Braden Blog  |  Site Map

Simply Said, Braden Benefits saved us!

We had a national insurance shop working with us on benefits, payroll, pre-tax, everything.  Only nothing went right – we were constantly having people not on the coverage who were supposed to be, problem with employees understanding the plan, payroll deductions that were not being taken out of employees pay, it was a mess.

Our Human Resources consulting firm recommended Braden Benefits to us, we interviewed them and decided to make the change.

Are we ever glad we did – everything runs so much smoother, our issues are minimal, employees know the Braden staff and that they will be there for them and I have competent back-up that is responsive to the needs of our organization, patient and viewed as an extension of our company."
TM
HR Manager, Manufacturing Plant

"I am pleased to say BBSI has delivered on everything they promised and more – they have become an extension of our HR department and truly a trusted advisor."
CJ
Human Resource Manager

Last Minute Agent

Account was with a large well-known employee benefits firm. For three consecutive years, their renewal was presented as a spreadsheet showing their options in the market with less than a 30- day window to make a change. Group has 100+ employees, is a multi-state company with high on-going medical claims. There was no pre-planning, no long-term solutions, no compliance assistance and no assistance with employee communication. Read more.

Agent is a Family Friend

The current broker was the husband of one of the employees, was not communicating to the HR Director, was not on top of the changes in the health insurance market, was not on top of compliance issues, was not helping with employee meetings or claims and was not perceived to be getting the company the "best deal". Read more.

Experts at Self-Funding

A multi-state 260-employee company using a large well-known benefits insurance agency was planning a growth cycle in their business. The benefits agency was not providing them with planning, product review, employee assistance, design strategy, or compliance clarification. When the company received an audit notice from the Department of Labor they were not confident in their ability to provide the requested documents. Read more.

Staying Legal

Large staffing agency with 875 W-2 employees was offering benefits only to internal administrative staff. Company was not offering COBRA to their terminating employees on the advice of their current broker/agent believing that because their internal staff numbered less than 20, they were not required to offer COBRA. Penalties for COBRA Non-Compliance:

• IRS is $100 per day, per Qualified Beneficiary, excise tax assessed against the employer up to $255,000 maximum.
• Annual employer aggregate maximum tax equal to lesser of $500,000 or 10% of the prior calendar year group plan costs.
• ERISA: $110 per day per event penalty assessed against the plan administrator.
• Payment of any related medical claim (the insurer is probably under no obligation to pay a related medical claim due to employer negligence). Read more.

New Benefit Plan

Funding for health insurance was limited to a fixed dollar amount and given to employees to obtain individual coverage.* There appeared to be a greater financial commitment to buildings and other physical investments consuming the funds needed to create a group-based employee benefit package for full-time employees. This issue was becoming critical, as this private school employed many faculty who were unable to obtain individual coverage due to medical conditions. The void in group health insurance also hindered the school's ability to attract new staff. Read more.

No Need for an Agent

Multi-state petroleum company with 100 employees had not used a benefits broker in over 9 years. CFO felt they could negotiate as good or better rates for themselves and did not see the value in a benefits broker or the additional premium cost associated with these services. This group maintains a self-funded benefits plan. Read more.

Non-Profit Private School

Private school received health insurance and employee benefits advice from a large well-known and respected employee benefits agency. The school had 25% of their staff on the health insurance. Rates continued to escalate, yet each year the current agent would bring to the school administration the same insurance carrier with suggestions of different benefit cuts to maintain current rates. Teachers and staff at this private school are on a very limited budget as is the school itself. Adjusting benefits to put more cost onto the employees was creating a problem for the school administration. Read more.