How to Escape a Fate Worse than Death.

Everyone understands the need for life insurance, but few of us realize that disability at some point in our working lives is more likely- and can be more financially devastating for our families.

Just consider:

43% of all 40-year-olds will suffer a disability lasting 90 days prior to age 65. 50% of all mortgage foreclosures are caused by disability.
The average monthly Social Security Disability Insurance benefit is only $938.

Ask yourself:1. Do I have disability coverage? If not, this is your first priority.2. If I already have disability coverage, have my rates increased each month? If so, you might consider adding some individual coverage to supplement the current contract. Most likely your current plan will cover 60% or 66% of your current earnings with a maximum benefit. If earnings exceed this maximum, there could be a gap in your protection, which can be remedied through individual policies purchased on a guarantee issue basis. Also, having individual contracts can help stabilize the rates of the total disability benefit. 3. Does your group disability contract protect your retirement plan contributions? Even the best-laid plan, with the savviest investment advisor and the greatest asset allocation, can be threatened if you were to become sick or injured for an extended period of time. A retirement protection disability policy can be purchased to help protect current retirement plan contributions.

Our goal is to work well with you to review your present coverage to determine if you have the plan of choice. To find out more about how to review your current platform, please contact Chris Bittinger at 317.218.1504 at Benefit Associates.

Increase Employee Satisfaction with Marketing.

In an article published in the May issue Journal of Financial Service Professionals, Benefit Associates CEO, Bryan Brenner, shows how to increase adoption and employee satisfaction with consumer-directed health care plans.

Effective communication is the key. By tailoring messages to health care consumers based on the marketing strategy called “Diffusion of Innovation,” companies can more effectively talk with employees. Basically, healthcare consumers (like any consumers) can be classified by when in the sales process they will purchase a product or service. About 3% are classified as “innovators” who are always ready to try something new. Another 14% are “early adopters,” the group that is open to new ideas and are opinion leaders that influence the “early majority” and “late majority,” which accounts for almost 70% of the market.

For a complete transcript of the article, contact Loretta Hirsch at lhirsch@workingwell4you.com or at 317.218.1516.

Obese Workers: A Heavy Burden on Indiana Companies.

Overweight workers file twice as many worker’s comp claims and have medical costs 7 times higher than normal-weight employees according to a Duke University Medical School study. Plus, obese employees take 13 times the number of sick days. Multiply that by the nearly 30% of Hoosiers who are overweight and the cost to business is staggering.

Find out how instituting a weight-management program at your company could result in healthier employees and higher profits. Contact any member of the Benefit Associates team today about conducting a health risk assessment at your organization.

Companies Recently Named the "Best Places to Work" in Indiana.

We want to congratulate the following clients recently named "Best Place to Work" in Indiana. Katz, Saper & Miller and Krieg DeVault LLP were both awarded winners in the small to medium-sized companies. This program honors the top companies in the state, as determined through employer reports and comprehensive employee surveys. Congratulations!

To see the complete list of award recipients log on to www.indianachamber.com