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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

"Mary, thank you so much for everything you do! I wouldn't know what to do without you!"

-COPIC Financial client

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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 529 college savings plans 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 and dental practices. COPIC clients 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 offers 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 home or auto insurance needs by calling Jessica at
(720) 858-6283.

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Upcoming Conferences
El Paso County Medical Society Meeting
May 19, 2016
Sky Sox Stadium
Colorado Springs, CO
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In This Issue - May 2016
Cyber Extortion is a Real Threat
Long-Term Care: More Options than Ever Before
2016 Employer Sponsored Health Plan Statistics
Selecting Funds That Have Delivered Better Retirement Outcomes
Medicare Part D Notice Reminder
Cyber Extortion is a Real Threat
An online search of "data breach" and "cyber extortion" news stories will show an unending list of results and evidence that these incidents are growing. One London insurance company that offers data breach insurance indicates: 
  • 777 reported incidents in 2014 and 1,249 in 2015.
  • Breaches involving business associates tripled from 6% in 2014 to 18% in 2015.
  • 32% of all breaches in 2015 were caused by hacking or malware, compared to 18% of breaches in 2014.
  • Ransomware attacks are projected to increase 670% from 2014 to 2016.
What can you do?
Ensure you have cyber extortion coverage within your data breach policy. This coverage will pay expenses incurred as a direct result of a cyber extortion threat and any funds (ransom) paid to a person/entity reasonably believed to be responsible for the threat. Having insurance coverage for this exposure will provide you with the financial and technological resources to investigate a threat. Read the full article to learn more about what is considered cyber extortion. 

Cyber extortion is only one component of a much broader data breach insurance policy that is available through COPIC Financial Service Group. Let us review your current insurance coverages to see where extortion and other technology exposures are addressed or could be strengthened. Contact Mitch Laycock at (720) 858-6297 with questions or to schedule a review.
Long-Term Care: More Options than Ever Before 
With increasing longevity, low policy lapse rates, high claims and low interest rates, long-term care insurance has become a forgotten commodity. As premiums increase and fewer companies offer traditional long-term care insurance, the insurance industry is responding with more planning choices than ever before. And that's a good thing, considering the top end of the 75 million baby boomers in America turn 70 this year!

COPIC Financial Service Group believes that everyone needs long-term care planning because the most effective way to manage this risk is to transfer at least some of it to an insurance company. Needing extended care can cause emotional, physical and financial stress to one's family and lifetime savings. We believe that preparing for this time can help keep those golden years happy for everyone.

Learn more about the variety of planning options available, and contact Cary Lamb at (720) 858-6282 or Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 for more information or questions.
2016 Employer Sponsored Health Plan Statistics
Premiums for small group insurance plans are increasing an average 8%, according to results of the Lockton 2016 Colorado Employer Benefits Survey (published 11/11/15). It should be noted that the percentage of employer increases have ranged from a high of 18% in 2004, to a low of 7.4% in 2013. 2016 premiums increases are the same as 2015----8%.   

However, the survey showed that after employers made plan changes, the average final rate of increase went from 8% to 4.4%. Reported changes included plan changes like increasing plan deductibles, increasing the out-of-pocket maximums, and increasing employee contributions and/or changing carriers to achieve the reported decreases. Other cost shifting strategies include increasing the amount employees pay for prescription drug coverage, and reducing the benefits in general. However, 75% of employers surveyed still expect employees to contribute less than 30% of the total premium for single coverage, which is about a 1% decrease from 2015.

The number of employers currently offering a high deductible health plan (HDHP) increased from only 3% in 2003 to 51% in 2015, with an additional 39% reporting that they are considering the addition of an HDHP in 2016 (this is a huge increase from just over 17% in 2015). About 65% of respondents reported having a deductible of $1000 or greater, which is also an increase of about 8% over 2015; compared to 2015 national statistics that show 46% of workers are enrolled in plans with a deductible of $1000 or more (up 5% from 2014). Another indicator of how rising medical costs are affecting Colorado employers and employees is the increase in HMO plans being offered by employers, 37% in 2016, a jump of 8% from 2015.

Not surprising, the second biggest concern employers stated, behind insurance rate increases at 82%, was compliance with federal health care reform as well as federal and state legislation at 78%, up from 62% in 2014. With 2015 being the year a lot of the reporting began, this is no great surprise, however 63% of employers reported that they were prepared for the 2015 reporting requirements. Employers did rank these reporting requirements as their greatest single health care reform concern.

Contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 with questions you may have.
Selecting Funds That Have Delivered Better Retirement Outcomes
To meet the financial challenges of retirement, investors need investments that can provide a sustainable income stream while demonstrating relative resilience during market declines.

"Downside capture ratio" compares a fund's return with an index's during periods when the index return was negative. In other words, a lower downside capture ratio indicates that the fund did better in declining markets. Research done by American Funds shows that actively managed funds sharing three traits----low downside capture ratio, low expenses and high firm manager ownership----consistently outpaced benchmark indexes and the broader equity fund universe in the distribution phase.

Read the full article from our partners at American Funds and
contact 
Mike Edwards at (720) 858-6289 with questions or 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.
Medicare Part D Notice Reminder
All employers who offer group health plans are reminded that they must notify CMS regarding their prescription drug coverage being considered creditable or non-creditable with Medicare Part D.

The deadline follows a 60-day window from the beginning of the plan or policy year, meaning that sponsors of non-calendar year group health plans should calculate the applicable deadline for disclosure to CMS. Participants in group health plans offering prescription drug coverage to Medicare Part D are required to know whether their coverage is creditable to avoid a penalty for a lapse of creditable prescription drug coverage for any period of 63 days or longer.

The notice can only be completed through the online Disclosure to CMS Form on the CMS website, which also requires the plan sponsor to report the date they sent the Medicare Part D notices to Medicare-eligible plan participants, which were due by October 15. Additional information about the Creditable Coverage Disclosure to CMS and detailed disclosure instructions and screen shots are available on the CMS website.

Contact Andrea Levine with questions at (720) 858-6287.
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 2016 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.