broker will be able to walk you through the requirements and help pair you with an affordable reporting solution if it is required. https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/employers/aca-information-center-for-applicable-large-employers-ales

3. I can’t afford to offer health insurance for my employees. What can I do to provide a benefit package?
Providing worksite benefits to your employees allows them to purchase insurance products that some would not be able to qualify for due to health conditions or afford in the individual market. These benefits are paid by the employees, typically through payroll deductions. These types of products include but are not limited to dental, vision, guaranteed issue life insurance, medical bridges, disability coverage, cancer plans, critical illness plans and accident coverage. These also can help employees cover their medical expenses during a catastrophic health event.

4. What is the minimum exposure to offer health insurance to my employees on a group medical plan?
The employers minimum responsibility is to pay 50% of the plan for the employee. This plan would need to cover the minimum essential benefits required by the affordable care act. Employers are not required to pay the dependent portion of the medical insurance premium under a group plan. Providing the minimum coverage is sometimes less expensive than employers expect it to be. Also, premium paid by employers is tax deductible!

5.​ ​What’s one message we hope employers take away from a meeting with our agency? Employee benefits compliance is important and not something to ignore, but it’s also not as overwhelming as it may seem. Our agency’s goal is to help our customers feel less apprehensive of the situation and help them through the proper steps to maintain compliance.

Glossary of Life Insurance Terms


Agent - An insurance company representative licensed by the state who solicits and negotiates contracts of insurance, and provides service to the policyholder for the insurer. An agent can be independent agent who represents at least two insurance companies or a direct writer who represents and sells policies for one company only.

Annuity - A contract that provides a periodic income at regular intervals, usually for life.

Annuity Certain - A contract that provides an income for a specified number of years, regardless of life or death.

Application - A statement of information made by a person applying for life insurance. It helps the life insurance company assess the acceptability of risk. Statement made in the application are used to decide on an applicant's underwriting classification and premium rates.

Beneficiary - The person named in the policy to receive the insurance proceeds at the death of the insured. Anyone can be named as a beneficiary.

Bonus Rate Annuity - An extra percent of interest credited to an annuity during the first year that it is in force. The extra amount is above the interest rate to be credited beginning the second year and the remaining years that the annuity is in force. The extra rate is paid in the first year in an effort to attract new policyholders.

Cash Surrender Value - The amount available in cash upon voluntary termination of a policy by its owner before it becomes payable by death or maturity. The amount is the cash value stated in the policy minus a surrender charge and any outstanding loans and any interest thereon.

Direct Response - Insurance sold directly to the insured by an insurance company through its own employees by mail or over the counter.

Disclosure Statement - A comparison form required by New York Department of Financial Services Regulations to be given to every applicant considering replacing one life insurance policy with another.

Dividend - A return of part of the premium on participating insurance to reflect the difference between the premium charged and the combination of actual mortality, expense and investment experience. Dividends are not considered to be taxable distributions because they are interpreted as a refund of a portion of the premium paid.

Evidence of Insurability - A statement or proof of your health, finances or job, which helps the insurer decide if you are an acceptable risk for life insurance.

Expense - Your policy's share of the company's operating costs-fees for medical examinations and inspection reports, underwriting, printing costs, commissions,
advertising, agency expenses, premium taxes, salaries, rent, etc. Such costs are important in determining dividends and premium rates.

Face Amount - The amount stated on the face of the policy that will be paid in case of death or at the maturity of the policy. It does not include additional amounts payable under accidental death or other special provisions, or acquired through the application of policy dividends.

Free Look Provision - A certain amount of time provided (usually between 10-30 days) to an insured in order to examine the insurance policy and if not satisfied, to return it to the company for a full refund.

Insurable Interest - For persons related by blood, a substantial interest established through love and affection, and for all other persons, a lawful and substantial economic interest in having the life of the insured continue. An insurable interest is required when purchasing life insurance on another person.

Lapse Rate - The rate at which life insurance policies terminate because of failure to pay the premiums. When policies are lapsed before enough premium payments are made to cover early policy expenses, the company must make up this loss from remaining policyholders. Therefore, the lapse rate will affect the cost of the policy.

Life Expectancy - The probability of an individual living to a certain age according to a particular mortality table. This is the beginning point in calculating the pure cost of life insurance and annuities and is reflected in the basic premium.

Misstatement of Age - The falsification of the applicant's birth date on the application for insurance. When discovered, the coverage will be adjusted to reflect the correct age according to the premium paid in.

Mortality - The incidence of death at each attained age; frequency of death.

