Peter Van Alstine and Scott Fletcher of Allen Financial Group were recently named Paul Harris Fellows through their membership in the Camden Rotary Club.
The Paul Harris Fellow recognition was created in memory of Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary. It is the practice of many clubs to award Paul Harris Fellowship to select members in appreciation of his or her service to the club.
“Service to our local community — and through Rotary, to the world community — is important to us,” said Gil Fifield, president of Allen Insurance and Financial and a long-time member of the Rockland Rotary. “We congratulate Peter and Scott and their families on this important honor.”
Van Alstine, right, and Fletcher, left,
join a number of their Allen Insurance and Financial colleagues as Paul Harris Fellows. Allen, the employee-owned insurance and financial services company based in Camden, maintains a strong relationship with Knox County Rotary Clubs and can claim members in each of the area clubs: Camden, Rockland and West Bay. Twenty percent of the Allen Agency’s 60 employees are Rotarians; members attend Rotary functions on company time.
Both Peter and Scott are financial advisors with Allen Financial Group. Scott is a Certified Financial Planner. Peter is a Certified Public Accountant.
Rotary International is an organization is 32,000 service clubs and 1.2 million members worldwide, bringing together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service and to build goodwill and peace in the world. Members meet weekly for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Meetings are social events as well as opportunities to organize work for their service goals.
Rotary was founded in Chicago in 1905 and is headquartered today in Evanston, Ill. Rotary’s flagship program is the eradication of polio. Other programs focus on issues of hunger, poverty, and illiteracy.
Weekly Market Update: June 30, 2010
Allen Insurance and Financial is pleased to provide weekly market commentaries for those interested in general market news and performance data. Click to read more. (PDF, new window)
Healthcare Reform: Interim Final Rules on a Patients’ Bill of Rights
The Departments of Treasury, Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued interim final rules related to the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) regarding pre-existing condition exclusions, lifetime and annual limits, rescissions and other patient protections. Most of these provisions are effective for plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010.
Plan sponsors should become familiar with these requirements in order to determine whether the new rules apply to their plans and whether their plans must be amended accordingly.
This Allen Insurance|Financial Legislative Brief describes the provisions of PPACA regarding these rules, as well as the clarifications made by the interim final rule. Please this document for more information. (Word document opens in a new window)
Weekly Market Update: June 21, 2010
Allen Insurance and Financial is pleased to provide weekly market commentaries for those interested in general market news and performance data. Click here to read more. (PDF, new window)
Health Insurance For Mariners Made Easy
The following article by Gene McKeever was published in the June 2010 issue of WorkBoat magazine.
We’re all probably sick of hearing about health insurance. But what if I told you about a major medical health insurance program for vessel crews that is very affordable, portable, and has a $5 million lifetime limit? You think it sounds crazy? Well, it has been available for about a year now.
This is not an infomercial. I am an insurance person who works with vessels, shipyards, boatyards, tug-and-barge operations as well as tall ships and historic ships. I don’t sell health insurance of any kind. I was made aware of this very sound health insurance product and I’m merely passing along useful information.
When crews are under contract with a vessel and are in service of the ship, they have maintenance and cure. This takes care of injury and illness that occur while on such duty.
But what does a crewmember have when he or she is not on duty? What health insurance does their family have?
Crew health insurance may be the answer. It’s available to individual crewmembers as well as groups such as a vessel crew or fleet crew. It can be paid for by the individual, set up as a payroll deduction, or paid for by the vessel owner.
Vessel owners who pay for the crew’s health insurance are finding that they’re getting more loyal mariners who return trip after trip because they receive a health insurance benefit paid for by the vessel owner.
Here’s the hard-to-believe part. The monthly premiums I’ve seen have run from between $99 and $260 or so a month per crewmember. I’m told that the premiums are low because they’re based on international medical care rates and because there is no need to duplicate health insurance coverage while “in service of the vessel” because the crew is covered under the vessel’s maintenance, cure and wages.
Keep in mind this health insurance is for mariners who work in international waters (meaning three miles or more offshore). This includes most mariners in U.S. coastal waters including the Great Lakes.
Contact Gene McKeever: 207-230-5822.
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The federal government has extended the eligibility for the Cobra subsidy for terminated employees through the end of May.
In addition, Maine has added a newly eligible category of individual under it’s “Mini-Cobra” provisions. Those eligible for the subsidy will now include permanently laid-off individuals, where in the past there had to be an intent of the employer to re-hire the individual in the near future.
Please find more details of the federal subsidy in the attached article. As more information and forms become available, we will provide you with information here.
Latest Market Commentary
We are in the midst of an improving economic environment, but it has not been a strong recovery thus far.
New Health Care Tax Credit
The IRS has broken down the process to determine if your business will qualify for the new health care tax credit into three simple steps. Try it and see if you are eligible!
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform Bill) provides small employers with some tax credits for offering health insurance to their employees. This article will provide you with significant guidance on how it works