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Question: What should we do about an employee with a terrible attendance record who appears to have a medical issue? I need to do something about this because other employees are noticing the problem when they have to do her work. What should I do if the employee wants to give me any medical details – isn’t that a violation of the HIPAA rules? Answer: The best route to take with the employee is to have a private meeting and review the attendance problem that is affecting her performance. Keep the discussion based on the facts and the attendance expectations of the job. Let the employee know where she is not meeting the company expectations and ask for the employee’s feedback as to what she needs to do in order to get performance/attendance on track. Don’t bring up health issues. Wait until the employee brings up the medical situation to avoid any appearance of disability discrimination. If she does bring […]

The employer shared responsibility “play or pay” requirement provides that employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees must offer affordable, minimum value coverage to most full-time (30+ hours/week) employees or pay a penalty. That requirement was scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2014, although employers that met transition requirements could delay compliance until the start of the 2014 plan year. In addition, extensive reporting was expected to be required regarding the coverage offered to employees. Now we believe (1) the reporting requirements will be provided later this summer; (2) reporting will not be required until 2015; and (3) since it is not possible to assess or enforce employer penalties without reporting, the play or pay mandate also will be delayed until 2015. 1. What’s Been Delayed The play or pay provision requires employers with 50 or more employees to do the following to avoid penalties: Offer minimum essential coverage to 95 percent of full-time employees Offer minimum […]

Question: We are designing our wellness programs for this year and want to offer a wellness benefit to our non-smokers. Are there special compliance rules surrounding wellness programs? Answer: A group health plan is allowed to offer a discount to non-smokers if it is part of formal wellness program that is non-discriminatory under HIPAA. The Department of Labor has specific guidelines as follows: For a group health plan to maintain a premium differential between smokers and nonsmokers and not be considered discriminatory, the plan’s nonsmoking program would need to meet the five requirements for wellness programs that require satisfaction of a standard related to a health factor. Accordingly, under the final rules, this wellness program would be permitted if: The premium differential is not more than 20 percent of the total cost of employee-only coverage (or 20% of the cost of coverage if dependents can participate in the program)*; The program is reasonably designed to promote health and prevent disease; […]

Do you have questions about the Health Care Reform? Check our blog weekly to see the most asked questions during our weekly webinar. In this week’s blog, we cover How employers will know that employees have been allowed to get a subsidy through the Exchanges, does the play or play penalty apply to a large group prior to their renewal date in 2014 if the plan is the fiscal year (7/1/14), and also will there eventually be a requirement to extend coverage to dependents.   Read More…

UNICO Group, Inc. and ComPro are joining forces to help local businesses prepare for the changes that are coming with Healthcare Reform. We would like to invite you to an informative meeting focusing on how Healthcare Reform will impact your business and your family. This is an educational, no-pressure meeting to ensure the businesses of Lincoln know the facts so they can plan and implement changes to their healthcare benefits. This meeting, with Healthcare Reform experts Chris and Brian McPike, will be held at the UNICO building (4435 O street, Lincoln, NE 68510) this Thursday, May 23rd from 3pm-4pm. Please RSVP to Brian at bwallingford@unicogroup.com

“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. […]