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All About Annuities

Posted on: March 10, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

When planning for the future, you may have heard suggestions on annuities and how they can benefit you in the long run. First, what is an annuity? An annuity is basically a way to guarantee income for the rest of your life. There are two standard types. The first is an immediate annuity, and the second, is a deferred annuity. Here is a quick snapshot of the options for each:

  • Life – You will receive dividends for life.
  • Period Certain – You will receive dividends for a specified amount of time.
  • Life Annuity with Period Certain – You will receive dividends until your death. That income will then transfer to a beneficiary.
  • Joint and Survivor – You will receive dividends during your lifetime and after you expire, your beneficiary will receive a percentage of that income.

All of these options can be explained in detail from a knowledgeable insurance agent. For more information and tips on choosing the right annuity for you in the Los Angeles, California area, contact Save-On Health Insurance Services today!

Reasons You Need Life Insurance

Posted on: March 7, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

Life insurance is purchased for many reasons. It can provide funds for burial expenses. It can pay off the deceased’s bills. It can provide for the insured’s family, or even insure a key employee. Some people will purchase life insurance to leave a legacy to a favorite non-profit.

If you are considering life insurance, you should think about these four questions:

  • What exactly is it that you want the proceeds to provide?
  • How much money will it take to accomplish that goal?
  • How much can you afford to pay for life insurance premiums?
  • What is the best type of policy to help you accomplish those goals?

Of course you will want to contact a professional life insurance agent to discuss your options.

Life insurance, like health insurance, is part of a solid financial, loss prevention plan. If you would like to know more about how you can save on your health insurance, contact us. We are Save-On Health Insurance Services and we serve all of California from our Los Angeles based offices.

What You Need to Know about Dental Coverage

Posted on: March 5, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

Health insurance generally covers all medical aspects with the exception of your dental health. Dental treatments can be very costly, and it’s not uncommon for a single visit to the dentist to cost upwards of a thousand dollars or more. A simple root canal averages $300, while a crown can cost as much as $1,500 or more. To reduce the cost of these essential services, many people search for dental coverage.

Dental coverage plans can differ from insurance company to insurance company. With standard health insurance, you pay a deductible and a small portion of the bill. With dental coverage, you receive a certain amount of coverage and then you’re responsible for the remaining balance of the bill. Once you’ve reach the maximum amount for dental services, you are forced to wait until the next year to receive discounted services or you must pay the entire bill out of your own pocket.

The cost of dental coverage differs from plan to plan. In some cases, your employer may offer dental coverage for you and your family. If you are forced to pay for your own coverage, dental coverage can cost between $12 and $50 per month, per person.

For more information about health insurance in California, please contact Save-On Health Insurance Services, located in Los Angeles.  

Do I Have to Give My Employees Health Insurance?

Posted on: March 3, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

There is a lot of confusion and some misinformation surrounding how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as "Obamacare", affects the requirements of business owners to give health coverage to their employees. While there are many regulations governing which businesses need to provide health care insurance to their workers, these regulations are in flux, with changes being made regularly.

There are some parts of the act that have not changed:

  • No employer must offer coverage to employees. The act only requires some employers who choose not to provide insurance to pay a fine.

  • Employers with less than 50 employees are not required to provide coverage, nor are these employers required to pay the fine under the act’s Shared Employer Responsibility part of the law.

  • The Shared Employer Responsibility section of the law does not currently go into effect until Jan. 1, 2015.

A detailed FAQ is available from the government’s IRS website which provides more detailed information about which employers are effected by the new law, and what the penalties are for violating it.

For more information on providing your California employees with health insurance, please contact Save-On Health Insurance Services in Los Angeles.

How Small Group Taxes from the Affordable Care Act Affect the Cost of Health Care Premiums

Posted on: February 21, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

The Affordable Care Act levies new taxes that are earmarked for different provisions that came into being with the passing of the act. Two of these taxes are now in effect as of January 1, 2014, and are funded via small group premiums only. Following is an explanation of these new taxes, and how they are applied to small group policy holders:

  • The health insurer tax is intended to offset the cost of subsidies and tax credits for those buying policies through the health insurance exchanges. All small groups are required to pay this tax on an annual basis, and it is expected to be 2.3 percent of premiums. 
  • The transitional reinsurance contribution program tax is a short-term tax that will sunset in 2016. Funds are used to assist with covering the costs of individuals with the highest risk in the non-group market. The cost of this tax is estimated to be $5.25 per each enrolled member, or about 1.5 percent of dues and/or premiums.

Do you live in the Los Angeles, California, area and want to buy an insurance policy Contact Save-On Health Insurance Services to speak to an agent about your needs today!

