News

“UNICO is now a member of the Donegal Insurance Pioneer Program. Donegal Insurance recognizes their top agents in Nebraska based off of written premium production. Donegal Insurance contracted UNICO in late March. Donegal couldn’t be happier with the production and relationship.”

Any disaster, whether it is a fire, flood or tornado, threatens the very livelihood of a business. A disaster recovery plan is essential. A disaster plan is an organization’s response to an event that threatens its ability to conduct business normally… Read More…

Health Savings Account May Offer a Tax Deduction Don’t forget that you may have a tax deduction waiting if you have an underfunded Health Savings Account and you act before April 15, 2013. A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-favored account used in conjunction with an HSA-compatible health plan. The HSA allows you to contribute funds on a pre-tax or tax-deductible basis, which you may use to pay for eligible medical expenses. Contribution Tax Benefits If your employer offers a payroll deduction through a Section 125 Cafeteria Plan, you can make contributions to your HSA on a pre-tax basis. The deduction is removed from your paycheck prior to taxes being applied and deposited into your HSA. Ask your employer if they facilitate pre-tax deductions. Contributions can also be made post-tax as an “above-the-line” deduction. This means you can reduce your taxable income by the amount you contribute to your HSA. Tax Deduction for Contributions Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions […]

UNICO named 2012 Underwriting Agency of the Year UNICO Group Inc was named the Underwriting Agency of the Year for 2012 by the Great Lakes Region of United Fire Group, Inc. “UNICO represents the client service and industry professionalism we seek when looking for an independent agency serving our clients. This recognition provides support for the way they do business,” indicated Matt Hergenrader, regional representative of United Fire. “This award is a welcome honor for our agency. We are proud to be recognized by our business partners.” stated Scott Nelson, president of UNICO. Nelson continued, “We would like to thank all employees for their great team effort in providing the superior service to clients that makes us stand out among competitors. Working hard on a daily basis comes naturally to our UNICO team members in their daily dealings with customers, vendors, and their fellow employees. This award is the result of a lot of great teamwork, and everyone working together […]

UNICO is partnering with Allied Insurance to put on a “Fatal Distractions While Driving” event on April 19, 2013. This will be held in the Papillion LaVista North parking lot at 10:00am with an assembly that will follow in the theater. This is a mock-live car crash caused by distracted driving. This event is very impactful and may be very emotional.  We plan this event to fall on the Friday before PROM and around graduation in hoping to impact the students to this realistic and devastating event. They will actually witness all the family and people affected by this preventable distraction. We hope to have another year without any bad events. We sincerely hope you can join us in this powerful statement to our children and our community. Approximately 700 students will be in attendance and UNICO will be giving out “ITS T2D TXT L8R” thumb rings along with Allied Insurance who will hand out accident guides. If you have […]

Insurance Professionals of Lincoln, Inc. will continue their tradition of honoring a grade school, middle school and high school student at their annual Youth Award Banquet in May.  The nomination forms have been dispersed by Lincoln school counselors, and all nominated students exhibit excellent leadership skills and contribute to the community in a positive manner, whether it is through volunteering, community projects, or participation in local community organization.  Additionally, they display high moral charter and demonstrate traits of perseverance, integrity and commitment to serve other.  IPOL, Inc. will also provide a $500 scholarship to a high school graduate this May who is enrolled or planning to enroll at a university or community college and pursuing an education in a business field. Read the rest of the article at: http://www.strictly-business.com/news/non-profit/insurance-professionals-of-lincoln-inc-to-host-annual-youth-award-banquet/

Insurance Professionals of Lincoln, Inc. to Host Annual Youth Award Banquet Insurance Professionals of Lincoln, Inc. will continue their tradition of honoring a grade school, middle school and high school student at their annual Youth Award Banquet in May.  The nomination forms have been dispersed by Lincoln school counselors, and all nominated students exhibit excellent leadership skills and contribute to the community in a positive manner, whether it is through volunteering, community projects, or participation in local community organization.  Additionally, they display high moral charter and demonstrate traits of perseverance, integrity and commitment to serve other.  IPOL, Inc. will also provide a $500 scholarship to a high school graduate this May who is enrolled or planning to enroll at a university or community college and pursuing an education in a business field. Insurance Professionals of Lincoln, Inc. is an affiliated chapter of the International Association of Insurance Professionals (IAIP) with headquarters in Tulsa, OK.  IPOL, Inc. was chartered over 70 […]

