Consult with insurance agents when choosing group health insurance plans

Consult with insurance agents when choosing group health insurance plans
Many small business owners make the mistake of purchasing a
group health plan without utilizing the services of
experienced insurance agents to help choose the most viable
and affordable plan for their company.

In most cases, the insurance agent's commission is already
included in the cost of the health care plan, so companies
don't pay any more to take advantage of the valuable
experience a reputable insurance agency can offer. When
choosing between the many health plan options available,
employers can actually save time and money by consulting
with an established insurance agency before investing in
medical coverage plans that best suit their employee's
needs and the company's budget.

Studies have shown that one of the benefits of providing
group health insurance for employees is the increased
retention rate for a quality workforce. In these days of
high gas prices and increased costs, offering health
insurance at the workplace is a big incentive for many who
cannot afford individual health insurance coverage.
Investing in your company's future healthcare can increase
loyalty, and overall employee satisfaction, productivity,
security, and of course, employee health and fitness. The
cost and options of these plans vary according to group
size and the state in which your insurance company, or
provider is located.

Group health insurance plans start with at least two full
time employees and because of healthcare reforms, every
state is required to offer this coverage in the workforce.
These insurance coverage plans vary greatly and business
owners have many options available to suit their budget;
from basic coverage, to plans that cover preventive care
and dental coverage. The many options offered in managed
care plans, or HMO's, and fee-for-service plans can be very
confusing.

Employers must decide how much they can invest and what
type of medical services they can afford for their
employees. HMO's are designed to offer reduced rates by
using a select group of doctors, hospitals, and other
healthcare providers. Employees must stay within that
network when getting medical care. Fee-for-service or
indemnity group health plans allows your employees to
choose their providers. They in turn have control over
their choices of doctors and specialists and many options
in who they want to visit for their medical services.

A large percentage of those insured are employees which
enables insurance providers to offer a variety of small and
large group health coverage plans. For companies with 2-100
employees, and large companies with 100 plus employees,
there are several factors which affect the cost of the
insurance premiums. Larger companies have an advantage
because of their size and can often select reduced premium
plans that offer basic medical coverage for the employees.
Some health plans have higher co-pays for the employees and
only cover medical care within the managed network of
healthcare providers. Other plans require higher premiums
for the employer, but cover more medical services for the
employee.

Investing in group health insurance for your employees is a
major decision that needs professional advice and planning.
Keeping your company's employees healthy and productive for
years will pay off in increased profits and success. With
an experienced and reputable insurance agent, your company
can have the help and expertise to consider all the
insurance options available based on your budget, the
medical needs of your employees and the costs of medical
services in your state. This is an invaluable service for
employers who want to consider all options in comprehensive
health care coverage of their employees.

----------------------------------------------------
Elliot Bigman is an insurance agent with Direct Marketing
Assoc.award winning BCBSNC® insurance agency serving
NC.Call 800-226-0092 or visit NC Insurance Plans Online,
http://www.ncinsuranceplansonline.com for Blue Cross NC
rates and quotes.

NCO Financial

NCO Financial
NCO may be the most humane collection agency in existence.
They stand out because they intentionally take a different
approach to the collection process. They actually try to
deliver a responsible message to recently-delinquent
accounts instead of simply purchasing charge off accounts
and then harassing the debtors into early graves.

Many other, almost all, other collection agencies take the
"vulture" approach. They scavenge on poor folks trying to
stay afloat, but have been unable to remit payments for any
variety of reasons. They employ debt-collecting methods
that are not only unethical; they are downright
disrespectful.

On the other side of the coin, NCO may just be different.
Of course, they still are going to be diligently after
debtors to pay up, but maybe in a more civil manner. They
certainly claim to be concerned about the well-being of
their targeted debtors. Still, they, like any
profit-generating business, are most probably far more
concerned with the overall contentment of their clientele.
There's nothing incorrect about that. A business is created
to generate profit and the more the better.

NCO is happy to serve the following industries:

- Utilities;
- Retail;
- Financial Services;
- Technology;
- Telecommunications;
- Education;
- Government;
- Commercial/B2B;
- Insurance;
- Cable;
- Healthcare;
- Transportation;
- and any other interested.

