MILWAUKEE, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- With substantial tax savings for
consumers and customer-retention potential for agents, Premium Only Plans are
emerging on the health insurance landscape as a valuable component of small
group health insurance plans. However, not enough people are aware of their
existence and benefits. John Alden Life Insurance Company, a legal entity of
Fortis Health, and a leading national provider of such plans, wants to change
this.
Premium Only Plans provide a way for employers to enhance their employee
benefit package while reducing both employer and employee taxes. POPs are an
exciting concept in employee benefit programs created through certain
provisions of Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 125 provides
for tax-exempt treatment of employee premium contributions to certain
employer-sponsored group benefit plans. Eligible employers include
corporations only. The types of nontaxable benefit plans which can be
contained within a POP are:
-- Health -- Short-Term Disability
-- Vision -- Long-Term Disability
-- Dental -- Group Term Life (up to $50,000)
"Research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute(R) (EBRI) shows that
57% of small employers don't understand how a Premium Only Plan can benefit
them," comments Ross Rosenberg, Senior Vice President, North Star Marketing.
"We're certain that once agents, consumers and small businesses become aware
of their benefits, POPs will continue to grow in popularity."
POP benefits include:
-- Employer tax savings: payments made for employee premiums are
subtracted pre-tax, allowing for an average savings of up to 10% on
FICA and other payroll taxes.
-- Employee tax savings: POPs allow employees to pay for health insurance
premiums with pre-tax dollars, giving them an average savings of up to
30% on state, federal and FICA taxes and a higher take-home pay.
-- Lower employee turnover rates: Not having to increase expenditures to
provide a pay increase is a rarity for any small business owner.
-- Ease of use: POPs are inexpensive to implement and easy to administer.
-- Customer retention: Agents may experience higher customer-retention
rates by offering clients POPs.
-- Continuing education credits for agents: Fortis Health offers
continuing education credits for agents who choose to learn about
POPs.
"With their undeniable benefits and their ease-of-use, POPs are emerging
as a very hot product in health insurance," Rosenberg added, noting that John
Alden Life Insurance is a leader in providing this niche product to consumers
nationwide.
Agents or employers wishing to find out more about John Alden's Premium
Only Plan should contact a North Star Marketing Representative toll-free at
877-225-5077 or go to nstarmarketing.com . North Star Marketing is a
distribution channel for John Alden Life Insurance Company products.
About Fortis Health:
Fortis Health is the leading developer and provider of Individual Medical,
Small Employer, Short Term and Student Health Insurance products, issued and
underwritten by Fortis Insurance Company, John Alden Life Insurance Company
and Fortis Benefits Insurance Company. In business since 1892, the company
provides health insurance coverage for over one million people nationwide.
Fortis Health is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., and has operations offices
in Minnesota, Idaho, Texas, Florida and Ohio.
Fortis Health is part of Fortis, Inc., a financial services company that,
through its operating companies and affiliates, has built leadership positions
in a number of specialty insurance market segments in the U.S. The company
has approximately $25 billion in assets under management and is part of
Fortis, an international financial services provider active in the fields of
insurance, banking and investment. Fortis' listed companies are Fortis (B) of
Belgium and Fortis (NL) of the Netherlands.
For more information, contact Michelle Love-Johnson at 262-523-3740 or
michelle@seroka.com . Fortis Health can be found on the Internet at
http://www.fortishealth.com
SOURCE Fortis Health
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Related links:
http://www.fortishealth.com
CONTACT:
Michelle Love-Johnson for Fortis Health,
262-523-3740, michelle@seroka.com
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