Reduce the Costs of Covering Unqualified Dependents PRINT VERSION
Life event changes, such as marriage, divorce, childbirth, and adoption, can change eligibility for specific benefit plans. Unfortunately these status changes frequently go unreported. Not only are employers paying premiums for dependents that don’t qualify, they may be at risk of legal liabilities under ERISA and other laws. Plus, with the new health care reform regulations employers will want to scrutinize eligibility even closer.
With the Benergy Dependent Eligibility Audit (DEA) service, we can help employers significantly reduce wasted costs and potential risks. The return on investment (ROI) from an audit can be significant. An average employer can expect between a 2 percent and 5 percent reduction in overall plan costs after an audit is conducted. As a general rule, the more extensive the audit, the higher the savings with some industry reports stating savings as high as 15 percent of total plan costs.
Potential ROI
Employers can choose from two types of audits:
The Benergy DEA process includes a series of communications sent to employees along with a toll-free DEA helpline, so that employees can talk with a trained expert who can help them understand and respond to DEA requirements. In addition, we can provide a DEA communications portal including an overview of the DEA audit process, plan eligibility information, documentation requirements, and other information. After an audit is conducted, employers will receive a complete report of the audit results.
For more information about Benergy DEA, please contact us at benergymarketing@adam.com or 1-800-475-4041.
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Get Quick Assistance, 4 Ways to Contact Us PRINT VERSION
With a goal of delivering world-class support to our expanding customer base, we’re pleased to give you four ways to contact Benergy Client Services to get quick assistance:
Now you can access Live Chat through the new Benergy Support Portal and a Benergy support representative will contact you during our normal support hours. You can get to the Benergy Support Portal via Benergy Central or Benergy Control Center, then click on “Contact Support.”
If you need to discuss sensitive or confidential information, please use the Case Management system on the Benergy Support Portal.
If you prefer to send an email or wish to request access to the Case Management system, you can create a case by emailing benergy@adam.com.
For urgent matters, please call Benergy Client Services at 800-475-4041.
Our normal business hours (Eastern Time):
The company closes in observance of the following U.S. holidays:
Deadline Extended to January 7, 2011 PRINT VERSION
We’re currently accepting entries for the first annual Benergy Builder Awards Program. This is your chance to be rewarded for all the hard work that went into creating your Benergy sites.
Winners will be recognized in the following four categories: Best Overall, Most Innovative, Most Creative, and HR Excellence.
We have lined up judges from SHRM, Employee Benefit News, Benefits Selling magazine, the Arketi Group, and A.D.A.M. to review the award entries. The judges are excited to see the excellent Benergy sites our customers are creating. They have also signed a confidentiality agreement that they will not share information from the entries with any third parties.
To find out more information and submit your entry, go to benergybuilderawards.com or contact your client relationship manager. All entries must be received by January 7, 2011.
All a-Twitter PRINT VERSION By John Lamb
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Benergy Interworks Employee Benefit Advisor, November 2010
This month, Employee Benefit Advisor magazine welcomed a new TipsOnTechnlogy columnist, John Lamb, senior vice president and general manager of Benergy Interworks. John will be writing a monthly column about technology as a business tool both for brokers in-office use and for brokers to bring to their employer clients. This month’s article shares insights on the rapid convergence of social media and CRM software.
With the advent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and growing government intervention into the benefits industry, consensus among industry experts is that becoming a trusted adviser and HR compliance consultant is the future role of successful brokers. More than ever before, clients will need expert advice and counsel; an invaluable resource to aid HR in their benefits-oriented decision making. Following this approach will help brokers establish a competitive advantage and differentiate themselves. However, since many successful brokers will most likely take this same approach, how do you make yourself stand out? The answer may lie in the utilization and convergence of two technologies, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and social business software.
First, we’ll look at what CRM software is and what it can do for you. Next we’ll go into social business software and how your agency or brokerage can utilize it. And, lastly, we’ll explore the convergence of these technologies.
CRM systems are used by companies to manage interactions with both prospects and clients. These systems have proven effective in increasing sales and improving customer service. A 2010 study by the Aberdeen Group shows that top performing companies achieved 91% customer retention, 88% customer satisfaction, and a 6% increase in net client value year over year as a result of using CRM systems. Yet many companies still rely on paper-based files, spreadsheets and/or email to manage client relationships putting them at a distinct disadvantage. These methods fail to be competitive because they lack easy accessibility to client information by different staff members - completely missing the key leverage point that service and sales are intertwined.
