We help companies set up health, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, non-qualified deferred compensation, and retirement plans, as well as a variety of related plans - an entire spectrum of what are often referred to as “employee benefits.” We do this for big companies, small companies, and especially those companies just starting out and anxious to grow. We also help individuals with their personal health, dental, disability, life insurance, and retirement needs.

Technically, we’re what’s known as insurance “brokers” or “agents.” But we shy away from those labels. Why? Lots of people have negative feelings about brokers. And maybe it’s because we’ve watched too many James Bond movies, but when we think of agents we think of people who work undercover. (Which, in case you’re wondering, we don’t.) We think the title “benefit specialists” more accurately describes what we do.

The insurance companies pay us a commission every time we sell one of their policies. The individual and small group products we offer cost you exactly the same with our services as without. When you purchase insurance and benefit products through us, you’ll get our dedicated service to you at no extra charge. You’ll have someone to help you whenever you need it by using Professional Benefits & Insurance Services. Other brokers can quote the same insurance companies, but it’s our honest opinion that no one can serve your insurance and benefit needs better than Professional Benefits.

We spend a lot of time educating ourselves in the field of employee benefits and individual insurance and retirement plans. We see our role as that of a valued advisor and consultant. So we don’t just send you a price quote and let you figure out the details yourself. Working with us is not like buying car insurance. We don’t mail or fax quotes. We sit down with potential clients and go over the details face to face. We help companies and their employees understand plan benefits, we help individuals understand their coverage, and we help out all of our clients whenever questions or problems arise.

In return for our dedication to our clients, we ask that they work only with us when making benefit and insurance decisions. We’ll work hard to help you determine your needs and compare various insurance companies and plans, and to follow up to ensure that your insurance and benefit needs are being met as planned - with the understanding that you’ll turn only to us for insurance and benefit products and services. If you go to other agents, after all, you’ll end up getting the same quotes as we give you - which is a waste of everyone’s time. Besides, we’re confident that after experiencing our top-notch service, you won’t want to turn anywhere else for your insurance and benefit needs.

California. We’re licensed to do business in a few other states, but products and laws change dramatically from state to state. We figure that trying to service the 33 million people in this sunny state is a big enough challenge. We can help California-based companies that have some employees living in other states with their employee benefit plans. However, if your headquarters and more than 50 percent of your employees live in one of the other 49 states, you should check out the Web site of the National Association of Health Underwriters [just click "back" on your browser to return to pro-benefits.com].

Reliable Advice: We start with the premise that most people are not terribly interested in insurance - and that the less money and time they spend on it, the better. At the same time, we recognize how important it is to help our clients make smart, well-informed financial choices. We work to earn our clients’ trust by helping them make sound benefit-related decisions; we want them to be comfortable relying on our advice.

Benefits Help Businesses Grow: We see employee benefits (health insurance, life insurance, etc.) as a low-cost way to compensate employees. (See Employee Benefits: Five Ways to Spend Less and Give Your Employees More.)  We help our clients set up plans that help them attract and retain the best employees possible at the lowest cost possible.

Ongoing Client Support: We always welcome our clients’ calls. But that’s just the beginning of what we do for our clients. The business and legal landscape is changing every day; we spend a lot of time staying on top of developments in the field, and share what we learn with our clients. Start-up companies, for example, know that growing rapidly can be unsettling - particularly when it comes to making sure they don’t break any labor laws. To help them negotiate change, we connect clients with helpful support material to keep them in compliance with various employment laws.

Long-Term Perspective: Our approach to business is to build relationships with our clients that will last for years to come. This approach means that the client’s needs always come first at Professional Benefits.

You pay nothing extra for the services we offer. You pay the exact same price when using Professional Benefits & Insurance Services as you would buying directly from an insurance company or through another broker/agent. With us, though, you get much more for your money.

Consultation: We help you understand the types of insurance plans available and how to compare them. We start by analyzing the cost and benefits of your existing plan. This allows us to compare apples with apples when we look at alternative plans. Whether your company is a start-up or an established business, we work to understand your business plans - and find the benefits to match those plans.

