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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

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What Our Clients
are Saying

"Andrea is wonderfully friendly and personable and is always easy to work with. She accommodates our group's requests and needs... and presents plan options that she thinks are a good fit for our group. It is a pleasure to work with Andrea, she is professional, knowledgeable and patient in all interactions."
-COPIC Financial client

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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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the "what if."

COPIC Financial now provides Travel Insurance!

Click HERE to get a quote.

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FSG is excited about our partnership with one of the most respected personal insurance carriers----Safeco Insurance. This partnership complements the wide range of services we already offer, to include auto, home, disability, employee health, cyber liability and long-term care insurance coverages.

Contact us for a quote regarding personal insurance needs by calling (888) 380-1852.

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In This Issue - May 2015
Reduce Your Practice's Operating Costs
Protect Student Loan Cosigners with Life Insurance
Understanding ERISA Compliance
Converting Savings to Retirement Income
Remaining Non-ACA-Compliant Health Insurance Plans to Phase Out
The Importance of a Comprehensive Insurance Review
Reduce Your Practice's Operating Costs 
What would you do with an 18.5% savings on office supplies and operational services? In the last six months, CoPower has identified $361,550 (over
18.5%) in savings for our new customers. In 2014, CoPower helped customers in Colorado and Nebraska save in excess of $3 million.

CoPower is a cost management service designed specifically for the physician community and helps practices meet the challenge of cutting costs and improving operational efficiencies. CoPower is the only group purchasing organization that has manufacturer and distributor contract pricing locked in and audited. CoPower also offers analytics that help identify spending patterns, alternative products that help reduce costs, support with standardization initiatives, and covers a wide variety of categories including (but not limited to) medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, office supplies and credit card processing.

COPIC has partnered with GroupSource Group Purchasing to bring this innovative program to our clients as an added-value benefit. Contact Christopher Wright at (720) 399-7499 with any questions or for a free analysis to compare the prices you currently pay to CoPower's negotiated contract prices. Find out how CoPower can save you TIME and MONEY!
Protect Student Loan Cosigners with
Life Insurance
Cosigners of private student loans may become responsible for repaying student loans if the original borrower dies. Student loans can become unplanned burdens to families after unexpected deaths impact the original repayment plan.

Federal student loans are discharged after the death of the borrower and can be wiped away if the borrower qualifies for a total and permanent disability discharge. Private loans are treated differently, and the cosigner becomes responsible for the loan after the death of the borrower. The majority of private student loans have cosigners. The opposite may also occur and the death of a cosigner may trigger full repayment of the loan.

Life insurance is a strategy to compensate for an unexpected death of a student or cosigner and is an inexpensive option for an individual in their 20s and 30s. Either level-term life insurance or decreasing-term policies work best, depending how the loans are structured.

Life insurance should be part of a larger financial plan and should be considered when private student loans have a cosigner. For further information, read this article from U.S. News and contact Cary Lamb at (720) 858-6282 for more information.
Understanding ERISA Compliance
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for employee benefit plans maintained by private-sector employers.

The Department of Labor (DOL), through its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), enforces most of ERISA's provisions. Violating ERISA can have serious and costly consequences for employers that sponsor welfare benefit plans, either through DOL enforcement actions and penalty assessments, or through participant lawsuits.

This Legislative Brief includes a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help employers understand ERISA's requirements for reporting and disclosure. Contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 with any questions or for more information.
Converting Savings to Retirement Income
During your working years, you've probably set aside funds in retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k)s, or other workplace savings plans, as well as in taxable accounts. Your challenge during retirement is to convert those savings into an ongoing income stream that will adequately cover your expenses. So, how do you do that?
  • Set a withdrawal rate
  • Decide which assets to draw from first
  • Required distributions
  • Annuity distributions
Learn more about how to convert savings accounts into retirement income in this article from Woodbury Financial.

COPIC FSG is available to answer questions on this subject and other similar financial planning topics. Contact Mike Edwards at (720) 858-6289 for more information.
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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.
Remaining Non-ACA-Compliant Health Insurance Plans to Phase Out in 2015
The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), a division of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), announced that all remaining health insurance plans for individuals and for small employers that do not meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements will not continue into 2016.

This decision does not impact grandfathered plans. Grandfathered plans, as defined by the ACA, are plans with an effective date prior to March 23, 2010, before the ACA became law. Grandfathered plans can continue as long as the insurance company does not make any significant changes to the plan or its benefits.

This means that insurance companies will not continue offering non-ACA-compliant plans, and consumers will not be able to renew such plans. For 2016, individuals and small businesses that are not enrolled in grandfathered plans must enroll in ACA-compliant plans in order to receive health care coverage. Insurance companies will notify all of their individuals and small-group employers who hold non-ACA-compliant plans of the discontinuation.
  • The notices will be provided no later than 90 days in advance of the expiration date of the policy, or 180 days in advance if the insurance company is leaving the Colorado market.
  • Insurance companies cannot automatically enroll, or "map," a current policyholder into a new plan from their company.
Insureds that have individual policies that will expire in the middle of the year can enroll in an ACA plan once they receive their notice of termination from their carrier. Insureds should make sure the new plan will be effective the day following the termination date of their current plan to avoid a gap in coverage.

Individuals cannot drop their plan because they know it will terminate at some point this year. Voluntarily dropping coverage is not a triggering event that will allow someone to enroll outside of open enrollment. Individuals who voluntarily drop their current plan will have to wait until the next open enrollment to enroll in coverage. That coverage would begin January 2016.

Small businesses may purchase plans anytime throughout the year, without waiting for an open enrollment period. When their existing plans terminate, they can buy new plans. COPIC FSG will contact group clients as soon as we hear from the carriers, and will work with you to select the best ACA-compliant plan for your group.

Contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 with any questions you may have about health care options that relate to your individual situation.
The Importance of a Comprehensive
Insurance Review
Why should you do an insurance review? Do you have the correct replacement cost values on your business equipment and content? Are you protected for accidents caused by your employees while driving their cars on your time? Does your worker's compensation policy provide coverage for source-patient testing in the event of a needlestick? Do you have the legally-required ERISA coverage for your employee savings plans?

What should you do if you don't know the answers to any of those questions? Contact COPIC FSG for a complimentary review of your entire insurance portfolio. We can discuss those questions and more.

To get started, use these valuation guides to begin determining equipment values for dental office equipment and medical office equipment.

We want you to be certain your personal assets are shielded from your business-related exposures and liabilities. A comprehensive review was recently called "the most valuable 30-minute visit a practice can make," by a practice manager who also noted that it was "educational" and "eye-opening." Contact Mitch Laycock at (720) 858-6297 to schedule your visit now.
Even if you are not currently in the market for insurance
products, we are always available to help make sure you are
getting the best coverages at the best prices. Call us at
(720) 858-6280!

Sincerely,

Sue Swanson
President, COPIC Financial Service Group

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Copyright 2015 by the COPIC Trust. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

  COPIC Financial Service Group, Ltd. is an insurance brokerage firm representing a variety of insurance carriers. Products offered by COPIC Financial are not issued by COPIC Insurance Company.