In your role as an employee benefits health insurance broker, you can expect to receive an array of questions from your clients. They rely on you for much more than answers to employee benefits questions. Employers count on you to help them comply with the many laws of the employment and health insurance space. Rules for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), account based plans, and employment law are complex – and they have a big effect on your clients.
But, with help from the compliance experts at Word & Brown (WBCompliance), you and your clients can be assured of prompt answers to your questions, valuable compliance-related tools and resources, and access to useful technology, all whenever you need it. When you contact the WBCompliance team for support, you can expect your inquiry to be responded to within one business day.
The WBCompliance team takes pride in the way we support you and your clients in the realm of compliance. We know it is not always easy. That’s why we provide simple responses that are easy to understand, without the legalese or complex industry jargon. You can be assured you’ll always be able to understand what we say, and take comfort in knowing our responses are correct. We cite our sources and provide links to the law(s) to supplement our responses, but we won’t copy and paste a response directly from the IRS. We’ll explain it to you in language you can understand, and we’ll make sure to cover your inquiry from all angles – even those you or your client might not be considering.
WHAT WEL’LL DO FOR YOU
In less than a year, the WBCompliance team has addressed well over 800 inquiries and requests for support from Word & Brown brokers across California and Nevada covering a wide range of topics, including:
• ACA-related topics
• COBRA
• ERISA
• Premium Only Plans (POP)
• Account Based Plans
• Miscellaneous topics
One-third of miscellaneous topics addressed other issues, such as recovery of employer-paid premium for employee-only coverage when the employee is on disability, the calculation of “affordability” when compensation includes a housing allowance for a minister, FMLA forms, disability leave of absence and benefits, eligibility for insurance (temps vs. part-time employees), qualifying events, cash in lieu of benefits, and additional topics.
The WBCompliance team has heard anything and everything – and is ready and waiting to help you with all of your situational compliance needs, even the most complex.
NO-COST TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE
WBCompliance is committed to making complicated issues simple, by delivering valuable resources and accurate answers to your specific questions. The team is here to help you understand state and federal laws affecting your clients and their employees.
WBCompliance is committed to your education and is continually hosting and developing CE courses on all aspects of compliance. Many of Word & Brown’s CE courses are also approved for HR Certification Institute (HRCI) credits, so you can invite your employer clients and help them earn credits for their Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designations, if they have them.
EMPLOYER REPORTING HELP
When it comes to employee benefits and IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) compliance, our WBCompliance pros offer vital reporting and compliance-related services, including robust information sharing during Q4 and Q1 on the ACA’s IRS Section 6056 employer reporting and personal training opportunities for your employer clients. You can invite your clients to attend a presentation as your own value-add, while the WBCompliance team takes care of the training. We also offer valuable information on ERISA compliance, including wrap documents, and full COBRA compliance.
We deliver a diverse range of HR-related resources, including complimentary on-demand HR support with an employee handbook service for your clients, online enrollment technology solutions, COBRA administration, and Account Based Plan administration – including complimentary Premium Only Plan (POP) services and administration for all groups with medical coverage written with W&B.
Wherever you are, WBCompliance is here to help you adapt to today’s changing ACA compliance rules, understand COBRA compliance, adhere to federal ERISA law, and much more. Contact the team for more information by calling (866) 375-2039 or by sending an email to compliancesupport@wordandbrown.com.
