Here are our most recent Spring publications and presentations. If there is a topic not covered here, that you’d like more information about, please contact us.
Spring Publications
Navigating Transgender Leave: An Exploratory White Paper
Inclusivity in the workplace continues to be a priority for many organizations, and it is a term that seems to expand and evolve regularly. The LGBTQ workforce faces a unique set of challenges and has a different set of needs than the rest of their colleagues. In this white paper, we uncover just what those challenges are, and how employers can help. We do a deep dive into how benefits and leave policies affect the LGBTQ population specifically, outline protective laws (or lackthereof) across the country, and offer advice to employers looking to be truly inclusive in their benefits programs as well as in their culture and values.
Click here to download a copy.
Syzygy Insurance Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue: What You Should Know
Recently, the Courts ruled that Syzygy Insurance Company (“Syzygy”), a micro captive created by Highland Tank & Manufacturing Co. and its Associates (“HT&A”) d
id not qualify as an 831(b) micro-captive entity between the years of 2009 and 2011. Federal courts have been especially assertive outlining bad fact patterns for certain captives, as seen in similar case results such as Avrahami v. Commissioner (“Avrahami”) and Reserve Mechanical Corp v. Commissioner (“Reserve”).
Understanding the criteria and results of these court rulings is imperative to ensure that your clients’ captives, or even your own, are appropriately managed and operated.
Download the whitepaper here for a checklist and tips on keeping your captive sound and compliant.
State of the Industry: Cyber Risk & Captives
While most understand the gravity of cyber attacks and the impact they can have on both individuals and organizations, many are still under-prepared them. This is a newer, emerging and constantly evolving risk that the industry hasn’t quite figured out yet. Get a feel for what professionals in risk management and captive insurance feel in regards to prioritization of cyber risk, the adequacy of their coverage, and an overview of the current commercial and captive markets for cyber insurance with this white paper. Download it here.
Voluntary Benefits: No Longer Voluntary for Employers
The area of voluntary benefits is one that has been changing and evolving rapidly in recent years. Once hardly considered “worth it”, today employers would have a hard time affording a top-notch benefits package without them. In this white paper we explore that shift, the advantages of voluntary benefits for all stakeholders, identify common mistakes made in voluntary plan implementation, and offer advise on how to launch an effective program. Click here to download and read.
ERISA Considerations for Voluntary Plans
The The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) has been making employers cautious for decades, however as the popularity of voluntary benefits continues to rise as a solution for mitigating the increasing costs of healthcare as well as the need for competitive benefits to retain and attract talent, things are getting even more confusing. In this webinar, we provide an overview of ERISA, voluntary benefits, their complicated relationship and how to best navigate these policy-based issues. Click here to watch.
Time for a Captive Check-Up?
As trends change and new and emerging risks arise, it’s
unlikely that your captive’s goals and strategies will or
should stay the same as the years go by. We recommend
that companies take a fresh look at their captives, much like
a check-up with a doctor, every few years. This refeasibility
study yields great advantages, and in this webinar we explain motivations and best practices. More info here.
Funding Medical Stop-Loss in Captives: What You Need to KnowThis white paper explains how medical stop-loss captives work, the common types of medical stop-loss captives and who should consider one. We hope you find it helpful and enlightening. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact our captive consulting team. All of our contact information is listed on the final page or this paper.
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The Benefits of Captives for Small and Mid-Sized BusinessesIn this paper, we seek to educate you about captive insurance, the history, benefits and the options available to small and mid-sized companies. We will explain what a cell captive is and how it can be an excellent entry point for a company into captive insurance. Finally, we will explore the next steps for your business if you decide that captive funding of your company’s risk might be a good choice and would like to explore it further. |
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Managing an Absent Workforce: A Guide to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)This white paper will allow you to take a pulse on your existing FMLA program. It pinpoints some of the tactical items where employers could tighten their reigns including counting time, use of paid time, recertification processes, fit for duty and specific areas of interests for employers. |
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Employee Benefits and Captives: A Look Back at the PioneersTo date, more than 30 companies have successfully secured an exemption to fund certain employee benefits in their captives. Our Spring research team recently set out to identify these companies and interview them to understand their experience and provide them a platform to share their story and experiences. This report is a brief extrapolation of their responses. |
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The Basics of CaptivesSpring’s award-winning captive team, lead by one of the industry’s top captive leaders, Karin Landry, have designed and built countless captives over the past 25 years including some of the world’s most innovative funding solutions. In this book, they share a little of their experience, along with some of the recent trends they are seeing, in hopes of helping even more businesses save money on and gain control of their risk programs. |
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What You Need to Know About Paid Sick Leave Law ChangesIn this white paper, Spring’s Integrated Disability Management team reviews legislative acts, across the country, related to sick leave to date and discusses the implications for employers and service providers alike.
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Behavioral Health Claims: Finding the Right ReferralIn the piece, three experts detail both peer reviews and independent medical exams (IMEs) and how to identify which referral is appropriate when.
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Funding Employee Benefits Through a CaptiveSpring’s Funding Employee Benefits in a Captive – A Risk Managers Guide outlines the advantages to funding employee benefits in a captive arrangement and provides guidelines on how to structure this type of program.
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Self-Funding Health Insurance and the Management of RiskOne way a business can efficiently fund health benefits is by self-funding. By assuming part or all of the risk of employees’ health care costs, employers stand to achieve savings of 5-15% from self-insuring. This white paper discusses the benefits, considerations and details of self-funding employee health insurance. |
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Creating Cost-Effective Employee Benefit Programs Through Employer AssociationsIn this white paper, Spring Senior Partner John Cassell takes a look at the basics of employer associations and offers up a few case studies based on some of his past experience with them. |
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What Employers Need to Know About ADAAA ComplianceOur Integrated Disability Management consultants talk to employers daily and we hear their accommodation questions and witness the confusion. In this white paper, we will simplify answers to three of the questions most frequently asked by employers:
and provide tactics for implementing a compliant and effective accommodation program. |
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Spring Presentations
Paid Sick Leave Compliance and Employer Best Practices (Slidedeck) |
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Managing Medical Stop Loss in a Captive (Slidedeck) |
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What You Need to Know About the Cadillac Tax (Webinar) |
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Health Care Reform’s Impact on Disability Management (Slidedeck) |
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A Look at How and Why Colleges are Funding Health Insurance Using a Medical Stop-Loss Captive (webinar) |
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Why Fund Employee Benefits in a Captive and How to Gain Approval to Do It (webinar) |
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Integrated Disability and Absence Management (webinar) |
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Pediatric Dental Benefits Under the ACA – What Employers (and Dentists) Need to Know (Slidedeck |
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The Evolving Role of Captives Within the New Healthcare Reality (Slidedeck) |
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The Basics of Group Captives (Webinar) |
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Brief Group Captive Overview (Slidedeck) |
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Healthcare Reform: What to Expect (Slidedeck) |
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Preventative Employee Benefits Programs (Slidedeck) |
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Captives for Healthcare Reform and Writing Employee Benefits in a Captive (Webinar) |