The Benefits of Joining the Savings Group

I had been in the business for about 4 years.  I was helping my clients save money on health insurance.  But there was a problem, my clients weren’t happy with all the money I had saved them.  So what went wrong?  Well, this led me on a quest to find something my clients would actually enjoy, while also allowing them to save money. Much more difficult to pull off than it sounds.  I formed the idea in my head first, but then after doing some research learned that the concept had been implemented many times all over the world.  And after about two and half years of research, what I had discovered was the Savings Group.

Savings Groups are simple yet unique.  Here is how they work.
Members of a savings group agree to make a fixed monthly savings contribution in exchange for access to a pool of money that will allow them to pay for unexpected expenses.  It’s like having a savings account specifically for medical, dental and vision expenses, which are highly unpredictable and very expensive.  You commit to saving the same amount of money every month, and in exchange for that, you get massive overdraft protection on your account.  

Savings Groups are:

• Similar to health insurance because money is pooled together, but unlike health insurance you dont take any risk in participating.
• Similar to a savings account because you own your contributions, you never lose them.  But unlike a savings account you can spend more than you put in.
• Similar to a line of credit because you can spend more than you put in, BUT there are no interest charges.  EVER.
• Similar to other IRS sanctioned health plans; FSA’s, HSA’s, and HRA’s, except without all the legal red tape and compliance requirements.

Whenever my clients can save money on insurance, Ill have them take those savings and contribute them into the Savings Group on a monthly basis.  This allows my clients to reap the savings of lower monthly insurance costs, while at the same time protecting themselves from unexpected medical, dental, or vision bills.  It’s truly a win-win.  

Here are some of the most common ways the Savings Group helps my clients:

Self employed
For self employed people, managing cash flow is essential to survival.  The Savings Group takes a variable expense, such as unexpected medical, dental, or vision bills, and turns them into a fixed monthly cost.  This gives my self employed clients confidence and peace of mind to focus on other areas of their budget and business.

Employees
Employees want the best coverage for the lowest price, but they are stuck!  When an employee cuts medical insurance costs, they take on more risk because their cheaper plan now has a higher deductible.  The Savings Group allows my employee clients to instantly fill all the gaps in their insurance plan with out taking any risk.

Employers
The largest employers are self insured.  Smaller companies can take advantage of self-insurance concepts but inevitably get stung when they are forced to pay claims at the worst times.  Paying claims is predictable over the long term, say the course of a year, you can predict how many claims will be incurred based on statistics.  But in the short term, paying claims is highly unpredictable and wildly variable.  The Savings Group is a great option for my small business clients because it allows them to implement self insurance concepts and programs with predictable claims expenses each month.

Seniors and retirees
Unfortunately, and its really a shame on our society, that many seniors struggle to pay for prescription drugs.  Medicare drug coverage goes through four separate phases throughout the year.  This means that a senior might take the same drugs every month, all year, BUT they end up paying different amounts each month.  In February they might pay $60; in September they could wind up paying $500 for the same prescriptions.  Again, the Savings Group averages out annual medicare drug expenses.  For our seniors who primarily live on a fixed income, the Savings Group is a life saver.

Summary
So as you can see, the main benefit of the Saving Group is that it can turn variable expenses into fixed expenses every month by using averages and statistics.  Members of the Savings Group who dont use their contributions get them back when they leave the group.  This allows our members to reduce insurance costs, over time they will save money, and have confidence with true peace of mind when the unexpected happens.  Click here if you would like to learn more about the Savings Group.