Your Guide to Employee Benefits and Personal Insurance in California
At Ernstam & Lewis, our goal is to bring clarity to what can be a complicated process. To that end, we address some common questions.
Why should I use an employee benefits broker instead of finding benefits myself?
What types of customers do you serve? Do you only work with businesses?
Do you work with any particular size businesses? Is there a minimum or maximum number of employees?
Do you provide employee benefits for the agricultural industry in California?
Do you help individuals find employee benefits and health insurance?
What is an employee benefits broker?
A broker connects businesses and individuals seeking insurance with companies that provide it. A broker is not an insurer. Many organizations employ purchasing agents. Their jobs is to find the best product and price for their employer. In a similar sense, a broker serves as your company’s purchasing agent. We have vast knowledge of benefits and the companies that offer them. This means we’re able to present the best and most competitive benefits for your consideration.
Why should I use an employee benefits broker instead of finding benefits myself?
While you certainly can procure your own benefits, there are several downsides.
For one, you won’t find a better price. We offer the same rate as the insurer. You’ll also expend a great amount of time and effort identifying benefit providers and securing bids. This process is multiplied when considering that you may be seeking multiple types of benefits (health, life, disability) and must contact a different set of insurers for each one.
Since time is money, you’re losing revenue when you expend unnecessary time hunting for benefits.
Benefits are complex. We often don’t know what we don’t know. When something as important as your company’s benefits are on the line, you don’t want to leave anything to chance.
How are you paid?
Since we charge no fees to our clients, how are employee benefit brokers paid? When a client entrusts us with their benefit purchasing process, we receive a commission from the insurer. This is true regardless which company the client chooses. This frees us to provide services at no charge and to recommend the benefits package that’s best for you. We recommend, but you decide.
What types of customers do you serve? Do you only work with businesses?
Ernstam & Lewis helps a wide variety of organizations and individuals secure benefits in California. These include:
Small businesses
Large businesses
Municipalities
School districts
Churches
Nonprofits
Employed individuals
Retired individuals
Associations
What types of benefits to you broker?
We offer Californians diverse benefits, including:
Health insurance
Dental insurance
Life insurance
Disability insurance
Vision insurance
Cafeteria 125 Plan benefits
Supplemental products including accident insurance and cancer insurance
Learn more about
Do you work with any particular size businesses? Is there a minimum or maximum number of employees?
Ernstam & Lewis helps businesses of all sizes find employee benefits in California. Small businesses and large employers all receive the same competitive rates and exceptional customer service.
What types of industries do you serve?
In short, we help employers in all industries obtain employee benefits in California. Our clients come from industries ranging from tech to accounting to manufacturing to agriculture. Customers also include school districts, local governments and nonprofit organizations.
Do you provide employee benefits for the agricultural industry in California?
Although we provide competitive rates to all businesses, Ernstam’s access to the insurance marketplace has yielded unique savings for California’s agricultural employers. Compared to standard rates for all industries, these employers can save 10-20% on health insurance costs. Contact us to learn more about benefit savings for California agricultural employees.
Employers must comply with and provide reports for many regulatory agencies. Do you help California employers with regulatory compliance?
Yes we do. The “alphabet soup” of legislation can present a challenge to employers. We’re here to lift the burden for these regulatory tasks. We provide support, guidance and documentation for:
Affordable Care Act (ACA) Federal law requires companies with more than 50 employees to file compliance reports.
COBRA Employers with more than 20 workers must offer COBRA and administer the plan.
HIPPA Employers must comply with the privacy and reporting requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
ERISA, SPD and Wrap documentation We help you comply with documentation and regulations required by the Employee Retirement
Do you help individuals find employee benefits and health insurance?
Ernstam & Lewis helps individuals access benefits in California. We have in-depth knowledge of the private insurance market and the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. Other personal benefits include life insurance and disability. There is no fee for our services. Learn more about insurance for individuals here.
Do you provide Medicare services in California?
Ernstam & Lewis helps Californians obtain Medigap coverage. It’s a supplement that covers some costs Medicare won’t pay for. This can include deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. Learn more about our free Medicare Supplement consulting service.