How to Get Affordable Small Business Health Insurance
It’s important for small business
owners to provide benefits to their employees whenever they
can. With individual insurance premiums at record highs, group
insurance is the only way most people can afford coverage. Offering
health insurance as part of your benefits package will cause
your workers to see you as a good employer that takes care of
them. Health insurance benefits improve employee loyalty and
retention. Workers who receive health insurance through you
are more likely to stay on when times get tough. You can also
benefit from offering health insurance through your small business
by the tax incentives that the government offers to businesses
that qualify. Your payroll taxes can be reduced, and you can
deduct one hundred percent of any premiums you pay to qualifying
insurance plans if you offer group health insurance to your
employees.
Any legitimate small business that
pays payroll tax and has at least one full time employee is
eligible to offer group health insurance. This does exclude
the majority of husband and wife partnerships, but almost all
other small businesses have the opportunity to include this
insurance in their benefits packages. Even though the economy
is getting more competitive, it’s important
to maintain the tradition of offering benefits to our employees.
Health insurance is an important safety net, and with so many
businesses cutting their benefits plans, over forty million Americans
can’t afford it. To ensure that your employees stay healthy
and out of medical debt, offer them group health insurance.
To apply for group coverage, you’ll need some information,
even for just a quote. Your agent will want a census of your employees,
including their ages, birth dates, genders and this information
about any dependents they might have, as well as the number of
employees to be covered. Some insurance providers insist that
all employees in the company be covered in their plans, so be
sure that everyone in your company is interested in health insurance
before applying. You’ll also need to provide the date you
went into business and when you want the health insurance coverage
to begin.
You can begin looking for insurance
companies to provide your health benefits on the Internet, through
your state board of insurance, or through your phone book. Internet
searches have the advantage of turning up the most policy and
rate information with the least effort. In some cases, you can
even get an automated personal quote right on the insurance
company’s web site. No matter
how you find your prospective group health insurance provider
for your small business, be sure to check their background and
the opinions other people have about them to confirm their legitimacy.
You want to be sure that you’re contracting with a reliable
company when you offer benefits to your employees. Comparing various
rates will help you offer the most affordable insurance to your
employees, while comparing plans will help you offer reliable
insurance. Be sure to do both, and you’ll get the best plan
for your and your employees’ needs.