In today’s economic climate clients are demanding higher levels of service, which, if delivered on, leads to more repeat business and, ultimately, more new business. By providing both sales and service personnel access to client information, CRMs give a 360 degree view of each client or prospect. Producers and account managers, indeed all client facing staff, can have a common, online view of each client and their current status.
In the broker world there are CRM solutions that provide not only a business wide view of client information and client transaction history, but also store and manage policies, rates, and health insurance plan data. All of this information can be used for both sales and service. For sales, all of the information necessary to create robust proposals and manage the sales process is easily accessible. For service teams, all of the information needed for client implementation and support is there, too. These systems are available from vendors that specialize in our industry.
Social software is well established in the consumer world eliciting names such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Hundreds of millions of users access these online applications. In April 2010, Twitter announced that 50,000 people per day were signing up and, in June, Facebook claimed over 400 million users. Social networks are used by people to share a variety of media including video, podcasts, reviews, and audio. Online research of personal health is the number one search topic on the Internet and about one-third of these people use social networks as part of their research.
Social business software brings similar capabilities into the corporate world. These products are used within an organization, most typically for employees, to facilitate teaming, networking, and online communities. Also referred to as collaboration software, the core functionality includes discussion groups, document sharing, blogs, and wikis (group authoring). In business, social software brings experts and interested parties together more easily, taking collaboration to the next level. The Gartner Group conducts analysis of the social business software market and says that these products facilitate “…social interaction by helping people to establish and strengthen personal relationships, develop trust…and accelerate the business processes that people are engaged in.”
While the social software category is dominated by Microsoft and IBM at the enterprise level there are many affordable solutions available for agencies and brokerages. This market will continue to grow as the benefits of collaboration tools for businesses up the ante on competitive advantage. However, the convergence of CRM and social business software may be the next “big thing.” This convergence is best exemplified by the rapid user adoption of Salesforce.com Chatter.
Salesforce.com is the leader in the CRM market and Chatter is their latest innovation that combines CRM and collaboration software. In addition to all of the CRM and social software benefits, Chatter takes the Twitter-like following of people and applies it to documents, deals, and accounts. Groups can be established around competitors, sales teams, service teams, even the development of a proposal or presentation. Status updates provide immediate notification of changes to documents or deals and can include team comments and service updates. To many users it brings the consumer-oriented capabilities of Twitter and Facebook into the business world.
We can expect to see the same convergence of CRM and social software in our industry. Some vendors have already taken steps in this direction. In the next year these steps will become leaps and bounds as users and vendors work together to figure out what the next generation software solutions need to be. While PPACA has created much heated discussion, it has also brought another round of change to our industry. And with change comes innovation. Check it out.
Meet Your Client Services Team PRINT VERSION
Dan Fitzgerald Director, Implementation Services Benergy Interworks
Dan Fitzgerald has overall responsibility for the product implementation and support teams for Benergy Interworks. Dan has more than 15 years of experience in HR, employee benefits, and HR systems. Prior to joining the company, Dan worked for HD Supply as a benefits manager responsible for employee benefits spanning 12 lines of business.
Dan grew up in South Carolina and has lived in Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia. He moved back to Atlanta for the second time four years ago. In his free time he enjoys movies, music, reading, camping, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
If you have any questions about Benergy implementation and support, please contact us at benergymarketing@adam.com or 1-800-475-4041.
Stressed Out? Maybe It’s Time for a Yoga Break PRINT VERSION An article from Synergy, a health and wellness newsletter delivered through Benergy
Stressed out from open enrollment season? Are your muscles tense from a full day in front of the computer? Have a headache? Just too tired by the afternoon to make much headway on any new projects?
You can take more aspirin, gulp cups of high octane java and convince yourself to deal with whatever stress you’re facing. Unfortunately, you could be setting yourself up for more problems down the road – including health woes and less on-the-job productivity.
Maybe it’s time to try yoga, an ancient approach to relaxing muscles, focusing the mind and giving you an energy boost, all at the same time.
From the Sanskrit word meaning "union,” yoga combines specific poses, called asanas, with attention to regulating your breathing. The goal? To integrate mind and body while building stamina and flexibility.
“Yoga helps with physical stress by using the asanas to work with the body gently to relax muscles and release stress, “ Barbara Nardi, who teaches yoga at the Pierce Program in Atlanta, Georgia, tells Synergy. “As we focus the mind on the body and the breath, we reduce our mental chatter and our mental stress.”
