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Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024

BEST BENEFITS AWARD

USI of Southern California Insurance Services Inc. Local Employees: 97 Thom Lewis, Regional CEO At USI of Southern California Insurance Services Inc., when it comes to employee benefits, “we’re all about options and resources,” said Human Resources Generalist and Administration Manager Maria K. Souza. While most employers typically offer an HMO a PPO health plan, dental and vision coverage, and might even add a health savings account option (which is now becoming more prevalent), USI offers all of these options and more. For instance, employees can choose among HMO and PPO options for dental coverage. “What’s also very unique is our cost structure,” Souza said. At USI the employee-paid-portion of medical and dental benefits is on a tiered system, whereby employees earning lower salaries are subsidized at a higher rate than higher-paid employees. “Every dollar counts and it really helps bring the cost down.” The company also offers supplemental family and life insurance and offers flexible spending accounts that help offset dependent care needs, which is not so common. “We offer dependent care flexible spending accounts which help people set aside pre tax dollars to pay for their child care expenses, for example,” said Souza. Flexible savings accounts also help employees set aside money for any medical related expenses such as over the counter drugs, co pays, and contact lenses. When it comes to unexpected events, such as accidents or illnesses, the company also supports their employees. After one year of service, employees who for any reason have to go on a short term disability leave are paid up to 60 percent of their pay, for the entire length of their short term disability. In addition to that, employees can accrue up to 25 days of paid time off after working at the company for a certain number of years, and those days can be applied to a short term disability during which time they receive 100 percent of their pay. USI employees also benefit from free services such as Health Advocate, which allows them to consult on any health care related issue on behalf of themselves or their family. “A consultant is available to us on anything that is health related. For example, my parent is aging and I need to research assisted living homes in Wisconsin, they can do that for me. Or come open enrollment, I want to explore switching from HMO to PPO and I want to figure out what that would cost me? They can calculate that.” A free Employee Assistance Program is also available to provide counseling or advice on a wide range of issues from domestic violence and drug abuse, to divorce and marital problems. Among the favorite perks at USI is the free travel assistance, whereby USI’s travel agency helps any employee plan a personal vacation, including doing all the research and even booking tickets. “You can send them an e-mail or call them and say I want to go to Costa Rica or Hawaii, I only have one week during Thanksgiving, which one will be better? Make it happen,” said Souza. “And if it’s something that’s going to help our employees take a concern off of their mind or free up some of their time, that’s huge,” she said. What is probably the most popular benefit at USI is called Group Legal. “People here love this,” said Souza. “It’s like having your own lawyer for $15 a month.” If you subscribe to this service, a lawyer will show up in court for you to fight a traffic ticket, they will take care of any civil litigation, help you if you’re buying or selling your home and with all real estate matters, they will set up trusts, living wills, take care of family name changes, handle divorces, prenups, debt collection and review documents for you that you’ve been asked to sign, among many other things. “If a neighbor sues you because your tree fell in their yard and destroyed $2,000 worth of property, the lawyer will take care of it for you and represent you.” ID Theft assistance is also offered at USI for $7 a month. If an employees identity is stolen this service will notify the banks and credit institutions and all other appropriate parties, make sure new cards are issued, and immediately try to clean up any mess that was created by the identity theft. “Before the ID theft happens what they do is provide you with a copy of your credit report and a monthly monitoring report. They’ll basically e-mail you and notify you if someone tries to access your credit,” Souza explained. “I do it. I want to know that everything is safe”. And while some large companies hard hit by the recession have cut their matching for retirement plans, USI matches up to 4 percent of the employee’s pay in their 401k retirement savings plan at 75 cents on the dollar. The company offers over 20 investment funds to choose from, and employees can mix and match those funds and make changes at any time. USI also offers a Roth 401k that takes after tax dollars instead of pre tax dollars. To top it all off, “we have a ton of discounts,” said Souza. With companies like Verizon, Sprint and AT & T;, USI employees benefit from 20-25 percent discounts on the purchase of new phones or accessories “and then another 10-12 percent per month that it saves you right off of your bill,” she said. Employees also get significant discounts on Dell, IBM and HP computers. Coupons to a variety of entertainment venues including SeaWorld, LegoLand, and Long Beach Aquarium are also frequently available. USI is among the largest privately-held insurance brokers in the United States. With 101 employees in the region and offices in Woodland Hills, the company specializes in employee benefits, including benefit enrollment, communication, and benefit administration; property and casualty; wealth management and financial services; worker’s compensation; and risk management services.

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