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Don’t let “prevailing wage” regulations scare you away from a sale! If your client is a civilian contractor pursuing government-funded business, Select Benefits could help them save money and win the bid. |
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Across the Gulf Coast region, communities are faced with the monumental task of rebuilding after the worst natural disaster in modern U.S. history. In New Orleans alone, workers must remove an estimated |
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50 million cubic yards of hurricane debris.1 Streets, homes, businesses, pipes and electrical wiring — all destroyed in a matter of hours — must be rebuilt.
Congress has already allocated $62 billion for rescue, recovery and repair. Add in at least $40 billion in private insurance payments plus billions more in state funds and federal dollars and this single event could easily top $200 billion.2 These funds will be designated for both construction and non-construction initiatives.
If your client is a civilian contractor bidding for federal and state jobs in the hurricane-damaged areas or elsewhere, Select Benefits — Symetra Life’s limited benefit medical insurance product — may help them win the business.
"Regardless of what’s happening in the Gulf Coast, federal and state governments are designating, bidding and awarding millions of dollars in |
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government-funded construction and non-construction contracts on a daily basis," said George Lehmann, president of Louisville, Ky.-based Insured Benefit Plans Inc., a company that specializes in creating benefit plans that are compliant with "wage determination" regulations. "Your clients may not be involved in Gulf Coast projects, but they may be very involved in other government-funded opportunities."
Help Contractors Get the Job
Civilian contractors bidding for both construction and non-construction projects are required to adhere to strict government-calculated formulas for wages and benefits. In other words, contractors must offer all part-time, full-time and temporary workers a salary and benefits package that’s equivalent to the "prevailing" or "living" wages or collectively bargained benefits paid at the local level.
"The Department of Labor regulations governing these types of projects consist of volumes of legalese," said Lehmann. "Due to the complicated regulatory nature of government-funded benefits, many agents choose to walk away from the opportunity. Their clients often don’t know what their options are. Some may try to jerry-rig a solution which may or may not be compliant with those regulations, while others will simply give up and substitute cash for benefits."
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The government allows the cash-for-benefits substitution, but what your clients may not know is that by directing dollars into benefits rather than payroll, they may be able to save at least 45 cents per employee, per hour in payroll assessments — savings that can make their bids more competitive, more profitable or both.
With Select Benefits, your clients can:
- Match the Department of Labor’s hourly health and welfare requirement.
- Comply with applicable state and federal "wage determination" regulations.
- Help maintain, and possibly even reduce, their hourly bill rate expenses.
"There are two situations where you can be helpful to a client: First, when they don’t have a benefits program and need one, and second, when they want to switch to a more compliant or more cost-efficient program. Some employers may have a plan in place, but if they have to absorb administration expenses the cost savings is often lost or diminished. Select Benefits includes administration at no additional charge," said Lehmann.
Additionally, most benefit plans charge on a monthly basis. Lehmann points out that there are only three or four carriers in the country that offer a compliant, hourly indexed benefits product that complies with prevailing wages regulations — Select Benefits is one of them.
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Why Select Benefits? |
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No added administration, start-up, extension of benefits or customer service fees.
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No qualifying medical questions.
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No limitations on preexisting conditions.
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No medical component deductibles.
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Eligible dependents included in standard plans at no additional charge.
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Stable premium rates — especially important for multiyear projects.
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Efficient employee customer service and claims-paying ability.
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Can include life, health, dental, vision and prescription coverages.
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There’s Help
Symetra Life has teamed up with Insured Benefit Plans — experts on the Service Contract Act, Davis-Bacon Act and state prevailing wage regulations — to give you access to a personal resource that can show you how to use Select Benefits to close the sale. There is no cost for the service and your compensation will not be impacted.
Insured Benefits will consult with you, and, at your request, work directly with you and your client. Their experts will help you develop a compliant benefits plan that can help save your client money. They will even provide you with marketing and implementation resources.
"A lot of agents will avoid this type of business because they lack the expertise required in this regulatory-intensive niche,” said Lehmann. "The advantages for both the client and the agent are so appealing it’s really worth picking up the phone and tapping into the no-cost resources that are now available to help you win the business."
Learn more by contacting the Sales Center at invest@symetra.com or 1-800-706-0700.
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1 Alternet, "Repopulating New Orleans at Any Cost," Oct. 18, 2005.
2 MSNBC, "How Hurricane Katrina's Costs Are Adding Up," Sept. 13, 2005.
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