Dorothy Hardee, Chamber Administrator
Margie Dodson, owner of Nailed It DIY has a small staff of 3-4. The business prepared for its Grand Opening just as the pandemic closed Central Florida. Determined to stay afloat, she created unique ways to offer clients Take & Make Crafts as well as virtual classes. As businesses started opening, she felt comfortable enough to bring on employees, however, she was concerned she would be unable to offer benefits that would help retain her team.
We know that a smaller employer with less than 50 lives is not required to offer an ACA-described group health insurance coverage for employees. Regardless, Margie felt it was a pipe dream given the presumed cost to her business. Then she explored the Health Benefits program offered by the East Orlando Chamber of Commerce. Joe Filice (Avalon Insurance Services Inc.) & his team discussed the options and showed her how affordable it was.
Margie offered her staff $25 per employee, towards payment of benefits signed up for. Plans were tailored to individuals, set up as a pre-tax contribution and showed her team how valuable they were to the business. The bonus was that Margie would also save on her payroll taxes since Joe was able to set up the program through payroll deduction. In fact, she was excited to share that one of her younger employees got three services that she needed for the $25 employer paid.
Back in September, Harvard Business suggested a health insurance crisis may be looming for employees of small business that were struggling to keep their doors open, let alone meet their share of health insurance costs. Before the pandemic, 60 percent of small business offered health insurance, however the dire economic times caused many to slash employee benefits, choosing wages over health insurance premiums. Making matters worse, many business owners are confused about what they should get, costs, benefits and how it will affect their bottom line.
Jennifer Englert with The Orlando Law Group added components of the Chamber plan as an option for her team. She was grateful not to have to be the expert in all thing’s insurance, relying on the excellent customer service provided by Joe and his team to ensure she had the best products available based on her teams needs. “Joe made this process easy, was thorough and readily available for questions,” said Englert.
Like many in business, the pandemic shined a light on the importance of employee benefits to both the organization and employees’ members. The East Orlando Chamber’s Health Benefits plan offers three Medical Insurance options, vision, dental, supplemental offerings, MDLive and life insurance, which can be easily offered through an employee’s benefit program. It is 100 percent voluntary and does not require any financial, service, or administrative responsibilities or liabilities from the business offering the plan.
Employers also can offer these coverage offerings on a more traditional employer platform being payroll deducted if they so desire and they may also contribute a portion or all the premium. Employers also can custom design a traditional employer benefits package designed specifically for their unique culture, demographics, and needs.
EOCC is extremely proud to work with our partner Joe Filice at Avalon Insurance Services to offer the greatest value to your membership, providing employee health benefits and educational resources. Joe said, “These are unprecedent times and the EOCC is performing industry leading actions to continually meet and exceed the value of your membership.” The current plan will allow Chamber Members and their employees to take advantage of these great options:
*EOCC Health Benefits being offered: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Accident, Critical Illness, Cancer, Hospital and Telehealth.
*Customizable Employee Benefit Package Offerings: EOCC is offering employee benefits plans similar to what a traditional employer would offer and gives the member the opportunity to purchase what coverages offered best meet their unique personal and family needs.
*Ease of enrollment: members can utilize a benefit administration system through an assigned website where all information regarding the benefits offered, plan designs and rates will be housed. On this benefit administration system, the member can research all benefits offered and enroll.
*Educational Resource: The benefit administration system combined with the call center and the Services from Avalon Insurance Services and the Meehan Agency will be a resource for employee benefits surpassed by no other chamber in our area. Members will now have the ability and resource to learn more about employee benefits and how they best meet their unique needs.
*Industry Leading Service: members will have all benefit offering information available on the online benefit administration system and will also have a call center designed specifically for their plans. Members will have the options to go online or talk directly with a service representative assigned specifically for their group.
The Federal Government Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that while 88 percent of employers with more than 500 employees provide company health plans, only 55 percent of small business comprised of less than 100 employees, do the same. Some small business owners and entrepreneurs might feel most health insurance options are simply out of reach, like Margie. You won’t know unless you ask. We have a plan for you.
The East Orlando Chamber is here to help with unique offerings to help elevate your businesses visibility and connect you with others helping your business thrive. Our upcoming W.I.S.E. (Women in Successful Endeavors) Luncheon is featuring Women in Politics, May 5th, sponsored by UCF. Dana Loncar with Consensus Communications will moderate our dynamic panel including, Orange County District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe, Orange County Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Roseann Harrington and OCPS Board Chair and former Orange County Mayor, Teresa Jacobs.
Our next Healthcare Collaborative, May 13th will discuss Physician Practice & Value Based Care: Is it the key to success moving forward? Guest panelists, Larry Jones, Executive Director of Integrated Independent Physicians Network and Fraser Cobbe, President of Cobbe Consulting & Management will discuss this important topic for healthcare in Central Florida and beyond.
For more information or to register call (407) 277-5951 or visit our website at eocc.org. The East Orlando Chamber of Commerce everywhere East of I-4.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Every Monday
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
(1st Thursday of the month)
World Password Day
Thursday, May 6, 2021
8:30 – 9:30 AM
Bonefish Grill Waterford Lakes
12301 Lake Underhill Road, Orlando, FL 32838
FREE to EOCC Members | $10 for Non-Members
Most Thursday’s
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Featuring Craig Rodrigue-CSR Benefits; Nicolas Duran – Trustco Bank; Annelizabeth Atie – ALS Association
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
LIVE of Facebook
The Hybrid Member Academy: Roadmap to Member Success
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Hybrid Event - East Orlando Chamber office
12301 Lake Underhill Road, Ste. 245, Orlando, FL 32828
Fiesta of Fun After Hours Date Night: Cooking with CBG & Margaritas
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Hybrid Event - East Orlando Chamber office
12301 Lake Underhill Road, Ste. 245, Orlando, FL 32828
$15 per person includes your ingredients, Guacamole Appetizer dip recipe, chips, and authentic Mexican Margarita.
Healthcare Council Collaborative Virtual Panel Discussing & Networking
Three Things You Should Know: Physician Practice & Value Based Care – Is it the key to success moving forward? Featuring Larry Jones (IIPN) and Fraser Cobbe (Cobbe Consulting)
Thursday, May 13, 2021
7:45 AM – 9:00 AM
Virtual Event | Registration required
EOCC Connect 4 Property Professional Networking
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The 5th Floor Orlando
3801 Avalon Park E. Blvd, Orlando, FL 32828
Registration required | FREE for EOCC Members | $15 for nonmembers | $10 for Avalon Park Businesses
(3rd Thursday of the month)
Doing Business with OCPS
Thursday, May 20, 2021
8:30 – 9:30 AM
Sam’s Club Lake Nona
11920 Narcoossee Road, Orlando, FL 32832
FREE to EOCC Members | $10 for Non-Members
Marketing Your Nonprofit Events with Julie Kosta with JK Creative
Thursday, May 26, 2021
9:00 – 10:00 AM
East Orlando Chamber
12301 Lake Underhill Rd., Ste 245, Orlando, FL 32828
Member Exclusive with Limited space
Thursday, May 27, 2021
8:00 – 9:30 AM
East Orlando Chamber office
12301 Lake Underhill Road, Ste. 245, Orlando, FL 32828
Member Exclusive with Limited space
Legislative Update Florida Politics Breakfast
Regional Issues Sponsored by UCF and Moderated by Fred Kittinger (UCF)
Thursday, June 8, 2021
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
The Celeste Hotel Orlando
4105 N Alafaya Trail, Orlando, FL 32826
Registration required.