Take a deep breath, check out the facts
If you’ve never tried yoga, this may sound like hocus pocus or a fitness fad best left to celebrities like well-known yoga devotee Madonna. Over the past decade, research has accumulated backing up the idea yoga really can help conditions ranging from anxiety and fatigue to headaches, neck and back strain and more.
In fact, scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) say they’ve found yoga is an effective way to treat the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work days – low back pain. A NINDS study, published in the medical journal Spine, concluded that low back pain sufferers who regularly practiced yoga postures had less discomfort and better moods. What’s more, back pain patients who did yoga were far less likely to take drugs for pain relief than their non-yoga practicing counterparts.
What about the claims yoga zaps stress and might even keep you feeling younger than your years? Ohio State University scientists came up with a way to test that idea. They looked at blood levels of a cytokine (a type of protein produced by the immune system) dubbed interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is known to rise due to both normal aging and stress. Elevated amounts of IL-6 have been implicated in heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, arthritis and a host of other age and stress-related debilitating diseases.
Practicing yoga exercises, the researchers found, significantly reduced the amount of IL-6 circulating in the body. “Hopefully, this means that people can eventually learn to respond less strongly to stressors in their everyday lives by using yoga and other stress-reducing modalities, “said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, Ph.D., lead author of the study.
Other recent studies have provided evidence yoga can help prevent middle-aged weight gain (the dreaded “spare tire”), alleviate postpartum depression and effectively treat post traumatic stress syndrome. In addition, Wake Forest University researchers have documented that yoga practice significantly reduces depression and increased feelings of peace in women diagnosed with breast cancer.
Getting down to (yoga) business
The idea that practicing yoga might keep employees healthier and happier may explain why more corporations are offering yoga lessons. For example, Nike, Forbes, Apple, HBO and George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) film company all offer on-site yoga classes for their employees.
If your workplace doesn’t come with that perk you can still incorporate yoga into your work day. You may want to take yoga classes (most health clubs and YMCAs offer them) in your spare time to introduce yourself to various asanas, each of which has specific physical benefits. DVDs and books can help, too. But even without any specialized lessons, you can use simple-to-learn yoga techniques at your workspace to relax and recharge.
“Yoga is all about awareness. So often we are not even aware that we are holding stress in our bodies. First we need to pay attention to how our body feels, begin specific yoga movements and slowly begin to let the stress go,” Nardi says. “Taking a few minutes out to relax and focus this way helps us to be more efficient and productive.”
Take a yoga break
Just breathe. The breath is a very powerful tool in yoga. Try sitting quietly in your chair, eyes closed, and observe your breath for a few minutes. Is it shallow? Fast of slow? Concentrate on slowing your breathing down comfortably without forcing it.
“Often when we are stressed we hold our breath or breathe short quick breaths,” Nardi points out. “By using a relaxed breath that is slow and deep we begin to release tension. Once this breath is mastered it can be used any time or place to relax – at the dentist’s, on an airplane, or in a business meeting.”
Palming. Eyes tired and strained? This classic yoga relaxation technique can help. Sitting at your desk, rub the palms of your hands together in a circular motion (you’ll feel your hands become warm) as you inhale. Then, with elbows resting comfortably on your desk, lean forward, covering your eyes with your palms and slowly exhale. Visualize any tension in your face melting or floating away. Repeat several times.
Head movements. To relax your face, neck and shoulders, either sit in a chair or stand, comfortably relaxed. Inhale slowly. Exhale as you allow your head to slowly and comfortably move forward, coordinated with the breath. Inhale slowly as you raise your head. Exhale and slowly turn your head to one side, without straining. Inhale and move your head back to center. Repeat to the other side. Exhale lowering your head toward your chest, then inhale slowly and raise your head again. Repeat many times.
Forward bend. To stretch out your body try any variation of a forward bend. First remove your shoes and stand by your desk with feet about shoulder’s width apart. Inhaling slowly, raise your arms overhead, coordinating the movement of your arms with your breath. Pause. Exhale and slowly bend forward from the waist. If you are very flexible, bend toward the floor (keep knees bent slightly and do not strain or force yourself forward). Place your hands on your thighs, knees or the floor – whatever is comfortable for you. Pause. Inhale as you slowly straighten your body, raising your arms overhead. Pause, exhale and lower arms to your side. Repeat several times. If you are not very flexible, simply bend over toward the top of your desk instead of the floor.
For more information about the Synergy newsletter, please contact us at benergymarketing@adam.com or 1-800-475-4041.
Quick Tip PRINT VERSION
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