Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce - Member Milestones
As of January 2010, Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc. has been a member of the local Chamber of Commerce for 45 years!!! This is only one of the many ways we support the Syracuse Business Community!!!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Pharmacy Benefit Management
Most employers like their PBM, according to the 2008 PBM Customer Satisfaction Report by the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute.
For the survey, 275 employers representing 11.3 million members ranked their PBM on three factors: overall service and performance, delivering savings as promised and delivering services as promised. Their ratings averaged a very respectable 8.0 out of 10.0, with 10 being the highest.
What to look for in a prescription drug plan:
1. Plan design:
Is the plan structured to encourage your employees to use generic, formulary or mail- order drugs? Members respond to incentives that help them save money, particularly in these economic times. Jack Bruner, executive vice president of PBM marketing at CVS Caremark, recently told Drug Benefit News, "We saw our generic substitution rate in our book of business go from 60% to 65% in the past year alone...that's quite an impressive movement."
2. Education:
Does your PBM (or its network pharmacies) provide patient education on drug dosage, use, possible side effects and interactions? Does it provide education to physicians?
3. Automatic enrollment:
Some PBMs are taking a page from 401(k) sponsors and automatically enrolling group members who need prescriptions for chronic conditions into mail order programs, unless they specifically opt out. Filling prescriptions by mail order usually costs significantly less than filling them at a retail store, and the laws of inertia say that most employees who are automatically enrolled will not bother to opt out.
For the survey, 275 employers representing 11.3 million members ranked their PBM on three factors: overall service and performance, delivering savings as promised and delivering services as promised. Their ratings averaged a very respectable 8.0 out of 10.0, with 10 being the highest.
What to look for in a prescription drug plan:
1. Plan design:
Is the plan structured to encourage your employees to use generic, formulary or mail- order drugs? Members respond to incentives that help them save money, particularly in these economic times. Jack Bruner, executive vice president of PBM marketing at CVS Caremark, recently told Drug Benefit News, "We saw our generic substitution rate in our book of business go from 60% to 65% in the past year alone...that's quite an impressive movement."
2. Education:
Does your PBM (or its network pharmacies) provide patient education on drug dosage, use, possible side effects and interactions? Does it provide education to physicians?
3. Automatic enrollment:
Some PBMs are taking a page from 401(k) sponsors and automatically enrolling group members who need prescriptions for chronic conditions into mail order programs, unless they specifically opt out. Filling prescriptions by mail order usually costs significantly less than filling them at a retail store, and the laws of inertia say that most employees who are automatically enrolled will not bother to opt out.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Trends in Insurance
Tony Procopio, Vice President at Haylor, Freyer & Coon, recently spoke at a seminar and discussed the "Trends in Insurance". Below is a summary of Tony's comments:
Some of the interesting findings are that most carriers have rebounded well this past year and have continued to price aggressively. Overall, they are attempting to get increases on renewal business, but aggressively pricing new business.
We have seen pricing come down significantly for those clients who have excellent experience and good credit standing. There is also a more competitive approach available to contractors for all lines of insurance including the Workers Compensation. The most significant change in rating has been with the Workers Compensation in NY. Companies now use a Loss Cost Multiplier (LCM) to apply to the rates. This factor can differ by over 50% from one company to another.
As we go into 2010, it is expected to continue, but some resources caution that the market could change toward the end of 2010. It will depend on some contributing factors such as a natural disaster.
Most believe we will continue to have a "soft market" in 2010, and if a "Hard Market" was to come, it would be gradual, and not across the country and with every industry.
In my 24 years of experience, I have never seen the marketplace so competitive/cut throat. It is also more important now to have a broker that understands the market and Terms and Conditions of the policies that are offered to contractors. There can be limitations or exclusions. It is important to not just look at price, but also at the terms and conditions of the policy/quote.
There are also very competitive Captive programs available to Contractors. Over the past 5 years, there has been a growing trend of more contractors joining or forming a Captive. If prices should go up, I would expect more contractors to take this alternative.
It is important to also discuss the level of experience and support we offer at Haylor, Freyer, & Coon, Inc. Our staff prides itself on the ability to write and service all types and sizes of contractors. We also offer in-house Claims and Loss Control Specialist. These are important in supporting and maintaining the lowest cost of insurance.
Some of the interesting findings are that most carriers have rebounded well this past year and have continued to price aggressively. Overall, they are attempting to get increases on renewal business, but aggressively pricing new business.
We have seen pricing come down significantly for those clients who have excellent experience and good credit standing. There is also a more competitive approach available to contractors for all lines of insurance including the Workers Compensation. The most significant change in rating has been with the Workers Compensation in NY. Companies now use a Loss Cost Multiplier (LCM) to apply to the rates. This factor can differ by over 50% from one company to another.
As we go into 2010, it is expected to continue, but some resources caution that the market could change toward the end of 2010. It will depend on some contributing factors such as a natural disaster.
Most believe we will continue to have a "soft market" in 2010, and if a "Hard Market" was to come, it would be gradual, and not across the country and with every industry.
In my 24 years of experience, I have never seen the marketplace so competitive/cut throat. It is also more important now to have a broker that understands the market and Terms and Conditions of the policies that are offered to contractors. There can be limitations or exclusions. It is important to not just look at price, but also at the terms and conditions of the policy/quote.
There are also very competitive Captive programs available to Contractors. Over the past 5 years, there has been a growing trend of more contractors joining or forming a Captive. If prices should go up, I would expect more contractors to take this alternative.
It is important to also discuss the level of experience and support we offer at Haylor, Freyer, & Coon, Inc. Our staff prides itself on the ability to write and service all types and sizes of contractors. We also offer in-house Claims and Loss Control Specialist. These are important in supporting and maintaining the lowest cost of insurance.
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