Kidwell Companies of Lincoln and Omaha was awarded the Acuity “Outstanding Safety Award” on February 14, 2013. UNICO Group, Inc. would like to say congratulations to Kidwell Companies for this prestigious accomplishment. There were 63 awards given nationwide for 2012 and Kidwell was one of the three in the state of Nebraska. This is the second UNICO client that has received this award. “The award is really the result of a lot of teamwork, and everyone making safety a priority on our jobsites and in the office.  From executive management to our operations managers down to our project foreman and field technicians, it has been a group effort.  My job is certainly made easy by having great employees that take pride in our safety record and doing things the right way.” – Andrew Davenport, Finance Director Certain criteria must have been met to be eligible for this award: •  Contractor class of  Business •  3 or more years of outstanding […]

Employers now have less than a year to prepare for the arrival of the core of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer medical coverage or pay a penalty. The decision isn’t an easy one and it has complications. First thing to know – Will you be in the 50+FTE category? Once you know that answer it will a lot easier to determine your next steps. Any employer with 50 or more full-time equivalents (FTE) is considered a large employer. If you fall into this category you need to start looking at the issues in more depth now to allow several months for your planning window. Smaller employers with less than 50 FTEs will be exempt from the employer coverage “mandate” which starts in 2014. While they should still gather information to understand how changes will impact them, the real need for change will be further down the road. […]

We came across an article titled “Buying your own health insurance will never be the same” as published by AP. If you are reading similar articles it can be confusing as to what will happen moving into 2014. If you have questions about health care reform please let us know. For your reading and further consideration here is a longer segment of the article. WASHINGTON (AP) – Buying your own health insurance will never be the same. This fall, new insurance markets called exchanges will open in each state, marking the long-awaited and much-debated debut of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. The goal is quality coverage for millions of uninsured people in the United States. What the reality will look like is anybody’s guess — from bureaucracy, confusion and indifference to seamless service and satisfied customers. Exchanges will offer individuals and their families a choice of private health plans resembling what workers at major companies already get. The government […]

HR and BenefitsEssentials, the content provider for the ClientConnect benefits & HR library, is now called HR360. In addition to their new name, HR360 has made several content changes that are reflected in the ClientConnect benefits & HR module. A list of those changes is provided below. Broker Resources/HR & Benefits Content The HR & Benefits content page, located under the broker resources tab, has been redesigned to match the new HR360 library content. These changes include the addition of many new content links as well as two new content groups called Termination and Recruitment & Hiring. The Financial Planning group has been removed. HR & Benefits Default Client Home Page Sections Outlined below are the changes to the HR & benefits default client home page sections My HR Library • Benefits Post Employment is now titled Post Termination Employer Responsibilities • Mandated Benefits & Voluntary Benefits have been merged together under Benefits Overview • Life Insurance is now included […]

Lincoln, Nebraska –UNICO Group and Midlands Financial Benefits are pleased to announce a strategic alliance to provide employee benefits, group insurance, retirement plans and commercial liability insurance for the Midwest region.  The new company will be operating under the name of UNICO Midlands. “This approach will allow us to leverage our combined resources from decades of industry expertise, our dynamic human capital and advanced technology to better serve the changing needs of current and future clients. The leadership teams from both firms are excited to build a cohesive force, one that exemplifies our continued commitment to provide client based solutions. This new team will provide our individual and business clients with additional services to address today’s challenges,” explained team leaders Tom Champoux from UNICO and Ryan Swinton from Midlands. UNICO Group, Inc. is a multi-line insurance broker serving clients in more than 30 states. The team of professionals provides expertise to analyze business and personal exposures to financial loss and […]

Check out our latest press release about new UNICO team members at: http://strictlybusinessomaha.com/news/personnel/unico-group-expands-with-new-insurance-team-members/

UNICO was mentioned in EHS Today. Check out the full article below: http://ehstoday.com/health/good-communication-can-help-lower-workers-compensation