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Insurance

Business trip injury qualifies for workers’ comp

02/01/2004

Q. One of our nonexempt employees was traveling with her boss to other company sites to conduct meetings. After one meeting, she and the boss went to dinner, which the company paid for. During the meal, the employee broke a crown on her front tooth, requiring emergency dental work. Would this fall under workers’ compensation? —R.B., Alabama

Your cost-saving plan of the year: Health Savings Accounts

01/01/2004
Issue: The new Medicare law allows employees to set up tax-free savings accounts to cover uninsured medical costs. Benefit: Setting up HSAs for employees could allow you to offer them …

Act quickly to bring back injured employees

01/01/2004
Issue: The longer an employee stays out on workers’ comp, the less likely he or she is to return to work. Risk: Higher workers’ comp and associated medical costs; plus …

Insurance: Steer clear of negligence claims

01/01/2004
Make sure you keep your insurance payments up to date. If you let your policy lapse and an employee files a claim, you open up yourself …

When does COBRA apply?

01/01/2004

Q. Our business has 14 employees, and we pay 100 percent of their health insurance costs. One employee is out on workers’ comp. Are we required to continue paying his health insurance, or can we offer him COBRA? —P.F., Delaware

4 Tips for Choosing a Long-Term Care Insurance Plan

01/01/2004

Long-term care (LTC) insurance can offer a low-cost way to upgrade employee benefits. The benefits: reduced absenteeism due to employee caregiving duties and  tax benefits for some employers. Use these four strategies to decide whether sponsoring an LTC insurance plan makes sense for your organization …

Back problems top workplace disability claim

01/01/2004

Want to know where to focus your health-prevention dollars? Concentrate on the ailments that are costing your organization the most money in employee absences, decreased productivity and increased health care costs …

Don’t fudge or exaggerate details of insurance coverage

12/01/2003
Never exaggerate the quality or quantity of employee benefits, either in written communication or when trying to sell an applicant on your organization. Courts will make you stick to any promises, …

Give notice before changing benefit terms

12/01/2003

Q. Currently, our company pays 70 percent of employees’ health insurance premiums. But we need to either decrease the percentage or possibly ask employees to pay the entire premium. How much notice must we give employees before making such a change? —D.O., Louisiana

Start shopping around for cheaper life insurance

11/01/2003
If your organization offers life insurance benefits, now’s the time to start looking into new vendors. Reason: Premiums could decline up to 30 percent nationwide over the next few years, according …