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Foundation Insurance Group
803 West Broad Street
Suite 500
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-988-3750 (phone)
800-203-2811 (toll free)
www.foundationinsurancegroup.com
info@figva.com
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 Avoid the Dangers of the Open Road: 7 Business Travel Coverage Options to Consider Before Your Next Trip
Jim Carlisle is an independent consultant for the marine coatings industry who frequently travels to seaports around the globe. While docked in Sydney, Australia, Jim tripped and struck his head. The cut he suffered seemed minor, so Jim returned to his stateroom unconcerned. Shortly thereafter, he felt dizzy and nauseated, and was barely able to phone for assistance before collapsing.
Jim was brought to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion and brain hemorrhage. His stay there lasted 7 days before he was considered well enough to return to the U.S. Jim's medical costs exceeded $100,000. Fortunately, he had business travel coverage that paid for his medical expenses and provided him with assistance in returning home. That kind of claim wouldn't be covered by any regular insurance, including workers' comp.
Rebecca Shore makes over 100 varieties of pie for her small bakery. When a wholesaler showed interest in distributing her pies in gourmet markets all along the Eastern seaboard, she packed her van full of homemade preserves and pie fillings and set off from Maine to South Carolina.
Halfway across Virginia, Rebecca was involved in a highway accident. She sustained only minor injuries, but her entire stock of preserves was smashed. Unlike Jim, Rebecca had no trip delay or business equipment coverage, which would have compensated her for the loss of both time and supplies.
Today's global business climate means that more employees are spending time on the road, in the air, and in hotels away from their base of operations. This time away is an investment in your business, and that investment should be protected like any other. A business travel accident insurance plan tailored to the specific needs of your company can help to minimize risks and protect employees.
Lost baggage and airport delays are major inconveniences, but today's business traveler may face more serious risks. Medical emergencies are traumatic in familiar circumstances, but when a serious health incident occurs abroad, the cost to an employer can be tremendous. In some countries, a lack of modern medical facilities might necessitate an expensive evacuation. Add the costs of hospital care, doctors, and medicine, and this can represent a staggering expenditure for a business. The good news is that business travel insurance coverage will compensate both employees and employers if and when perilous circumstances strike unexpectedly.
Don't make the mistake of assuming that workers' comp will cover all eventualities while traveling. It protects employees when they're injured on the job, but won't cover a number of other issues that might occur. And that's where business travel insurance kicks in. In addition to covering medical emergencies, your comprehensive business travel plan might include:
- Trip delay and/or cancellation
- Lost, damaged, or delayed baggage
- Business equipment and equipment rental coverage, in case you can't fit your backhoe in the overhead compartment of a commercial airplane
- Accidental death and permanent disablement
- Legal costs, bail bonding, kidnap and ransom, identity theft
- Emergency travel for friends or family members
- And even, depending on where your business travels take you, war zone coverage and repatriation of remains
A company that has a sound business travel insurance policy can be assured that its assets and employees are covered while away from their home base.
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Get the Most Out of (and Avoid Losses From) The ACA, Part 1
 It can be hard to get a good grasp on whether the Affordable Care Act - better known as Obamacare - is a great step forward or the end of the world. Information about the law tends to be more politics than facts; beyond the rhetoric, the ACA itself can also be confusing, as lawmakers continue to tussle, changing some parts and delaying others. We're keeping an eye on these changes, to help you out as the situation develops - but for now, here are some key points that can help minimize damage and maximize benefits to your business.
Who's Actually Affected?
First of all, take a page from The Hitchhiker's Guide and DON'T PANIC! The biggest concern about Obamacare is that businesses won't be able to afford to pay for required employee health insurance, and will shrink or lay off their workforce as a result. But a recent poll by the National Association for Business Economics asked businesses what kind of damage they were bracing for in 2014, and how they were preparing for the effects of Obamacare - and found that about 85% of businesses said it wouldn't affect their hiring and firing.
The main reason so few businesses are concerned about the effects of Obamacare is because so few businesses will actually be affected, at least in 2014. Businesses with fewer than the equivalent of 50 full-time employees (more on this in a moment) are not required to offer health insurance under the ACA - and a recent change gave businesses with between 50 and 99 full-time employees an extra year before they need to start buying employee health insurance. That actually only leaves 2% of all U.S. businesses, the 100+ employees category, needing to get on board with the ACA this year.
How Do You Know Which Category You're In?
