March 2008 Newsletter

WE’RE YOUR BLUE TEAM

NISI and BCBSND together are your Blue Team. We know keeping your business competitive is important to you. Your Blue Team can provide you with the tools to help you manage your benefits plans. If you do business with your Blue Team, you don’t need to worry about doing business with anyone else.

FLEXIBLE BENEFITS UPDATES

Group renewal process

When renewing your company’s Flexible Benefits Plan, please follow these steps for a quick and accurate setup.

  • 90 days prior to your Flexible Benefits renewal date, Discovery Benefits Inc. (DBI) will e-mail you the FSA Renewal Guide, which you need to complete and submit back to DBI.

  • All enrollment forms need to be completed and submitted to NISI. I will assist you with this.

  • Your payroll contributions need to be submitted to DBI.

  • If you are using the Debit Card and are a deduction-based account, DBI will e-mail you for the Debit Card Advance of the two-month contributions.

Once all the appropriate steps are completed, your group is renewed. Claims can now begin to be processed.

2008 federal regulations for Dependent Care Spending Accounts

  • Preschool and Kindergarten. Expenses for nursery school, preschool and similar programs below the kindergarten level are presumed to be for the care of a qualifying child.

  • Specialty Day Camps. Specialty day camps that focus on a particular activity (such as soccer or computer) may be considered care for a qualified individual and an eligible expense for reimbursement. However, summer school and tutoring programs are considered school and education and do not qualify as dependent care.

  • Temporary Absence Rule. Expenses continue to qualify for reimbursement if a participant is required to pay for day care due to work on a temporary basis. This includes an absence due to short-term illness or vacation. An absence of no more than two consecutive weeks is considered a temporary absence.

  • Overnight Care and Day Care. The cost of overnight care (not overnight camp) and day care may be viewed as an employment-related expense for a qualifying individual when one spouse works during the day and the other works at night.

  • Transportation. The cost of transportation provided by a day care provider to or from the place where the care is provided may be considered care for the qualifying individual.

  • Application and Agency Fees. These fees may be considered eligible expenses if the employee is required to pay the fee to obtain the care and if the care is actually provided or incurred.

We encourage you to visit our web site, www.MyNISI.com to check updates to your flex program.

USAble PREMIUM ACCOUNTING UPDATES

Starting January 15, if you are a list bill customer, you began seeing two new documents and updated instruction sheets included in your bill. This new procedure will ensure quicker and more accurate processing.

  • Additions. Any new benefits added or upgraded during your benefit enrollment or new employees electing coverage should be added to the “Additions” sheet. Do not make any premium adjustments at this time until the addition shows on your billing statement. Any premiums collected for those new additions will be refunded.

  • Changes. Name and address changes can be noted on the “Changes and Adjustment” sheet. Changes in coverage due to lifestyle events will require new applications, so please contact me for appropriate paperwork. Additional Change and Adjustment and Additions sheets can be found at www.MyNISI.com.

  • Terminations. Please note terminations on the Changes and Adjustments sheet. If USAble has received your adjustment by the last business day of the month, the change will be reflected on your next bill.

UNDERSTANDING LIFE INSURANCE

Life insurance can be hard to understand. Some employees do not realize their life insurance is portable if they leave the company. Others are unaware that if they sign up for life insurance at the first opportunity offered, they may not need to answer medical questions. Here are some common terms defined.

Portability

Employees younger than 70 are able to keep their Voluntary Group Life Insurance after employment ends at group rates as long as the group policy is in force.

  • Minnesota residents have 60 days to complete the Portability application.
  • All other residents have 31 days to complete the Portability application.
  • Go to www.MyNISI.com
    Click: How to file claims
    Click: What action do I take if an employee terminates employment?

Guarantee Issue

  • Eligible employees and spouses will not need to answer medical questions to prove insurability if they apply within the eligibility period.

  • Depending on employee participation in this plan, your group may be eligible for guarantee issue amounts. Contact me to go over the details.

Depositor Life

  • This is available for dependents no longer eligible to be on their parents’ Lincoln Mutual Life plan. For more information, call or e-mail me. As a reminder, dependents are eligible under their parents’ LML plan until age 19, or age 23 if full-time students.

LONG-TERM CARE UPDATES

NISI’s Long-Term Care programs can be tailored to meet the new state legislative guidelines for partnership plans. Please contact Rhonda Peterson for questions regarding this new incentive.

Also remember that LTC makes a great benefit to business owners, partners and key employees who have assets to protect.

When you offer LTC in conjunction with a reliable health insurance and retirement plan, it can give you a leg up on offering a competitive benefit package and fostering excellent employee retention.

WE’RE YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP

Whether it’s employer group-sponsored products you’re looking for or employee-paid voluntary products such as Cancer, Accident, Life, Disability or Long-Term Care, we are your one-stop shop. We are here to service all your benefit needs.

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