Dear Joe,

Health care reform continues to be an important topic for all Americans; and there's a lot to understand. This issue of "Complete Coverage Plus" focuses on its impact on small business.

Did you know that if you have up to 25 employees, pay average annual wages below $50,000, and provide health insurance, you may qualify for a small business tax credit this year of up to 35% (up to 25% for non-profits) to offset the cost of your insurance? Read on to learn more or contact us if you want some clarification as to how it affects health insurance for your employees. Feel free to call Ashley Hissong our Benefits Executive at 800-628-8735 x 527 or email Ashley at ahissong@lcisinc.com

Please help me welcome Kevin Lord to our team as our Life Insurance and Asset Protection Specialist. For expert attention, please call (800) 628-8735 or email klord@lcisinc.com.

We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.

Regards,

Kim Ayala
President/CEO

1. If you have up to 25 employees, pay average annual wages below $50,000, and provide health insurance, you may qualify for a small business tax credit this year of up to 35% (up to 25% for non-profits) to offset the cost of your insurance. This will bring down the cost of providing insurance.
2. Employer-based plans that provide health insurance to retirees ages 55-64 will be able to get financial help through the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program that starts in June 2010. This program is designed to lower the cost of premiums for all employees and reduce employer health costs.

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Ashley boasts ten years of insurance industry experience – all this time focused on understanding the unique needs of Green Industry professionals through LCIS. She is a licensed Life and Health agent specializing in Health Benefits programs for Medical, Dental, Vision and LT/ST Disability for individuals and small group.

Ashley Hissong
Benefits Executive
(800) 628-8735 Ext. 527
ahissong@lcisinc.com

The small business health care tax credit helps small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations afford the cost of covering their employees.

Received a Postcard from the IRS?

Millions of small employers received postcards from the IRS beginning in April that alerted them to the new small business health care tax credit and encouraged them to check their eligibility. Even if you didn't receive a postcard, your business still may be eligible.

• The small business tax credit goes up to 50% (up to 35% for non-profits) for qualifying businesses. This makes the cost of providing insurance even lower.
• Small businesses with generally fewer than 100 employees can shop for insurance in an Exchange that will give them similar purchasing power as large businesses. Exchanges will offer more choices of high-quality coverage and lower prices.
• Small businesses will benefit from insurance with lower administrative costs compared to the choices available in the small business market today because they will be able to pool together.
• Limits on insurance rating, such as no more rating based on employees' health status or gender, will lower premiums for many small businesses.

LCIS is pleased to announce the addition of Kevin T. Lord, LUTCF, MA as our Life Insurance and Asset Protection Specialist. He has been in the business for almost 20 years and one other agents turn to when they want to find the right product for their clients. If you have not had your life insurance reviewed in the past 5 years, then we ask you to give Kevin a call. He specializes in business, personal and estate planning and can show you ways to pad your retirement while taking six figure tax deductions. Please take advantage of this great resource.

Kevin T. Lord, LUTCF, MA
Life Insurance & Asset Protection Specialist
800-628-8735
klord@lcisinc.com

I have health insurance for my employees

I need health insurance for my employees

I'm self-employed with no other employees

Dear Joe,

In this issue of the "Insurance Informer," we focus on Homeowner's Insurance.

How much homeowners insurance do you need? Check out the things to consider when buying homeowner's insurance: the structure, replacement cost, building codes, etc., and, what type of disasters are covered. If you're installing a pool, find out what type of insurance you need. If you're renting the home you live in, it's vital that you use insurance to protect your possessions - and, talking about protecting your possessions, find out how to take an inventory of the possessions in your home, and much more.

We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.

Regards,

Tom Raasch

You need enough insurance to cover the following:

The structure

You need enough insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding your home at current construction costs. Don't include the cost of the land. And don't base your rebuilding costs on the price you paid for your home. The cost of rebuilding could be more or less than the price you paid or could sell it for today.

