LMC Insurance & Risk Management has achieved Platinum status in the 2018 Group Benefits Privileged Partner Program for Principal®. Members reach this status by offering outstanding client service leading to new and retained business in group benefits including life, disability, dental, vision, critical illness, and accident insurance.

“Principal Financial Group’s commitment to client service and quality products and services, makes them a valued partner,” stated Rick DeBartolo, LMC Senior Vice President. “Our Platinum Member status allows us to better help our clients meet their employee benefit program goals.”

“We value the dedication and loyalty of LMC, and we’re happy to recognize the firm’s value not only to Principal, but to its clients,” said Sean McCartney, National Vice President of Group Distribution & Account Management for the group benefits division of Principal. “Our Platinum members play a vital role in helping our employer customers develop benefit programs that give their employees a more secure financial future.
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Platinum members of the Privileged Partner Program receive recognition, support, and special marketing opportunities from Principal.

​CIRAS (Center for Industrial Research and Service) hosted a workshop on March 29 for manufacturers across the state of Iowa. The workshop, sponsored by LMC Insurance & Risk Management, provided manufacturing leaders and their IT experts with the latest cyber news. Attendees gained an improved understanding of the technical, policy, compliance, legal, and other aspects of cyber security. 

Visiting your primary care doctor at least once a year is essential to keeping your health on the right track. In fact, those who take preventive care seriously tend to be healthier and lead more productive lives. Our latest infographic describes three ways you can benefit from scheduling your annual checkup.

On January 5, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that, effective April 1, 2018, employee benefit plans must comply with new requirements for disability benefit claims.

In 2016, the DOL released a final rule to strengthen the claims and appeals requirements for plans that provide disability benefits and are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). On November 24, 2017, the DOL delayed the final rule for 90 days—until April 1, 2018—to give stakeholders the opportunity to submit comments on the final rule’s benefits and costs.
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ERISA plans that include disability benefits must comply with the new procedural protections, effective for claims that are submitted after April 1, 2018. Entities that administer disability benefit claims, including issuers and third-party administrators, will need to revise their claims procedures to comply with the final rule.

Salary, health benefits, and retirement savings plans are still the most important parts of employees’ overall compensation. However, concerns about health care costs not covered by health insurance and anxiety over unexpected expenses have employees looking at the range of voluntary benefits that can provide them with added security to meet these financial uncertainties.

Voluntary benefits are a set of insurance products that can help fill in gaps in coverage. While it’s easy to overlook these gaps, doing so could result in financial hardship.

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are a growing trend in health care. An HSA is a tax-exempt savings account established for the purpose of paying for the qualified medical expenses of an individual and/or his or her spouse and tax dependents. HSAs are designed to provide eligible individuals with the following federal tax benefits:

• HSA contributions are tax-free.
• Interest and other earnings on HSA contributions accumulate tax-free.
• Amounts distributed from an HSA for qualified medical expenses are tax-free as well.

In addition to tax benefits, individuals covered under an HSA are more likely to seek preventive care, choose generic drugs, not misuse the emergency room, and use online tools to research health care providers.

Hospitals face unique challenges that contribute to the risk of injury and illness. From lifting and moving patients, needlesticks, slips, trips, and falls – when an employee gets hurt on the job, hospitals pay the price in many ways, including:

• Workers’ Compensation for lost wages and medical costs;
• temporary staffing, backfilling, and overtime when injured employees miss work;
• turnover costs when an injured employee quits; and
• decreased productivity and morale as employees become physically and emotionally fatigued.

While simple in theory, life insurance benefits can quickly become complex when beneficiary designations are incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date. As an employee benefit, group life insurance is intended to help employees protect the financial futures of their family members or individuals or organizations they care about. Without careful beneficiary planning, intended recipients may face long delays in receiving benefits—or miss out completely.

Employees can name any person or entity (except their own employer) as a beneficiary, including family members, friends, trusts or charities. But without proper beneficiary designations, an employee’s death benefit can sometimes be left to chance. If there is no beneficiary on file, death benefits are typically paid according to the group policy provisions. In these cases, the beneficiaries may or may not be who the employee had in mind.

There are many reasons why it’s important for health care providers to pay close attention to the management of their equipment. Because medical equipment plays a key role in diagnosing and treating patients, regular equipment maintenance is a must for keeping patients safe and comfortable.

Having equipment malfunction unexpectedly isn’t just inconvenient, it can affect patient safety. An equipment maintenance program includes procedures for inspection, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance to ensure that equipment is safe to use and is providing accurate results. When medical equipment is routinely inspected, potential issues can be identified and resolved prior to equipment failure.

Typically, employers rely on generous compensation package to attract and retain key employees. However, the important role employee benefits play is often underestimated. In fact, employee benefits are a powerful part of any employee’s compensation, including highly compensated employees.

Having a high income does not preclude concern about personal financial risk. MetLife’s Annual Employee Benefit Trends study reveals that 42% of highly compensated employees are very concerned about the financial effects of a loss of income in the event of a disability.