Newly launched BVICCHA insurance plan attracts 15 businesses
BVI News Staff - Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 10:06 AM
BVICCHA Chairman Dr. Birney Harrigan says 15 businesses have signed onto the insurance plan to date.
The BVI Chambers and Commerce and Hotel Association (BVICCHA), Premier Financial Consultants (PFC) and NAGICO have collaborated and launched a health insurance plan for its members and small businesses.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, Managing Director of PFC Herman Creque said this group was founded three years ago and is licensed by the BVI Financial Services Commission as an insurance intermediary.
Creque said the groups is retained by NAGICO as a consultant to design a plan for the BVI market and NAGICARE, with its three levels of benefits, was launched in March 2009 and has captured a significant percentage of the BVI market. He said premier clients to date include Road Town Wholesale, Bitter End Yacht Club, Delta Petroleum, O’Neal Webster, Archibalds, Samuels Richardson, Simmonette Lewis, Parts and Power, among others.
Creque said the company’s goal is to overwhelm its customers and towards this end they work closely with every client, providing the necessary information for the best use of their coverage.
He said the company’s after-sales is very important to them and they get involved in all aspects of the management of the plan: they answer client queries, forward pre-certifications and ensure timely approvals, record all claims submitted and follow up on payments.
Creque said NAGICO will provide a rate for a minimum of five participants in a plan, but many small businesses do not have that many interested persons. So recognizing an obvious void in the market, PFC approached the Chamber about sponsoring a plan for this segment, and in the interest of transparency, the Chamber invited all insurance companies doing business in the BVI to submit proposals for a plan, and PFC then set about doing the survey of businesses in order to get a rate and approached employers to sell them the idea of the plan.
According to Creque, the Chamber’s Group Health Insurance Plan is designed to assist businesses with a minimum of two and a maximum of four participants. He said these small groups will enjoy a rate which has been determined by NAGICO from the census of 40 employers and a little over a hundred employees.
Three levels of benefits are being offered – Platinum, Gold and Emerald — and premiums are based on the level of benefits chosen. Creque said a unique feature of the plan is that employers may have employees with different levels of benefits. That is to say, with three employees, an employer may have one with Platinum, one with Gold and the other with Emerald benefits.
Creque said the advantage to small businesses of this plan is two fold: First, the underwriting is softer for group business in that some pre-existing conditions can be covered with limits whereas they would be excluded under individual plans, and second, the group claims experience which drive renewal rates, will ensure more stability in the rates because claims are spread over a larger group than the typical small business employs. Additionally, if claims are low, increases will be minimal.
To be part of the insurance plan, businesses need to contact PFC as they are the agent and manager of the plan.
Managing Director of NAGICO, Shaun Mohammed, said PFC approached his company to design a special plan suitable for the Chamber of Commerce members and he said NAGICO thought it was a unique opportunity to afford some level of coverage. He said NAGICO are the underwriters and PFC is the agents\ and NAGICO has to underwrite the policy and provide the coverage.
Mohammed said NAGICO is always willing to partner with smaller businesses to provide an option to people for much needed health insurance coverage as it’s the company’s way of reaching back out to the community.
BVICCHA Chairman Dr. Bernie Harrigan said when PFC approached the chamber for a health insurance plan for its members she was very excited to get involved and to date they have 15 businesses on board.
Copyright 2012 BVI News, Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
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Apparently it took three years to get the go-ahead????????? I actually heard about this at least five years ago and only now it’s coming to light?
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