ACA Small Group Tax Credits For Businesses

Posted on: February 19, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

Under the Affordable Care Act, tax credits that lower the costs of employee insurance premiums are available to some small business that meet the qualification requirements. 

To qualify, a business must have no more than 25 employees who are full-time. The average annual wage of those employees cannot exceed $50,000. And, health care coverage for those employees must come from the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) marketplace.

For 2014, the maximum amount available as a tax credit is 50 percent of total employee health care costs if the company is a small business and 35 percent of total employee health care costs if it is a non-profit organization in the state. Additional requirements exist for business who want the maximum credit amount. For example, the business must have no more than 10 employees who are full-time and their average annual wage cannot exceed $25,000.

For more information on tax credit opportunities and small group insurance in the greater Los Angeles, California area, contact Save-On Health Insurance Services today.

What Will Rate Volatility Mean for Small Businesses?

Posted on: February 17, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

California business owners checking on their benefits packages have started to hear the term "rate volatility." In short, this term means that health care costs seem likely to continue to rise. Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to slow the cost curve, several factors are driving rate increases:

1) The new law requires health plans to offer substantially richer, and costlier, benefits.
2) Guaranteed coverage options and the end of pre-existing condition clauses will increase utilization.
3) Risk adjustment and subsidization rules that can increase health plan costs even if the plan has mostly healthy members.

As small businesses move into ACA-compliant plans, they will be able to offer employees plans with more benefits. In addition, people who found insurance unobtainable or unaffordable now have easier access to coverage. The cost of these improvements will be spread throughout the healthcare system. For the next few years, it seems those increased costs will continue to drive premiums higher. Of course, small business owners still have the ability to adjust employee contributions, copayments and deductibles in order to manage rate volatility.

Save-On Health Insurance Services can help guide Los Angeles-area employers through the transition to the Affordable Care Act. Learn more by contacting us.

Get To Know The Affordable Care Act Coverage Levels

Posted on: February 14, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance plans come in four different levels. Coverage and range of benefits vary by level. However, the ACA requires that each level covers the same basic health benefits for everyone.

The bronze level, which is the lowest, offers coverage for 60 percent of health care costs. This level also has the lowest monthly premium cost.

The silver levels covers 70 percent of health care costs.

The gold level increases coverage to 80 percent of health care costs.

The platinum level, which is the highest, covers 90 percent of health care costs. As the highest level available, this one also has the highest monthly premium.

With each of these levels, the leftover percentage of costs is left to the enrollee to pay. As you move up a level, your cost-sharing percentage lowers but your monthly premium rises.

For more information on insurance coverage levels under the Affordable Care Act in the greater Los Angeles, California area, contact Save-On Health Insurance Services today.

What Health Insurance Exchanges Mean For Small Business Owners

Posted on: February 12, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

Under the Affordable Care Act, all Americans must have health insurance coverage or face the consequences in the form of a tax penalty. As a result of this law, the ACA requires that states make health insurance exchange marketplaces available where health insurance coverage is available for individuals and small businesses.

In California, the small business marketplace is known as SHOP, or Small Business Health Options Program. This means that small business owners have two options when it comes providing insurance for employees. They can keep existing coverage or buy from the SHOP marketplace.

Small businesses benefit from using the marketplace as they may qualify for a tax credit to cover some of those employee health care costs. If a business has less than 25 full-time employees who make under a certain amount of money per year, then up to 50 percent of employee health care costs is available as a tax credit.

For more information on small business insurance options in the greater Los Angeles, California area, contact Save-On Health Insurance Services today.

Health Care Terms You Should Know

Posted on: February 10, 2014 By: Kevin Tavakoli

With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in effect, here are some terms owners of small businesses need to know:

Exchange — the health insurance marketplace created by the ACA. Individuals, businesses and brokers can use the exchanges to review insurance options and purchase plans. Covered California is the local exchange.

Essential benefits — the ACA requires that all health plans offered on exchanges meet certain standards and offer a comprehensive set of benefits.

Levels of coverage — You may have heard of bronze, silver, gold and platinum plans. These levels represent the share of costs a health plan would cover for a typical member. Bronze plans start with 60 percent coverage, and the amount increases by 10 percent for each level. Platinum plans offer 90 percent coverage.

ACA taxes — the new law applies taxes to insurance premiums to cover the cost of insuring high-risk individuals and subsidies to individuals and employers.

Pay or play — the regulation that employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees must provide insurance or pay a fine for each FTE.

Save-On Health Insurance Services offers expert guidance to help Los Angeles-area employers navigate the new health care environment. Learn more by contacting us.

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