Skip to main content

Group Health Insurance

Health plans for your business.

Group health insurance throughout Michigan, with offices in Jenison, Sparta, Holland, Byron Center and Martin.

In general, group health insurance is the first priority for employees and is the second largest expense for employers behind payroll. We’ll help you navigate the healthcare process so you can hire and retain top talent.

Some employee benefits feel like a nice bonus, but in most cases, employees see healthcare as a core part of the compensation package–arguably as important as the salary itself. Buying group health insurance is the economical way for your business to recruit and retain staff, and increase the likelihood that they’ll be fit to work.

Depending on the plan, your business can cover employees only or can choose to offer coverage to the family and financial dependents of employees, as well. Additionally, your company can choose to cover the premiums in full or split the cost with employees.

The costs associated with group health insurance vary depending on where your business is based, how many employees you want to cover, and how old the employees are.

How can group health insurance protect you?
Use the yellow hot spots and explore how group health insurance can help protect against common risks.
Employee Benefits
Group Health Insurance
Risk Factor

One of the main factors in attracting and retaining good employees is the benefit program offered by employers. This typically starts with your group health insurance plan.

Solution

Regardless of the company’s financials, there are ways to make health insurance available to your employees and their dependents. Offering health insurance doesn’t have to break the bank. There are many solutions available to small, mid-size, and large employers.

Group Life Insurance
Risk Factor

When employees are worried about their financial situation, they may not be as productive. Many individuals today do not have life insurance or adequate savings to cover final expenses, which places additional stress on employees and/or their families when the need arises.

Solution

A group life insurance plan can put your employees’ minds at ease, knowing their family will have resources available when they need them. Policies can also include a dependent benefit to help the employee pay for expenses if their dependent passes. Another solution is to offer a voluntary life benefit whereby the employee pays a lower premium through payroll deduction than they would if they found coverage on their own. Group life insurance is also tax deductible.

Disability
Risk Factor

Many employers are faced with offering lower wages than their competitors and find it difficult to find and retain qualified workers.

Solution

Offering a short-term and/or a long-term disability program can provide prospective and current workers with another form of financial stability. An employee may be offered a higher wage elsewhere, but are they offered protection if that paycheck stops due to pregnancy, illness, or other disability? How will they pay the mortgage or other bills? Employers offering a disability plan can provide peace of mind to their employees and gain an advantage over those that don’t.

Group Dental Coverage
Risk Factor

Failure to have regular dental checkups can lead to more serious problems than a toothache.

Solution

Offering dental coverage to your employees can help encourage them to see a dentist on a regular basis. Gum disease has been linked to heart disease as well as diabetes. Catching these issues early not only helps your employees’ health, it may help reduce your long-term health insurance costs before a big claim hits!

Vision Care Coverage
Risk Factor

Similar to dental coverage, if your employees are not getting regular eye exams, they may have underlying medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes that can surface later at a greater expense to your medical plan.

Solution

Offering vision care coverage is a very affordable component to offering health benefits. It’s an inexpensive portion of the benefit package with a high value of return and can help offset the impact of increased medical costs, becoming a cost-effective, early intervention tool.

Voluntary Coverage
Risk Factor

Not being able to meet an employee’s individual needs can pose a threat to worker retention and attracting new talent, both of which can be costly to your bottom line.

Solution

Offering voluntary coverage lets your employees choose benefits that are important to them. It’s a cost-effective way to provide a variety of benefits at little or no impact to your monthly premiums. Examples of voluntary coverage include:

  • Critical illness, hospital indemnity, and cancer coverage.
  • Life, dependent life, short-term, and long-term disability coverage.
  • Dental care.
  • Vision care.

Compliance Audits
Risk Factor

Compliance audits are increasing and Department of Labor fines can be costly. Do you have all of the documents and paperwork at your fingertips should you receive an audit letter?

Solution

A good benefits broker will educate you on the compliance pieces so that you are prepared for that dreaded day. A wrap document covers most of what is required and the remaining forms should be readily accessible with proof of distribution to employees and/or eligible participants.

Since the Affordable Care Act took effect, the medical history and pre-existing conditions of the employees don’t matter. Because you’re pooling the risk with group health insurance, the price your business pays per employee is usually much less than the average amount they’d pay if they bought insurance individually.

Group health insurance also comes with tax benefits. The premiums you pay as an employer are fully tax-deductible. Very small businesses can also get a tax credit worth up to half the cost of the premiums.

Ready to offer your employees group health insurance? We can help you weigh your options.

Let’s discuss your group health insurance.

One of our insurance advisors will reach out to you to review your information and present you with the appropriate group health insurance solution. There’s no obligation, just good-old-fashioned advice.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Ottawa Kent offers comprehensive group health insurance throughout Michigan, with offices in Jenison, Sparta, Holland, Byron Center and Martin.