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How to profit from your employee benefits plan

You wouldn’t normally expect an insurer to keep surpluses in their benefits program but with the Chambers Plan that’s exactly what happens. As a not-for-profit benefits plan, the Chambers Plan reinvests these surpluses back into the program to reduce rates, to continue to add additional benefits and provide high-quality service with ever evolving options.

Small and mid-sized business owners face a lot of uncertainty and they don’t need that to include their employee benefits plan. A local Chambers Plan advisor can help show them why the Chambers Plan is the number one plan for businesses looking for stability in their benefits plan.

Why should this be a concern? Well, first there are inflationary factors that can cause your benefits plans to rise. Next, some group benefits providers will lure businesses in with unsustainable rates, which will be followed by larger premium increases in subsequent years. Many business owners have experienced this roller coaster ride already and we can show you how to avoid that.

Let’s talk first about the low rate trap. Most benefits providers are for-profit entities where logic dictates they need more premium than claims paid out plus the administrative costs to run the plan. In addition, many require funding for their own large claims pool to pay larger claims than normal, typically large drug or out of country claims. Insurers have to provide a return on investment for shareholders. With the Chambers Plan, plan participants are treated like the shareholders with surpluses being reinvested into the pool.

One of the great things about the Chambers Plan is that it allows start-ups or smaller firms to participate fully in the pool if they have 3-9 employees, though some 1 and 2 person firms may also qualify. If they are fully pooled they join the other 35,000 businesses where renewals are based simply on what’s needed to sustain the pool. This keeps their costs predictable until they grow to a size where they can take on additional risk. If they had a bad year for claims due to an employee or employee’s dependent it won’t impact the renewal the way it would with a traditional carrier.

In addition, as they grow they can move into the Chambers Plan’s partially pooled option. With this the firm takes on more risk since a portion of claims will be rated against premiums, and for taking on that risk receive reduced rates. As the Chambers Plan is a not-for-profit program, surpluses go back into your claims and provide a reduction.

What’s also intriguing is that for larger firms with 10-99 employees, the Chambers Plan, as a not-for-profit simply has less overhead. As a pooled, not-for-profit, the plan doesn’t charge reserves (IBNR’s) which can typically eat 8-12% of premiums, and again provide some pooling cost certainty for years where your claims may fluctuate. In addition to this, the plan’s lower than industry average annual inflation.

The plan has always been around with the goal of supporting business with less than 100 employees, providing not only cost certainly but also additional supporting benefits that firms this size may require. All employees also receive the Best Doctors program. This can allow an employee to find access to specialists or get a second opinion on either a diagnosis or course of treatment. The Chambers Plan also provides the BAS, or Business Assistance Service to all plan holders. This service is invaluable to any size enterprise providing HR, Accounting and Legal assistance as part of the underlying program.

The Chambers Plan is also administratively light and easy. Employees can access their own information and make claims or inquiries through the My-Benefits platform. Additionally, claims can be done  simply by taking a picture of the claim and submitting through the phone application with direct deposit right into the employees bank account. A Chambers Plan representative can help train you and your employees on how to use the plan and access the resources available. It has been designed to be very user friendly.

 As a not-for-profit program supported by and supporting local Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade, the benefits continue to evolve based on the needs of the SME marketplace. Needs are in today’s business environment and benefits are evolving to keep up, while also with catering to those still wanting to have more traditional plans. All resources are reinvested with these goals in mind, something unique in the marketplace. 

Why not profit from your benefits investment?
Contact Hynek Financial Group, our local provider of The Chambers Plan for more information.