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AmWINS Introduces Hybrid Strategy for Addressing Retiree Health
Benefit Obligation
Retiree Benefit Choice Provides a Better Way to Relieve Employer Burden,
Protect Retiree Options
Benefit Obligation
Retiree Benefit Choice Provides a Better Way to Relieve Employer Burden,
Protect Retiree Options
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – AmWINS Group Benefits, a leading wholesale broker of comprehensive group insurance programs and administrative services, is launching a unique solution to the retiree Medicare Exchange arena which allows employers to control costs while still protecting their former workers. Retiree Benefit Choice™ is a hybrid strategy that combines the advantages of benefit continuity and pricing stability for retirees while freeing employers from regulatory requirements and administrative burdens.
“No company should turn its back on employees who dedicated their lives to the company’s success and now are enjoying retirement,” said Sam Fleet, president of AmWINS Group Benefits. “With Retiree Benefit Choice, employers can live up to their obligations without the financial constraints and administrative burdens that many of them now bear. But this isn’t just a way out for companies – we built this product as a hybrid that protects retirees at the same time it helps employers.”
"The strong relationships AmWINS has established in the affinity market make them one of the largest and most diversified wholesale insurance distributors in the country," said Craig Fundum, head of Programs & Direct Markets for Zurich North America Commercial. "Zurich wants to work with more top-tier program administrators, and this new relationship with AmWINS gives us access to agents and brokers that are some of the strongest in the nation."
Like other products known as Medicare Exchanges or Medicare Coordination, Retiree Benefit Choice enables the employer to switch from an ERISA-regulated plan to a subsidy that allows retirees to select their own health and prescription drug insurance. The difference, however, is that retirees can opt into a plan that has been customized to match their current benefits, ensuring there is no disruption to their coverage and no unpleasant surprises when they use their insurance.
For those retirees who want to make a change, guidance is available through both one-on-one call center support and online resources. Retirees are not abandoned to struggle with comparing complex insurance products on their own.
In addition, while having access to the flexibility offered by individual plans, retirees pay composite, national-based rates that are not dependent on their age, gender, zip code, health condition or weight/smoking status. Under Retiree Benefit Choice, plans can be arranged with a multi-year guarantee to provide pricing stability.
From the employers’ perspective, all of the filings and audits required of ERISA plan sponsors disappear, and the administrative functions of retiree health benefits are shifted to AmWINS. The retiree subsidy becomes a current expense rather than a future obligation that must be reflected on the balance sheet.
“Hybrid cars that combine batteries with gasoline engines have caught on because they offer low-cost mileage and a longer driving range than batteries alone,” said Fleet. “Just like those cars, Retiree Benefit Choice is a hybrid that makes sense for both the employer and the retiree – and it’s a better way to take care of loyal workers than to cut them loose to figure out health insurance options on their own.”
For more information about Retiree Benefit Choice, visit the AmWINS Group Benefits electronic press kit at amwinspresskit.com. Also, follow Sam Fleet on Twitter: @samfleetsays.
About AmWINS Group Benefits
AmWINS Group Benefits is a leading wholesale broker of comprehensive group insurance programs and administrative services. Partnering with benefit professionals and insurers, AmWINS Group Benefits empowers the retail broker and their clients by developing, distributing and administering niche insurance products and services. Its parent company, AmWINS Group, Inc. is a leading insurance wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services. AmWINS Group Benefits is headquartered in Warwick, RI. More information about AmWINS Group Benefits is available at groupbenefits.amwins.com.
“No company should turn its back on employees who dedicated their lives to the company’s success and now are enjoying retirement,” said Sam Fleet, president of AmWINS Group Benefits. “With Retiree Benefit Choice, employers can live up to their obligations without the financial constraints and administrative burdens that many of them now bear. But this isn’t just a way out for companies – we built this product as a hybrid that protects retirees at the same time it helps employers.”
"The strong relationships AmWINS has established in the affinity market make them one of the largest and most diversified wholesale insurance distributors in the country," said Craig Fundum, head of Programs & Direct Markets for Zurich North America Commercial. "Zurich wants to work with more top-tier program administrators, and this new relationship with AmWINS gives us access to agents and brokers that are some of the strongest in the nation."
Like other products known as Medicare Exchanges or Medicare Coordination, Retiree Benefit Choice enables the employer to switch from an ERISA-regulated plan to a subsidy that allows retirees to select their own health and prescription drug insurance. The difference, however, is that retirees can opt into a plan that has been customized to match their current benefits, ensuring there is no disruption to their coverage and no unpleasant surprises when they use their insurance.
For those retirees who want to make a change, guidance is available through both one-on-one call center support and online resources. Retirees are not abandoned to struggle with comparing complex insurance products on their own.
In addition, while having access to the flexibility offered by individual plans, retirees pay composite, national-based rates that are not dependent on their age, gender, zip code, health condition or weight/smoking status. Under Retiree Benefit Choice, plans can be arranged with a multi-year guarantee to provide pricing stability.
From the employers’ perspective, all of the filings and audits required of ERISA plan sponsors disappear, and the administrative functions of retiree health benefits are shifted to AmWINS. The retiree subsidy becomes a current expense rather than a future obligation that must be reflected on the balance sheet.
“Hybrid cars that combine batteries with gasoline engines have caught on because they offer low-cost mileage and a longer driving range than batteries alone,” said Fleet. “Just like those cars, Retiree Benefit Choice is a hybrid that makes sense for both the employer and the retiree – and it’s a better way to take care of loyal workers than to cut them loose to figure out health insurance options on their own.”
For more information about Retiree Benefit Choice, visit the AmWINS Group Benefits electronic press kit at amwinspresskit.com. Also, follow Sam Fleet on Twitter: @samfleetsays.
About AmWINS Group Benefits
AmWINS Group Benefits is a leading wholesale broker of comprehensive group insurance programs and administrative services. Partnering with benefit professionals and insurers, AmWINS Group Benefits empowers the retail broker and their clients by developing, distributing and administering niche insurance products and services. Its parent company, AmWINS Group, Inc. is a leading insurance wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services. AmWINS Group Benefits is headquartered in Warwick, RI. More information about AmWINS Group Benefits is available at groupbenefits.amwins.com.
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