Caffrey Insurance Solutions

Lynn Caffrey, Principal & Gabriel Caffrey, Broker  

 
Providing Clear and Creative Health Insurance Solutions
August 2012  
About Caffrey Insurance Solutions
Caffrey Insurance Solutions
Phone: 510.444.5447
Fax: 866.530.7365 

Best Broker in the  

East Bay

Lynn had the honor of being named Best Health Insurance Broker in the East Bay Express Best of the Bay awards.237

 

The review said that she was "an extremely dedicated full service health-insurance broker".  We work hard for our clients; it is our job to find the very best insurance programs possible.

Glossary of Common Terms

Clients can get very confused about the differences between deductibles, coinsurance, co-pays, and out-of-pocket maximums.

Here is a brief run down of the basics. If there are any terms you are especially curious about, let us know and we'll be happy to include them next month.

 

Deductible: The amount you pay before the insurance company begins paying.

 

Coinsurance: The amount you pay after the deductible, usually a percentage.

 

Co-pay: A dollar amount that you pay instead of a deductible or coinsurance for things like doctor visits and medications; these are separate from deductibles.

 

Out-of-Pocket Maximum:  The maximum amount you will pay in any one calendar year before the insurance company pays 100%.

Review us on Yelp!

Yelp Page

 

Thanks to your great reviews, we now have a five star rating on Yelp. If you have received good service from Caffrey Insurance Solutions over the years, please drop by and let prospective customers know about your experience. We really appreciate your time! Thank you.

Group Coverage Could Help Your Next Tax Day
If you are currently considering small group coverage for your employees, you may not know that in addition to tax-deductibility of premiums, there are also tax credits available to groups of 2-50 employees.

One of our clients, a group of six people, said, "Can you believe we saved $1,500 last year because you let us know about it?" For more information,
please feel free to check out the provisions of the act. 
Free California Prescription Discount Card
RX
 
As a resident of California, you and your family have access to a FREE Prescription Drug Card program. Simply download your Prescription Drug Card and receive savings of up to 75% at more than 50,000 national and regional pharmacies. You may create as many cards as you need.
Do You Like This Newsletter?

Some of you may be receiving this newsletter for the first time. We have been expanding our outreach efforts, but by all means, if you are not interested in receiving future newsletters, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page. If we haven't spoken in a while and you have concerns about health insurance that we can help you with, please let us know.

New Associates

If you would like quotes for your group or individual investment plans, we recommend Frank Pare of PF Wealth Management.

If you are seeking individual homeowners' or auto insurance, we recommend Jain Williams of State Farm Insurance.

If you are seeking some small-business operations coaching or career change guidance, we recommend Susan Urquhart-Brown of Career Steps Consulting Services

As You Grow, We Grow With You

Please ask about additional services and value-added products such as HR administration and online policy management tools. 

Testimonials

"You are different from any image I have had of an insurance broker. I simply enjoy being with you. I experience a combination of efficiency, care, honesty, commitment, and flexibility. I couldn't ask for better."               --Miki Kashtan

"It's been a while since I encountered such superb client service in any area of business or life. Lynn is incredibly patient, super responsive, AND can translate insurance lingo.  

 

She is also friendly and genuine without being intrusive, overly chatty or fake, navigating the sometimes challenging boundary between professionalism and human interest with natural ease." 
    --Yelp.com Review 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I would probably still be on the phone with my insurer if it wasn't for you. Thanks so much, you're a life saver." 
    --Michelle Ruiz

 

"If any friends out there are heading toward navigating the path to Medicare...call Lynn at Caffrey Insurance Solutions in Oakland. She's great.
   --Elisabeth Schlessinger
Greetings!
Lynn Caffrey
The US Supreme Court recently upheld PPACA, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, paving the way to move forward with more pieces of the act. The full bill will be enacted in January 2014. 

It will impact millions of people in California, hopefully making coverage more affordable and allowing people to get coverage denied to them in the past. As of last month, individual plans now cover maternity just the same as any other condition.

If you need some guidance for your company benefits or individual health care coverage, please keep us in mind and feel free to pass our name around. Of course, you can always visit our website and run individual quotes, or submit a group census for small business needs.

Also, please don't forget that we offer the full portfolio of benefits, including health, dental, vision, life, disability, long-term care and various ancillary benefits. In addition, we now offer HRConnect access for many of our group clients, providing a customized portal that can allow you to review your benefits, update addresses and member details and much more.

We like solving your problems.

