| CONTACT US | |
Sue Swanson
President
(720) 858-6288
Mike Edwards
Dir. of Financial Services (720) 858-6289
Andrea Levine
Senior Account Executive
(720) 858-6287
Mitch Laycock
Account Executive
(720) 858-6297
Cary Lamb
Account Executive
(720) 858-6282 | |
Save $$$ with CO-POWER
GroupSource Group Purchasing is a leader in cost containment strategies for medical practices. COPIC-insureds are able to take advantage of these GroupSource discounts through an innovative program called CO-POWER.
Click HERE to learn more about how your practice can save money today! |
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Introducing a New Addition to Our Team! COPIC Financial has partnered with Aflac to offer short-term
disability coverage.
----Aflac adds that extra layer of protection your employees need.
----There's no direct cost to your company.
----Aflac processes claims in an average of four business days.
----Aflac offers both group and individual voluntary insurance plans.
Contact Andrea Levine or Cary Lamb with questions! |
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What Our Clients are Saying about our Property and Casualty Insurance Expertise
"I really appreciate Mitch and Jennifer's fast service on this matter [of condo insurance]. Both have
been great to work with,
especially their high level of communication.
Thanks again."
-COPIC Financial client |
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Have you recently booked that once-in-a-lifetime vacation? Protect it from
the "what if."
COPIC Financial now provides Travel Insurance!
Click HERE to get a quote. | |
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 | Changes to the "Use-or-Lose" Rule for Health Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) | |
On Oct. 31, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2013-71, relaxing the use-or-lose rule for health FSAs. The relaxed rule allows participants to carry over up to $500 in unused funds into the next year.
A health FSA is an employer-sponsored account that employees can use to pay for or reimburse their qualifying medical expenses on a tax-free basis, up to the amount contributed for the plan year. Health FSAs are subject to a "use-or-lose" rule stating that any unused funds at the end of the plan year (plus any applicable grace period) will be forfeited.
On Oct. 31, 2013, IRS relaxed the "use-or-lose" rule for health FSAs. Under the relaxed rule, employers will now be able to allow participants to carry over up to $500 in unused funds into the next year. This modification applies only if the plan does not also incorporate the "grace period" rule. Read the full Compliance Bulletin article for further details regarding the rule change.
Managing your practice's health care options is complex, let COPIC Financial Service Group help guide the way. Contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 with any questions! |
| 2014 Resolutions for Your Practice | |
The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to organize and review your various insurance coverages. COPIC Financial Service Group provides no-cost insurance reviews to ensure your business exposures are adequately covered. Below is a list of questions to consider when reviewing your coverage for 2014.
Do any of your business associates have access to (or maintain) your patient data?
Review your cyber liability/data breach coverage. Data breaches happen every day, and the health care industry is not immune. You may have a small limit of coverage in your business owners policy or embedded in your professional liability policy. However, a stand-alone and/or higher-limit policy for data breach and cyber exposures should be considered. Just the cost of identifying and notifying breach-affected individuals and then providing them with credit-monitoring services can cost $240 per breached identity. There may also be associated fines and penalties.
COPIC Financial offers coverage specifically designed for health care practices, including "rogue employee" coverage and protection for claims against data losses that are attributable to your outsourced IT or other business associates. Click here to learn more.
Do you have commercial and/or governmental payers?
Look into fraud and abuse/billing error coverage. Health care-related Qui Tam (whistleblower) actions alone accounted for eight of the nine largest U.S. fraud and abuse claims in 2013. The average defense cost for alleged claims in this area is $90,000. And 70% of the time this defense process has lowered the potential fines and penalties! Click here to learn more about this important coverage.
Do you have a board of directors/officers or the equivalent?
Make sure you have management liability insurance. No matter your business structure----for-profit, not-for-profit, P.C., or PLLC----you should protect your entity and the individuals involved. COPIC Financial understands health care-specific exposures and has experience insuring related risks. Look at the indemnification provisions in your bylaws; in the absence of management liability insurance most defense costs, judgments and settlements for claims or allegations brought against your directors, officer, members or managers, will be paid by the organization (assuming it has the funds to do so). Click here to learn more about management liability insurance, and click here to learn about how we insure the management exposures associated with Accountable Care Organizations.
