Employee Benefits

Casualty Assurance works with small and mid-sized employers operating in Minnesota as well as those with locations in other parts of the United States. Our areas of expertise include:

• Group medical, dental, disability and life plans
• Long Term Care
• Executive Benefits
• Voluntary and payroll deduction products
• Cafeteria plans
• Section 105 plans
• Health Savings Accounts
• COBRA and State continuation administration
• Employee Communications

Nothing is more important than the health & well being of your family. At Casualty Assurance, we offer a wide variety of highly rated insurance programs and years of proven industry experience. Our Life / Health Benefits team can custom tailor a benefits & insurance package just for you and your employees.

Many businesses today face challenges in attracting and retaining top employees. As a business owner, you know the importance of employee benefits and their contribution to your business success. We will work with you to develop a program tailored to your individual circumstances.

Buy / Sell Protection

If you have a partner in business, you have a need for insurance so that in the event of death or disability, you can buy out your partners interest without having to take out a loan or liquidate company assets. This is also important where children and taxes are involved.

Dental Insurance

Dental Insurance is one of the benefits most requested by employees. Many employers provide dental insurance for their employees, but a growing number of employers are offering this as a voluntary benefit that is paid 100% by the employee through payroll deductions. Most dental plans provide full coverage with a 100% benefit for preventive exams &cleanings, an 80% benefit for basic services such as fillings and root canals, and 50% benefit for major services and prosthodontics such as dentures, crowns, etc.

Some dental insurance companies provide a dental buy-up plan which allows the employer to purchase a base plan, while employees purchase additional benefits as needed. Another newer option for dental insurance is a dual option plan that allows each employee to choose a basic plan or a more comprehensive plan based on his needs. This is a voluntary benefit, which means that each employee gets the coverage he needs for himself and his family.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

Employees' needs are as varied as their lifestyles, and benefit programs need to be flexible to accommodate those differences. At Casualty Assurance, we not only recognize, but welcome this diversity.

There are two FSA options. A Health Care FSA is an alternate way of paying your share of your health care costs. In the same manner, a Dependent/Child Care FSA reimburses you for expenses for dependents and childcare which are necessary to allow you and your spouse to work.

When you create an FSA, you choose to have a specific amount of your annual salary withheld from your paycheck and deposited to your FSA. These withholdings are on a pre-tax basis.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA's) are benefit options designed to increase your disposable income by reducing the amount of taxes you pay. An FSA enables you to use pretax dollars to pay for qualified health care expenses which are not reimbursed under any health care plan or insurance plan, and for qualified dependent/child care expenses.

Group Health

At Casualty Assurance, we are committed to health insurance for both our commercial customers, who need group coverage for their employees, as well as the individual or family that needs coverage.

With the changing face of health insurance in today's market, we at Casualty Assurance are staying abreast of the latest developments that will affect the coverage you expect as well as the cost impact upon you.

We have the best health insurance markets available in our area, and we will always present to our customers the best options at the best price available.

Group Life

Life insurance is an integral part of most employee benefits packages. When provided by an employer, employees appreciate the value of life coverage and the additional security it provides to their families.

Employers have a wide variety of optional plan designs to customize a Group Life plan. Optional coverages include Voluntary Life insurance, Supplemental Life coverage, Accidental Death and Dismemberment policies, and Dependent Life insurance. The premium paid for Group Life is generally a business deduction, and this stand-alone contract is usually less expensive than the life coverage provided with medical insurance.

Group Vision

A Group Vision plan is especially attractive for employers because it is inexpensive to offer, yet it's another employee favorite. This is a separate plan that provides coverage for eye exams and/or for frames, lenses and contact lenses. Many times the basic health plan may provide for routine eye examinations. However, it will usually not provide any benefit for frames, lenses or contact lenses; this is where a separate group vision benefit would be used.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

An HSA is a form of health insurance coverage that includes two parts:

1. A tax-exempt personal savings account to be used for qualified medical expenses.
2. A health plan with a high deductible (e.g., $1,000 for an individual or $2,000 for a family).

Account funds are used to cover medical expenses before the plan
deductible has been met. Unspent account balances accumulate and accrue interest from year-to-year. Once the health plan’s annual deductible has been met, coverage resembles conventional insurance, typically in the form of a preferred provider organization (PPO) with little-to-no cost sharing for in-network services, and limits on total out-of-pocket costs.

An HSA account is much like an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), except that deposits and qualified withdrawals are tax-exempt. Individuals and their employers may deposit money into the HSA up to an annual dollar limit, with extra catch-up contributions allowed for those age 55 to 65. Account balances can be used to pay for a wide range of medical expenses — including some ordinarily not covered by insurance — as well as some insurance premiums. HSA funds also can be used to pay medical expenses of family members not covered by the high-deductible plan. After reaching age 65, you may use HSA funds to augment regular income by paying ordinary income tax on withdrawals for any non-medical expenses.

Like IRAs, HSA funds can be invested in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Since you own the account, it is fully portable regardless of any job changes.

Key Person Coverage

Your key employees are your most valuable business asset. Their skill, knowledge and experience are your real profit makers. Without them, the success and growth of your business could be in jeopardy. Key employee insurance is designed to protect your business from the adversities associated with the loss of a key employee, manager or executive. The death or disability of a key employee could result in a substantial financial loss due to hiring and training a replacement, lost sales, and/or slowed production.

Long-Term Care (LTC)

Long-Term Care is the type of care received either at home or in a facility, when someone needs assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing due to an accident, an illness or advancing age.

Rising life expectancy means that the potential need for "long-term care" grows with every passing year of your life. The likelihood is that you or a member of your family will need long-term assistance due to a prolonged illness, a disability, or general deterioration of your health and ability to perform routine daily activities. Most long term care expenses are not covered by Social Security or Medicare, Medicare Supplement ("Medigap"), or private health insurance. Medicaid pays for nearly half of all nursing home care, but you must meet federal poverty guidelines and may have to "spend down" most of your assets on health care.

Long-Term Disability (LTD)

In the event that an accident or illness prevents an employee from working for an extended period of time, the financial impact can be severe for the employee and employers. Long Term Disability (LTD) protection is designed to help cover the employee's expenses while their regular income is interrupted. Flexible plan design options and benefit alternatives are available to meet specific needs. This valuable protection is available with low-cost, tax-deductible premiums.

Short-Term Disability (STD)

A steady income is essential for most people. If an accident or illness interrupts that income, it affects both the employee and employer. Short Term Disability (STD) protection is designed to replace a portion of the wages lost when a short term disability occurs. An affordable, flexible STD plan can provide needed benefits to both the employer and employee.