Now, you may have noticed that "equivalent of X full-time employees" in the last paragraph. While only 2% of businesses are in the category currently affected by the law, it's important to make sure you know whether or not your business is in it - and you might be surprised.
The ACA defines full-time as averaging 30 or more hours per week, then adds on "full-time equivalents" (FTEs). FTEs are calculated by totaling up the hours of service performed by employees who each averaged fewer than 30 hours a week in that month, and dividing that total by 120. So, for example, if you have 90 full-time employees, you might think you have another year before you need to start providing health insurance. But if your part-time employees work a total of 1200 hours in one month, 1200/120 = 10 FTEs... and, if that keeps up for most months of the year, it means your business, which you thought was in the exempt 50-99 employee category, actually has 100 "full-time" workers by ACA standards.
If your company is right on the edge of seeming big enough to come under the law, then make sure to be on the safe side, avoid penalties, and do some quick math once a month. If you discover that you are required to offer insurance to your employees, we can help you out.
The Perks of Getting In Early
Now, if you tally up your employee-hours and figure out that you're not required to offer health insurance yet, you should just sit back and wait, right? Not necessarily! While many employers are waiting to see what lawmakers get up to in the next year, a lot are missing out on the benefits of this program.
There are actually some huge government incentives to offer insurance to your employees now through the exchange - tax credits go far in covering the premium costs. According to the IRS, the maximum credit will increase from 35% to 50% of premium costs for small business employers, and from 25% to 35% for small tax-exempt employers.
Even if your business isn't required to offer employee health insurance yet, you could still save thousands of dollars by getting onboard early. For small businesses, there's another advantage: as small businesses pool together, they get better bargaining power to drive down premiums - something only large companies had been able to do pre-Obamacare.
Every company is different, and for some companies, there might not be much benefit in buying insurance early - but it's certainly worth taking a look. We can help you figure out whether it's worth dipping into this new system sooner rather than later.
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Leased Employees and Workers' Comp: the Good, the Bad, and the Responsible Party
If you're considering leasing employees, or even if you already have leased employees on-staff, it's a good idea to consider some hidden liabilities that often go unnoticed.
To understand the legal dangers and insurance pitfalls, first let's clarify how leasing employees works. The arrangement might seem odd, but it's relatively simple.
You're running a successful IT services business and have grown to about thirty employees. Suddenly, it's clear that you need some human-resource expertise help to deal with payroll, benefits, regulation compliance, and the like. But instead of doing the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring yourself (after all, what do you know about HR?), you might seek out a professional employer organization (PEO) that can supply you with the qualified candidates.
Like temporary staffing agencies, a PEO is the official employer of the employees. They work under the PEO's tax ID, get paid by the PEO, and receive benefits from the PEO, even though they report directly to you and for all other purposes work for your company.
This is beneficial for a number of reasons. A PEO likely has access to top talent in a field you might not be versed in. This is especially important in fields like human resources, which PEOs often specialize in, where you might need expertise in employment regulations and payroll.
Because a PEO will likely have a much larger employee pool, they can offer health insurance and other benefits at lower rates than your company qualifies for.
Even though a leased employee is technically paid by the PEO and under their tax ID, in many states and in many instances, you, the PEO's client, are responsible in the case of employment-related lawsuits like discrimination or worker's compensation. For example, a 1999 case ruled that a company was at fault for not keeping a job open for a temporary worker after the birth of her child, even though she was technically employed by the staffing agency.
This is particularly significant, considering that temporary employees are generally considered as wholly employed by the agency for legal purposes, while PEOs and their clients are joint, or co-employers who share liability for employment regulations. While many companies feel leasing employees shields them from legal and insurance questions, this isn't always the case.
Since workers' comp laws and responsibilities can vary by state, it's smart to know exactly how your business might be impacted, if for example there's some problem with the PEO's work comp coverage. Employee practices liability coverage could be important here.
Many PEO agreements cover basic insurance for their employees but might not expressly say that you, the client, are responsible to provide worker's compensation coverage for leased employees.
Leasing employees can be beneficial in the right situation, but be sure to consider all the best practices of working with a PEO before you sign on. Make sure you know who is responsible for what.
And leased employees or not, examine the benefits of having Employment Practices Liability coverage.
    
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All content © 2014 Professional Marketing Associates, Inc. This newsletter is not intended to provide specific legal or insurance advice. Please consult your individual agent for further information on the topics covered.
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