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

"Margie has been very helpful in a number of situations over the last

few months, and I really appreciate her follow up, attention to detail, and helpful attitude. She is
an asset to your team
and we are happy to
work with her!."
-COPIC Financial client

Financial Focus Archive!

Did you miss a previous edition of the Financial Focus? Fear not! A full archive of past newsletters can be found here. Articles include helpful information about such topics as fraud and abuse insurance and natural disaster preparedness. Get caught-up today!

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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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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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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.

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Quick Links

Meet Our Staff

Why Choose COPIC Financial?

Coverages We Offer

Information Request Form

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Helpful Links

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Upcoming Conferences

Colorado Society of Osteopathic Medicine
August 13-16, 2015
Vail, CO

El Paso County Medical Society Meeting
September 16, 2015
Location: TBA

Colorado Medical Group Management Association
September 24-25, 2015
Breckenridge, CO

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In This Issue - August 2015

On the Move...

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds ACA Subsidies in Federal Exchanges

The Best Type of Life Insurance For You?

Get Peace of Mind, Get Flood Insurance

FAQs Regarding Health Care Reform, HRAs, and Employer Plans

Factors that Affect Your Life Insurance Quote

On the Move

Please Welcome Jessica Romero
COPIC Financial Service Group has a new Sales Assistant in our Property and Casualty Department. With years of commercial and personal lines experience, we are excited to have Jessica Romero on our team.

She will be the point of contact for any questions you have on existing property and casualty policies as well as renewals, and is available to provide quotes for home, auto, and personal umbrella policies. Contact Jessica at (720) 858-6283 and welcome her to FSG!

Thank you, Jennifer Klein!

Jennifer Klein has moved to the Business Support Coordinator role for FSG. Jennifer provided over 15 years of superb customer service to our policyholders as the Sales Assistant for the Property and Casualty Department. We are excited to have Jennifer in this new role.

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds ACA Subsidies in Federal Exchanges

The Supreme Court recently issued its opinion in King v. Burwell, the case challenging the availability of subsidies in health insurance exchanges run by the federal government. In a 6-3 decision, the Court upheld the availability of subsidies in both state and federal exchanges.

The Court rejected the argument that the language of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) authorized subsidies only in states that had set up their own exchanges. With this ruling, the Court determined that Congress intended for the subsidies to be available to everyone.

If the Court had struck down the subsidies in federal exchanges, the impact would have been significant for employers and individuals. However, this ruling confirms the current interpretation of the ACA's provisions, including the subsidies, the individual mandate, and the employer mandate. As a result, the ACA's subsidies remain available for eligible individuals in all states, including those with federal exchanges.

This Compliance Bulletin provides further details about the court's decision and how it affects employers. Contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 with any questions or for more information.

The Best Type of Life Insurance For You?

What's the right type of life insurance policy? One that makes the best sense for each stage of life, like getting married, buying a new house or having a baby. For example:

Just bought a house? Then you've probably also received solicitations for mortgage protection insurance. This type of insurance guards against the loss of income of the person, or people, responsible for paying the mortgage. While it's important to protect against the loss of income, you wouldn't need to immediately pay off the mortgage if that person passed away, which is what mortgage protection insurance does. What you would really need is cash to cover living expenses. Term life insurance will give you cash to spend as you see fit.
Baby on the way? Possibly the most important time to have life insurance is when your children rely on you to provide for them. At this stage of life, you'll want a policy that will pay for 18 (or more) years of child-rearing expenses as well as household expenses and perhaps college tuition.

The bottom line is you will want to re-evaluate your life insurance needs each time your life situation changes. Life insurance can help ease the burden on those financially affected by your death.

Read this article from Investopedia.com for more information about different types of life insurance and what questions to consider
when evaluating your personal situation. Cary Lamb is available at
(720) 858-6282 to answer questions or to help you find the policy that's right for you.

Get Peace of Mind, Get Flood Insurance

Colorado weather has a tendency to keep us on our toes. From hail storms to forest fires, Mother Nature isn't always gentle. The recent rains may have you wondering about flood insurance.

Unless you have a specific policy for flood, there's a good chance that you do NOT have coverage for this exposure on your building (or home) policy. Flood water is considered to be any collection of groundwater, and would include water seeping through walls or floors in your home or business.

FSG can help! We are happy to review your policies to ensure you have minimum coverage, including backup of sewer and water. And should you need a stand-alone flood policy, we can help find coverage that is best for your individual situation. Contact Mitch Laycock at (720) 858-6297 for information on flood insurance. And check out the Colorado United website for recovery information and resources.

FAQs Regarding Health Care Reform, HRAs, and Employer Plans

Looking for information about health care reform regulatory guidance? FAQs released by the Obama Administration further clarify the Administration's position that if an employer creates some type of premium reimbursement arrangement to pay for health coverage, then that arrangement is subject to all federal health law market reform requirements, even if the reimbursement is for individual insurance coverage premiums.

Some of the highlights of these FAQs:
Q1: My employer offers employees cash to reimburse the purchase of an individual market policy. Does this arrangement comply with the market reforms?
No. If the employer uses an arrangement that provides cash reimbursement for the purchase of an individual market policy, the employer's payment arrangement is part of a plan, fund, or other arrangement established or maintained for the purpose of providing medical care to employees, without regard to whether the employer treats the money as pre-tax or post-tax to the employee.

Q2: My employer offers employees with high claims risk a choice between enrollment in its standard group health plan or cash. Does this comply with the market reforms?
No, in the Departments' view, cash-or-coverage arrangements offered only to employees with a high claims risk are not permissible.

Q3: A vendor markets a product to employers claiming that employers can cancel their group policies, set up a Code section 105 reimbursement plan that works with health insurance brokers or agents to help employees select individual insurance policies, and allow eligible employees to access the premium tax credits for Marketplace coverage. Is this permissible?
No. The Departments have been informed that some vendors are marketing such products. However, these arrangements are problematic for several reasons. First, the arrangements described in this question are themselves group health plans, therefore, employees participating in such arrangements are ineligible for premium tax credits (or cost-sharing reductions) for marketplace coverage.

For more information read our full article here, or contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 with questions you may have about health care reform and how it may affect your situation.

Factors that Affect Your Life Insurance Quote

Life insurance is a great way to protect your loved ones financially, but it's also a major investment. Over a period of years, even a slightly lower premium can yield major savings. Some of the biggest factors that insurers consider when pricing out their policies include gender, health, lifestyle and driving record. While some of these criteria are outside your control, others are things you can remedy. Consider the following:

Women, on average, live nearly five years longer than men. And because they're usually paying premiums for a longer period of time than males, they enjoy slightly lower rates.
Serious health conditions like high cholesterol and diabetes should be managed or under treatment before searching for coverage to ensure a competitive rate.
Riskier professions, such as mining, fishing or transportation increase the likelihood of higher rates.
Life insurance companies can access Department of Motor Vehicles records to find out if you've run afoul of the traffic laws. Keep in mind that the last 3-5 years carry the most weight.

Read the article 7 Factors That Affect Your Life Insurance Quote from Investopedia.com for more information about these factors.

COPIC FSG is available to answer questions on this subject and other 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.

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

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!

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.