Of course, NCO has all the elements of the vulture
collection agencies in place; they just disguise them much
more effectively. NCO is a multi award-winning corporation
that has earned the privilege to call themselves an
industry leader. They consistently outperform many
similarly-based organizations, yet do so in apparently
respectful style.

Unlike many other collection/data processing companies, NCO
is international. As a matter of fact, they have
headquarters in 9 different countries. They maintain over
140 locations and over 30,000 employees. They are simply
the largest organization of their type on the planet and
their stellar reputation for effective practice and
excellent customer service are the primary catalyst for
this.

NCO goes on and on concerning their stellar performance
standards and it is all probably well-founded. But for the
average American consumer with debt problems, NCO can still
prove to be a common nightmare. As with all collection
agencies, NCO has a great amount of negative consumer
reviews and both active and pending lawsuits. However,
considering the sheer volume of their business, they
apparently offend consumers far less often than their
vulture-based competition.

Contact Information for NCO:

United States NCO Financial Systems, Inc. 507 Prudential
Road Horsham, PA 19044 (800) 220-2274 (215) 441-3000 (800)
550-9619 - Consumer Hotline (866) 269-8669 - Consumer
Hotline Fax

Canada NCO Financial Services Inc. 75 Port Royal East,
Suite 240 Montreal, Quebec H3L 3T1 General Inquiries: (514)
385-4444

Sales: (905) 819-4270

United Kingdom

NCO Europe Ltd. Old Docks House Watery Lane Preston,
England PR2 1AU 01772 765000

----------------------------------------------------
Chane Steiner is the president and founder of
http://AAACreditGuide.com , a leading source on credit
repair. Chane teaches consumers how they can remove
collection accounts like NCO Financial
http://aaacreditguide.com/collections/nco/ from their
credit reports.

How to Manage Health Savings Accounts

How to Manage Health Savings Accounts
Health Savings Accounts consist of two parts - the high
deductible health plan (HDHP), and the HSA itself. By
carefully choosing which bank you use to establish your
HSA, and strategically choosing how to fund your account
and manage your investment, you will be able to get the
most return on your money while keeping your expenses to a
minimum.

Make Sure to Establish Your Health Savings Account

By switching from a conventional copay health insurance
plan to a high-deductible health insurance plan (HDHP),
most people are cutting their health insurance costs by
about 40% or so. This is such a big savings, that many
people neglect to take the next step and set up their HSA.
But this is a financial mistake that is costing them money.

Unless you pay no income tax and have zero medical expenses
(including dental, over-the-counter medications, or charges
for alternative care like chiropractic or acupuncture), you
will absolutely save money by establishing your HSA.

Run All Your Medical Expenses Through Your HSA

Not everyone feels like they have "extra" money that they
afford to set aside in their HSA, despite the tax savings
and other financial benefits. Even if that's the case, you
should still establish your HSA. Every time you incur a
medical expense, deposit at least as much money as you
spent on that medical expense. For instance, if you went
to the dentist and it cost $85, put $85 in your HSA. If
you like you can then take it right back out.

What this does is convert this medical expense into a
tax-deductible expense. Then when you file your taxes next
year, you can put the total amount that you ran through
your HSA on line 25 of your 1040, and deduct it from the
total income you report.

Cover Your Deductible

Your next step is to get enough money in your HSA to cover
your deductible. For 2008, deductibles range from $1100 to
$5600 for individuals, and $2200 to $11,200 for families.
Annual contribution limits are $2900 for individuals, and
$5800 for families. So it could take a couple years or
longer to get enough money in your account to cover your
deductible.

Once this money is in your HSA, you will have the
confidence of knowing that you can cover most any medical
expense that comes your way, particularly if you have a
health insurance plan that pays 100% after your deductible.

As you continue to build money in your account, you may
want to consider switching to a health insurance plan with
an even higher deductible, which will further lower your
premiums.

Minimize the Fees You Pay

If you will be using your HSA to pay medical expenses as
you incur them, you should keep an eye on the fees your
bank charges. Until you have enough money in your account
to cover any fees with investment returns, you probably
want to have your HSA with a bank that charges no fees.
(Several are listed on the website referenced above).