Non-Forfeiture - One of the choices available if the policy owner discontinues premium payments on a policy with a cash value. Options available are to take the cash value in cash or to use it to purchase extended term insurance or reduced paid-up insurance.

Non-Participating - A life insurance policy in which the company does not distribute to policyowners any part of its surplus.

Participating Policy - A life insurance policy under which the company agrees to distribute to policyowners the part of its surplus that its Board of Directors determines is not needed at the end of the business year. The distribution serves to reduce the premium the policyowners had paid.

Policy - The printed legal document stating the terms of insurance contract that is issued to the policyowner by the company.

Policy Proceeds - The amount actually paid on a life insurance policy at death or when the policyowner receives payment at surrender or maturity.

Policyowner - The person who owns a life insurance policy. This is usually the insured person, but it may also be a relative of the insured, a partnership or a corporation.

Premium - The payment, or one of the periodic payments, a policyowner agrees to make for an insurance policy. Depending on the terms of the policy, the premium may be paid in one payment or a series of regular payments, e.g., annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. The premium charged reflects the expectation of loss, expenses and profit contingencies.

Rating - The basis for an additional charge to the standard premium because the person insured is classified as a greater than normal risk usually resulting from impaired health or a hazardous occupation.

Reduced Paid-up Insurance - A form of insurance available as a non-forfeiture option. It provides for continuation of the original insurance plan, but for a reduced amount, without further premiums.

Reinstatement - Restoring a lapsed policy to its original premium paying status, upon payment by the policy owner, with interest, of all unpaid premiums and policy loans, and presentation of satisfactory evidence of insurability by the insured.

Rider - An endorsement to an insurance policy that modifies clauses and provisions of the policy, including or excluding coverage.

Risk Classification - The process by which a company decides how its premium rates for life insurance should differ according to the risk characteristics of individuals insured (e.g., age, occupation, sex, state of health) and then applies the resulting rules to individual applications.

Settlement Options - The several ways, other than immediate payment in cash, in which a policyholder or beneficiary may choose to have policy benefits paid. These options typically include the following:
  • Interest Option - death benefit left on deposit at interest with the insurance company with earnings paid to the beneficiary annually.
  • Fixed Amount Option - death benefit paid in a series of fixed amount installments until the proceeds and interest earned terminate.
  • Fixed Period Option - death benefit left on deposit with the insurance company with the death benefit plus interest paid out in equal payments for the period of time selected.
  • Life Income Option - death benefit plus interest paid through a life annuity. Income continues under a straight life income option for as long as the beneficiary lives or whether or not the beneficiary lives, under a life income with period certain option.

Standard Risk - The classification of a person applying for a life insurance policy who fits the physical, occupational and other standards on which the normal premium rates are based.

Substandard Risk - The classification of a person applying for a life insurance policy who does not meet the requirements set for the standard risk. An additional premium is charged on substandard risks to provide for the probability that such a person will have a shorter life span than a standard risk.

Supplementary Contract - An agreement between a life insurance company and a policyowner or beneficiary in which the company retains at least part of the cash sum payable under an insurance policy and makes payment in accordance with the settlement option chosen.

Underwriter - The person who reviews the application for insurance and decides if the applicant is acceptable and at what premium rate.

Underwriting - The process by which a life insurance company determines whether it can accept an application for life insurance, and if so, on what basis so that the proper premium is charged.

Travel Insurance


Travel insurance is designed to cover you, your belongings and the cost of your travel arrangements against a variety of unforeseeable circumstances that may affect you or your travel plans. Emergencies happen when you least expect it. Travel insurance provides coverage for trip cancellation or interruption; medical emergencies; baggage (loss, damage or delay) or travel delay and much more.

GeoBlue Travel Insurance


The Malone Company offers travel insurance through GeoBlue.
 
GeoBlue advantages include:
 
  • Richer Benefits​ - rich coverage without the hidden surprises
  • Better Service and Care​ - concierge-level access to an elite network of the most internationally-friendly medical providers around the world
  • More Peace of Mind ​
    - you and your customers have the confidence associated


With the most recognized health insurance brand in the U.S.
GeoBlue plans offer unique benefits and services not available elsewhere. Each GeoBlue policy includes access to best-in-class doctors and hospitals in 190 countries. Members have the ability to review the provider's medical background and biography.

With the click of a button, medical appointments can be scheduled and billed directly to GeoBlue or via a mobile device. Members can also find out about the clinical services available or security landscape in a particular destination. These tools empower travelers to stay safe and healthy by avoiding potential hazards, and by locating quality healthcare, worldwide.

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