NON-TRADITIONAL INSURANCE
Are you looking to differentiate yourself from your competitor in your employee benefits offerings?
Non-traditional benefits appeal to both employee and employer needs. These benefits offer a variety of insurance options in one place, and often with lower premiums than individual policies an employee would have bought from themselves.
These plans can be offered at no cost to the employer.
Contact Risty Benefits today for more information.
PREPAID LEGAL
Group legal plans are voluntary benefits that your employer may offer to give you access to legal services that you might not otherwise be able to afford. A group legal plan is a type of insurance for when you need an attorney’s services. You pay into the program through payroll deductions, and, when you need legal help, you have prepaid access to an attorney who can assist you—without breaking the bank.
Legal plan benefits can help you in a variety of situations. The more common service categories used by employees with group legal plans include the following:
- Telephone advice and office consultations with an attorney
- Estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, living wills and powers of attorney
- Real estate matters, including the purchase, sale and refinancing of homes
- Financial matters such as debt collection defense
- Hiring or dealing with contractors
- Leasing or purchasing an automobile
- Traffic offenses
- Criminal matters
For any legal plan, certain specified legal services will be covered, and non-covered services will often be provided at a reduced rate from the attorney’s normal charges.
Typically, a network of attorneys will be available who can be accessed through the plan. When you find yourself in a situation needing legal assistance, you can call your legal plan provider who will then connect you with an attorney in your area.
IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION
Identity theft occurs when someone obtains personally identifying information, such as your name, credit card number, birth date, Social Security number, home address and bank account numbers, and then illegitimately uses this information. This unauthorized use of personal information can result in great financial loss as the thief amasses credit card debt and tarnishes your credit rating.
Repairing the damage from identity theft can be a daunting—and financially taxing—task. After losing money to identity theft, you don’t want to spend more on the various fees and charges that accompany re-establishing your name and credit. Some employers offer identity theft insurance as a voluntary benefit that can help protect employees should they become a victim of identity theft.
Identity theft insurance is designed to relieve you of the financial burden of repairing damages after your identity has been stolen. This type of insurance does not reimburse loss from theft such as stolen credit card numbers or forged bank checks, but rather prevents further loss once you have already become a victim of identity theft. Also, aside from some plans which may provide free credit monitoring, identity theft insurance does not work to prevent identity theft. Instead, identity theft coverage helps with expenses as you navigate the identity recovery process, which is useful whether or not you lost money to an identity thief.
PET INSURANCE
Pet insurance is a product offered by some employers as a voluntary benefit to protect employees from high, unexpected veterinary bills.
Pet insurance provides coverage for pet illnesses and accidents. These plans are somewhat like your own health insurance plan, but with more focus on unforeseen medical incidents rather than routine preventive visits. Most pet plans cover dogs and cats, though some may cover other animals, such as chameleons, chinchillas, geckos, gerbils, goats, mice, lizards, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, rats, snakes, and tortoises.
As veterinary technology adopts advanced diagnostic and treatment tools already used for people, the possibility of saving a pet from life-threatening injury and disease has increased. However, the cost of veterinary care has risen as well. Having pet insurance can provide your employees with the ability to say “yes” to a costly but life-saving operation for their pet.
EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
An educational assistance program is an employer-sponsored program that reimburses employees for educational expenses or allows employers to help pay employees’ student loans as part of their benefits package. Employees can be reimbursed for almost any type of educational courses, except for those concerning sports, games, or hobbies. According to the Congressional Research Service, 40% of private sector employers offered work-related educational assistance as part of their fringe benefits package. In addition, 15% of employees are offered employer reimbursement for non-work-related educational courses.
Employer reimbursements for educational expenses are tax-exempt for employees, up to a maximum of $5,250 annually. This amount can be applied to undergraduate or graduate level courses, and they need not be job-related. In addition, employers can claim a business deduction on their taxes for educational assistance they provide.
Educational assistance programs provide benefits to eligible employees, which include employees who are active, retired, disabled, self-employed under certain circumstances, laid off or on a leave of absence.
Did you know?
In 1982, Lassie was the first dog in the United States to receive a pet insurance policy because she was so famous and well-loved.
Pet owners started to realize the benefits of insurance and quickly jumped on the bandwagon.
Today more than 500,000 pets in the U.S. are insured.
Supplemental Employee Benefits
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| Monday | 08:00 am – 05:00 pm |
| Tuesday | 08:00 am – 05:00 pm |
| Wednesday | 08:00 am – 05:00 pm |
| Thursday | 08:00 am – 05:00 pm |
| Friday | 08:00 am – 05:00 pm |
| Saturday | By Appointment |
| Sunday | Closed |