Are you protected against common employee-related claims?
Consider Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) for coverage regarding allegations of failure to hire, wrongful termination, work-place harassment and discrimination, and discrimination claims brought by third parties. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employees filed 100,000 discrimination charges in 2011 and again in 2012. The annual number of retaliation claims alone has doubled in the last 15 years. Most EPLI coverage offers complimentary hotlines to answer questions and/or address employee-related concerns. Click here to learn more.
COPIC Financial can provide quick indications on the low costs associated with these crucial coverages. We are here to provide you with the solutions for your insurance needs and to answer any of your liability questions, whether business or personal insurance related. Contact Mitch Laycock at (720) 858-6297 for more information. |
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Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage or Invest? | |
Is it smarter to pay off your mortgage or invest your extra cash?
Owning a home outright is a dream that many Americans share. Having a mortgage can be a huge burden, and paying it off may be the first item on your financial to-do list. But competing with the desire to own your home is your need to invest for retirement, your child's college education, or some other goal. Putting extra cash toward one of these goals may mean sacrificing another.
So which do you choose? Evaluate the opportunity cost, and take several points into consideration. Click here for an article that further explains how to make this very personal decision for yourself. COPIC Financial is always available to answer questions that may come to mind. Contact Mike Edwards at 720-858-6289 for further assistance.
*Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser. COPIC Financial Service Group and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. are not affiliated entities. |
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Using Life Insurance to Fund a Buy-Sell Agreement for Business Owners | |
Protect your Assets
A chief concern among business owners is what will happen upon the death of one of the owners: how will it affect the business, the other owners and the heirs of the deceased owner? Surviving owners want to ensure the continuity of ownership, and not risk having a large share of ownership fall into the hands of potentially inexperienced heirs of the deceased. In addition, they want to protect themselves and the company financially. On a personal level, owners want to also ensure that their family is financially secure and compensated fairly in case something happens to them.
A buy-sell agreement can address all of these concerns. It is a contract among business owners which, upon the death of one of the owners, requires the remaining owners or the company itself to purchase the deceased's interest in the company according to the agreed upon terms of the contract. In addition, the deceased's heirs are required to comply by selling their inherited interest at the previously agreed-upon price.
Funding a Buy-Sell Agreement
There are various options for funding a buy-sell agreement, but some carry more risks than others. Some owners choose either to save money now and pay cash, or to take out a loan to buy out a deceased owner's share in the company. Both of these situations can be financially risky, for both the surviving owner(s) and the company itself.
The smartest method for funding a buy-sell agreement is through life insurance. This ensures that funds are immediately available when a death occurs; plus, death benefit proceeds are generally income-tax free. In addition, the funds used to buy the deceased's share are purchased for pennies on the dollar and the premiums will likely be significantly lower than the cost of repaying loan interest.
Types of Buy-Sell Life Insurance
Cross Purchase Plans
Under this type of plan, the owners enter into an agreement with each other. Each owner purchases a life insurance policy on the other owners, and will be named the beneficiary of the policy. Upon the death of an owner, each surviving owner receives life insurance proceeds (income-tax free) and uses said proceeds to purchase the deceased's business interests, while the heirs receive an agreed-upon payment for their business interest.
Entity Plans
In this type of agreement, also known as a stock redemption plan, the company purchases life insurance policies on each owner, with the company itself as the beneficiary. When an owner dies, the company receives the life insurance proceeds and uses said proceeds to purchase the deceased's business interest, while the heirs receive an agreed-upon payment for their business interest.
Contact Cary Lamb at (720) 858-6282 to discuss options that are right for you. |
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Even if you're not currently in the market for insurance
products, we're always available to help make sure you're
getting the best coverages at the best prices. Call us at
(720) 858-6280!
Sincerely,
President, COPIC Financial Service Group
Please add us to your "safe-senders" list! Add sswanson@copic.com to your address book to ensure that our messages to you don't get stuck in your spam filter! |
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