Health Insurance Rebate Checks

A provision of the Affordable Care Act requires insurers carriers to pay out to you if they don't spend a certain amount of your premiums towards actual care. A lot of these carriers are sending individual and group policyholders not-insignificant refunds. The average check amount was $150, although in some states it was as high as $800.
Doctor Earth Stethoscope IMage
Group clients can use the rebates to reduce general insurance costs, but if you are an individual client, please consider the following ideas. 

 

Lifehacker had an excellent series of ideas on ways last month on ways to reinvest your health insurance rebate back into activities that may benefit your health.

  • Stash the extra money in your health savings account or other dedicated account for medical expenses.
  • Get a gym membership.
  • Get a dedicated app or accessory to help you track your fitness. There are a wide variety of peripherals, accessories and apps for iPhones and other smart phones that can help you get a handle on what you're doing to improve your health.
  • Go to the dentist. Even if you don't currently have dental coverage, a little bit of preventive care and maintenance can still be cheaper than costly and painful fixes later on. If you don't currently have a dental plan and you would like help with one, feel free to give us a call.
  • Get an electric toothbrush. In many cases, these will be more efficient than using a standard brush, and good dental hygiene can lead to reduced rates of infections and common viruses.
  • De-stress! There is often a direct correlation with stress and health conditions, so it is to your benefit to relax, meditate, or exercise.
  • Hire someone to help you out with a project. many people are out of work, and there are also a lot of new options for hiring freelancers to assist with common tasks.
  • Improve your home. If you have allergies, think about getting a new pillow cover that reduces allergens, or if you're having trouble breathing, think about a new air filter.
  • Improve yourself. Consider taking a cooking class, or working with a personal trainer, or any recreational activity that you enjoy.
  • Hire a babysitter. If you need to set aside a little bit of time for yourself, and you have a family, buying yourself a few hours out of the house can be literally priceless.

For more information, or to review the original article, please go over and take a look. We really recommend Lifehacker as a resource to consistently think about ways to improve your life and your workflow.  

What Would Lynn Do?

Question Mark  Q: I'm a fairly new manager of a small socially responsible energy consulting firm. One of the hats I wear is as employee benefits manager. We have never had a broker and it's getting to be too much for me to handle. Also, our offerings don't make sense. What do I do?

  1. Hang in there, it will get easier.
  2. Find a helpful person at the insurance carrier and establish a relationship so they can help you.
  3. Take some insurance classes in your spare time.
  4. Hire a consultant to create a plan and communicate it.
  5. None of the above. 

None of the above.

We would come on board as a broker. Since we are compensated by the insurance company, our services are free to our clients. In your case, you may offer all the plans offered by the carrier, or your contributions may be allocated better, or you may be able to add valuable benefits like life and disability at no cost. 

 

We would present and enact a better program with more comprehensive coverage at a lower cost to your staff and a manageable cost to you as the employer. We would communicate it in such a way that it would work for future employees as well. On an ongoing basis, we would be there to handle any situation that comes up.  

Employer Responsibilities for W-2 Reporting

The Affordable Care Act requires employers to report the costs of coverage under an employer-sponsored plan. Please note that we have learned that the reporting requirement is voluntary for groups distrubing less than 250 W-2's.

 

For more details, please check out the IRS official page describing what should be reported. We'll provide more comprehensive coverage of the details in next month's newsletter.

How Long Will You Live? 

This easy and fun calculator estimates your life expectancy. It was developed by Northwestern Mutual Life.

They try to predict how long you're likely to live. It does say that it won't work if you have a long term health issue, but generally it works well. Barring long-term health problems, we're going to live a long time, most of us into our late 80's or 90's.

How will we ever pay for the insurance to cover such long lives? Smarter folks than us are working on these issues. When they figure it out, we'll be here to explain it to you. We promise.

About Caffrey Insurance Solutions 

Lynn Caffrey and Caffrey Insurance Solutions is a family business employee benefits brokerage firm that provides insurance expertise for small companies (fewer than 50 employees) and individuals seeking Individual coverage.

Caffrey Insurance works with you to find the best insurance benefits that provide the best value, tailored to the unique needs of your company.
 

California License Information
Individual: 0557451
Corporate: OG80281

336 Lenox Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94610
510-444-5447
Email: [email protected]

Gabriel Caffrey (CA License: 0H66348) is interested in hearing from small groups, particularly innovative tech companies just getting started in the world. He is technically savvy with data management and is glad to help with infrastructure projects as well as ensuring efficient HR and benefits management for you.
Email: [email protected]