Some banks require you to buy homeowners insurance to cover the amount of your mortgage. If the limit of your insurance policy is based on your mortgage, make sure it's enough to cover the cost of rebuilding. (If your mortgage is paid off, don't cancel your homeowners policy. Homeowners insurance protects your investment in your home.)

All pools-from a simple above-ground kiddy pool to an aquatic extravaganza-can be dangerous and need to be properly insured and comply with local safety standards.

According to the Center for Disease Control, over 3,200 people drown each year. Among children, ages one to four, most drowned in residential swimming pools. Most of these young children had been out of sight for less than five minutes and were in the care of one or both parents at the time.

Most renters can acquire thousands of dollars worth of property and liability insurance coverage for less than $20 a month. Yet fewer than half of those renting either a home or an apartment have a renters insurance policy, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

"Too many renters completely underestimate the value of the personal possessions they've accumulated over the years, or wrongly assume their landlord's insurance policy covers the renter's possessions," said Michael Barry, the I.I.I.'s vice president, Media Relations. "However, a standard renters policy provides coverage for big-ticket personal items-such as furniture, computers and television sets-in the event they are damaged or destroyed. And, like homeowners insurance, renters insurance covers your financial responsibility to other people injured at your home or elsewhere by you, a family member or your pet and pays legal defense costs if you are taken to court."

Taking an inventory of your possessions in your home - and maintaining an up-to-date record of it, has never been easier. The insurance information institute has introduced an easy to use piece of software called Home Inventory 3.0. It comes complete with their Vault 24 secure file storage technology. This is something no homeowner should be without.

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Do I need special coverage for jewelry and other valuables?

Earthquakes: Risk and Insurance Issues

Secure a Home from the Inside Out

According to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 37% of adults report they are not physically active. When you consider that physically inactive people are twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease as regularly active people, and heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, you have to wonder why only 3 in 10 adults get the recommended amount of physical activity.

In this issue of the "Employee Benefit Insights," we focus on the Facts and Fables surrounding fitness and health. Read "The Top 10 Fitness Myths You're Probably Wrong About; Some things you should know about exercise," and much more.

We hope that you will share this invaluable information by forwarding this eNewsletter to your family, friends, colleagues and employees.

Regards,

David Uyematsu

Think water flushes toxins out of your body? Think it's crucial to stretch before a workout? Think again. Here, the most popular fitness and diet myths you've bought into -- and why they (and you) are wrong.

Myth 1: Drinking water can help you lose weight

Fact: Many sources tout drinking copious amounts of water to be the all-curing panacea of the Gods. If you've heard that drinking lots of water improves your skin tone, or that it flushes toxins from your body, you know what we're talking about. But the fact of the matter is, the evidence for such catch-all health benefits is lacking.

Are you thinking about starting a fitness program? Good for you! You're only five steps away from a healthier lifestyle.

Starting a fitness program may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Physical activity can reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, help you lose weight–even improve your sleep habits and self-esteem. And there's more good news. You can do it in just five steps.

Step 1: Assess your fitness level

You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But assessing and recording baseline fitness scores can give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress. To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility and body composition, consider recording.

14 misconceptions about physical fitness, includes a related article on working out

Despite the well-publicized benefits of regular exercise, four out of five Americans are still couch potatoes, according o the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. People seem to find numerous reasons for avoiding their dates with exertion. Some are bored with repetitive activity; others are intimidated by having to bare their shape in public; and still others can't find the time. (Even if we have plenty too spend watching television or shopping.)

Want to be sharper at work? Feel less tired at home? Spend some quality time with your spouse? How about enjoying a cookie without guilt? If you answered "yes" to all of these questions (and who wouldn't?), exercise is the answer.

Being physically active offers benefits far beyond the obvious. (Of course, an improved physique and a clean bill of health aren't too shabby, either.) If you've been looking for the motivation to begin an exercise program or get back into working out regularly, here are 10 fitness facts that may help inspire you to get off the couch.

