Published: November 25, 2008 12:08 am      

BUSINESS: Ken-Ton Chamber expands benefits

The cost for small businesses to insure their employees is climbing, putting a strain on budgets and limiting the options owners can make available.

In an attempt to combat that trend, the Ken-Ton Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with Liazon, a national benefits group located in Western New York, to provide its members with employee benefits from national insurance carriers. Called “Get More Benefit,” the program is geared toward reducing insurance costs and expanding benefits choices for local workers.

The problem with other providers that the chamber reviewed was their inflexibility, said Tracey Lukasik, executive director of the chamber. Under that arrangement, a company with five or 10 employees is forced to put everyone on the same plan, and that doesn’t always fit with each individual’s lifestyle.

“Either everyone is paying too much money for a high end plan, or someone who needs that high end plan can’t get it,” Lukasik said. “It was like they were offering three flavors of vanilla.”

Liazon was the only company that offered multiple plans to the same employer, all administered through the chamber. The group works with insurance carriers that people know, like Univera, MetLife and AllState, to provide health, dental, life, long-term disability, accident, critical illness, cancer, and long-term care insurance.

Liazon will be in charge of enrollment, and the chamber handles all of the paperwork for an administrative fee. But the cost is substantially cheaper than hiring a person to handle human resources duties and saves a small business owner the headache of trying to deal with multiple insurance polices for multiple employees.

“We’re trying to get people more involved with getting things done online as well,” Lukasik said. “We want to eliminate paper as much as possible going forward, so if someone has to make changes or gives birth and needs to add their child, they can do that without filling out a lot of forms. We’re trying to streamline.”

The program is only open to chamber members, but membership isn’t limited to those who live or own a business in Ken-Ton. Lukasik said business owners anywhere in Western New York can join and reap the rewards that membership brings.

“Now in addition to all the other benefits we offer like networking, inexpensive advertising and business training, we have another service to provide,” Lukasik said.

Enrollment in the new plans will take place in early December and the plans will go into effect on Jan. 1. For more information, call the chamber at 874-1202.

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.