If you plan to access money from your HSA to pay ongoing
medical expenses, you may wish to keep a portion of your
HSA money in a savings account or short-term CD. But to
take maximum advantage of your HSA, you'll want to
eventually move some of the funds to investments that have
a higher potential return.

Investment Options

No other investment has the triple tax-advantage that
Health Savings Accounts offer. Not only is your deposit
tax deductible, and your withdrawals to cover medical
expenses tax-free, but your investment also grows
tax-deferred.

Taking advantage of tax-deferred growth is one of the best
ways to build long-term savings. Some banks will provide a
short list of mutual funds you can invest in, while others
provide access to an online discount brokerage such as
Ameritrade where you can choose from stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, and more.

The most aggressive strategy is to pay your medical
expenses from somewhere other than your HSA, and save the
receipt. You can then reimburse yourself at a later date.
The additional growth you get from not paying any taxes on
your investment may be enough to cover all your medical
expenses.

----------------------------------------------------
By Wiley Long - President, HSA for America (
http://www.health--savings--accounts.com ) - The nation's
leading independent health insurance firm specializing in
individual and family coverage that works with a Health
Savings Account.

Report Banks Are Too Slow To Raise Credit Interest Rates

Report Banks Are Too Slow To Raise Credit Interest Rates
Despite recent price wars in the credit interest rates
offered by banks, too many are still offering low
incentives for those who keep their accounts in credit, a
new report has asserted.

According to MoneyExpert, there has been an improvement in
the average credit interest rates offered by high street
banks, although it asserts that too great a number are
failing to reward their customers for remaining in the
black in a worsening economic environment. It suggests that
while average credit interest rates have risen to two per
cent - up from 1.6 per cent a year ago - there are still a
number of banks offering customers a rate of less than one
per cent with their current accounts.

There has been a decrease in number of sub-one per cent
offerings, with more than half (56 per cent) of all current
accounts offering this "pittance" in 2007. Figures from the
group suggest that currently, 45 per cent of all products
offer this level of interest. However, with the housing
market faltering, consumer spending decreasing and the cost
of living rising, MoneyExpert urges banks to do more to
reward customers who are keeping their current accounts in
credit during tougher times.

Sean Gardner, director of MoneyExpert, said: "It's
encouraging to see banks getting their houses in order and
offering better interest rates for customers with positive
balances. But let's be honest - almost half of all accounts
reward customers who are in the black with less than one
per cent annual interest. That's an appalling return. Given
there are accounts out there offering ten times that amount
of interest, customers should not settle for a raw deal."

For those who have been unable to keep their finances in
the black as the increased demands of the gloomy financial
environment take hold, taking out a debt consolidation loan
may prove an effective course of action in preventing
outgoings from spiralling further out of control.

Mr Gardner continued by stating that 3.57 per cent is a
healthy average for accounts paying above one per cent. He
urged customers to search out a deal that offered at least
this level in order to make their money go further.

Research conducted by the group found that only 15 current
accounts offered by six UK banks offer credit interest
rates above five per cent, with Lloyds TSB noted for
raising the level offered on its Plus account from four to
six per cent. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, the
financial advisory firm reported that the majority of high
street banks offered a rate of 0.1 per cent on at least one
of their current accounts.

Mr Gardner also noted the importance of customer support
and other added perks that banks offer and urged consumers
to make sure they were not choosing a provider purely on
the headline rate. He advised Britons to make sure their
chosen bank offered the right kind of facilities for their
needs.

Consumers who have found themselves experiencing worsening
money problems in recent months may wish to take out a
consolidation loan in order to stem the tide of an
unmanageable level of monthly repayment commitments.
Indeed, as a recent study from Lloyds TSB showed, many
people have been feeling the strain in the last year.
According to its inflation barometer, the bank found that
90 per cent of people felt that the price of goods and
services had increased in the past 12 months.

----------------------------------------------------
Abbi Rouse writes for All About Loans. Our visitors can
apply online for bad credit secured loans. We also
specialise in the cheapest loans online, and UK
consolidation loans. Visit today:
http://www.allaboutoans.co.uk