The President's Council–Physical Activity Facts

WebMD-Top 9 Fitness Myths–Busted!

American Heart Association–Get Moving!

Dear Joe,

In April 2000, President Bill Clinton proclaimed April as Cancer Control Month. Since that time, cancer has continued to develop at an alarming rate. In fact, statistics released by the American Cancer Society estimated the number of new cancer cases for 2009 to be 1,479,350. And the National Institutes of Health estimates overall costs of cancer in 2008 at $228.1 billion: $93.2 billion for direct medical costs (total of all health expenditures); $18.8 billion for indirect morbidity costs (cost of lost productivity due to illness); and $116.1 billion for indirect mortality costs (cost of lost productivity due to premature death). Lack of health insurance and other barriers prevent many Americans from receiving optimal health care.

We have dedicated this issue of the "Insurance Navigator" to help you increase your understanding of Cancer. Read on to find out about Cancer, who gets it, what are the risk factors, the possibility that it can be prevented, and much more.

We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.

Regards,

Mike Krupka, LUTCF

The body is made up of hundreds of millions of living cells. Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person's life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries.

Cancer begins when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control. There are many kinds of cancer, but they all start because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.

Over one million people get cancer each year. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women will have some type of cancer during their lifetime. While cancer can strike at any age, about 77% of all cancers are diagnosed in people aged 55 and older. And while cancer occurs in all racial and ethnic groups, the rate of cancer occurrence varies from group to group.

Today, millions of people are living with cancer or have been cured of the disease. The sooner a cancer is found and the sooner treatment begins, the better a patient's chances are of a cure. Early detection and treatment of cancer is critical.

A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease. Some risk factors can be changed (lifestyle choices) and others cannot. Risk factors that can’t be changed include your age, sex, and family health history. Lifestyle choices include things you do, such as use tobacco and drink alcohol, what you eat, and sun exposure. Other factors are linked to cancer-causing factors in the environment.

But risk factors don't tell everything. Having a risk factor, or even many risk factors, does not mean that you will get the disease. And some people who get cancer may not have any known risk factors. Even if a person with cancer has a risk factor, it is often very hard to know what part that risk factor may have contributed to the cancer.

A sign is also a signal that something is not right in the body. But signs are signals that can be seen by someone else -- maybe a loved one, or a doctor, nurse, or other health care professional. Fever, fast breathing, and abnormal lung sounds heard through a stethoscope may be signs of pneumonia.

A symptom is a signal of disease, illness, injury, or that something is not right in the body. Symptoms are felt or noticed by the person who has them, but may not be easily seen by anyone else. For example, weakness, aches, and feeling short of breath may be symptoms of pneumonia.

Priority Focus in Cancer Control and Prevention

Stay Healthy

Cancer Facts and figures for African Americans

Donate Online Now

In this issue of the "Insurance Reporter," we focus on preparing for Brush Fire Season.

Regards,
Karl D. Susman

Learn about the history of wildfire in your area. Be aware of recent weather. A long period without rain increases the risk of wildfire. Consider having a professional inspect your property and offer recommendations for reducing the wildfire risk. Determine your community's ability to respond to wildfire. Are roads leading to your property clearly marked? Are the roads wide enough to allow firefighting equipment to get through? Is your house number visible from the roadside?

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All vegetation is fuel for a wildfire, though some trees and shrubs are more flammable than others. To reduce the risk, you will need to modify or eliminate brush, trees and other vegetation near your home. The greater the distance is between your home and the vegetation, the greater the protection.

Wildfire and other types of disasters - flood, tornado, earthquake, hazardous materials spill, winter storm - can strike quickly and without warning. You can cope with disaster by preparing in advance and working together. Meet with your family to create a disaster plan.

Wildfire...Are You Prepared?

US Forest Service: Safety/Fire