We help you understand employee benefits in a number of ways:

• Through the information on this Web site

• By speaking with you on the telephone at our toll-free number, (877) 4PRO-BENEFITS - (877) 477-6236

• By faxing you information

• By meeting with you and discussing your specific situation

Market Analysis: We survey the market for you; get price quotes; and, organize them in an easy-to-understand way. This helps you make informed decisions. We represent virtually all of the health and life insurance companies and retirement plan companies doing business in California, including:

• Blue Cross of California

• Blue Shield of California

• PacifiCare of California

• Kaiser Permanente

• Maxicare

• Aetna - US Healthcare

• Health Net

• Guardian

• Manulife Financial,

• U.S. Life Ins. Co.

• You name it and we’re sure that we can get it

Implementation: We help you and your employees enroll in the plan you choose. We make sure that everyone understands how the plan works. For example, we encourage employees enrolled in an HMO plan set up by you to meet with, or at least call, their primary care doctor so that they’ll know what to do in the case of an emergency - which hospital or urgent care facility to use. This will save the patient time and money in the event that an emergency does occur.

Ongoing Assistance: We are as close as your telephone, computer, or fax machine. We welcome your calls and e-mails. Our goal is to be a reliable resource for you.

We’re Your Advocate: We deal with any headaches associated with the plans we help set up. We make sure that the plans work the way they are supposed to, by being your advocate with the insurance company, doctor’s office, laboratory, etc.

An Example of How We Help Solve Problems: Say you or one of your employees gets a bill from an insurance company or doctor’s office which is difficult to understand. Just fax us the bill; we’ll look at your plan and determine what needs to be done. We can improve the communication process between the medical provider and the insurance company, and make sure the insurance company pays the bills when it’s supposed to. On the other hand, if you or your employee are supposed to pay the bill, or part of it - a co-payment, for example - we’ll tell you that, too. We’ll let you know about any action we take, and we’ll follow up to make sure that whatever was supposed to take place to resolve the problem actually did. Which means that you won’t have to stay on hold for endless, frustrating hours trying to sort out a problem.

We’re Your Advisor: We work with you, your Human Resources person, and/or the person responsible for this stuff at your company to help you comply with the various employee-related laws. And we advise you and your employees on ways to get the most benefit out of the plans we set up. For example, by answering questions like: What do you do when you need to see your primary care doctor and the next available appointment isn’t for two weeks? (Our advice: Just go to the doctor’s office. They'll probably squeeze you in once you’re sitting in the waiting room.)

Free Desk-Top Calendar: We give all of our clients a desk-top calendar. These hard-to-find calendars sit conveniently on your desk or computer. They’re a personal touch that we’ve been offering our clients for nearly 30 years. In fact, we’re one of the calendar company’s oldest clients.

Bruce Jugan is the head of Professional Benefits & Insurance Services. Click here for a look at his resume and photo.

This is a list of the insurance companies we have been representing. We have excellent relationships with these companies, but are always ready to add other companies as we see the need.

Allianz Life Insurance Company Of North America

American Chambers Life Insurance Company

American Life and Health Insurance Company

Blue Cross Life & Health Insurance Company

Blue Shield Of California (CPIC Life Insurance Company)

Berkshire Life Insurance Company

Best Life Assurance Company of California

Congress Life Insurance Company

Continental Casualty Company

Federal Kemper Life Assurance Company

Fidelity Life Association, A Mutual Legal Reserve Company

First Colony Life Insurance Company

Fort Dearborn Life Insurance Company

General American Life Insurance Company

Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc., The

Jefferson Pilot Financial Insurance Company

Jefferson-Pilot Life Insurance Company

Lincoln Benefit Life Company

Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), The

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

North American Company For Life and Health Insurance

PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company

Protective Life Insurance Company

Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company

Safehealth Life Insurance Company

United American Insurance Company

United Healthcare Insurance Company

United States Life Insurance Company In The City Of New York

UNUM Life Insurance Company of America

Valley Forge Life Insurance Company

Professional Involvement & Code of Ethics

Have you ever noticed that the top people in any field are usually active in their professional association? We have. Our involvement in our field’s professional associations shows that:

• We’re interested in our profession.

• We learn about the latest developments in the field as they arise.

• We have access to other experts in the field.

• We have a good reputation in the industry.

All of this translates into increased value to our clients.

We are members of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), the professional association for health insurance agents and brokers. We are active in the Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters (LAAHU), serving on its Board of Directors from 1995-1998. We also assist the California Association of Health Underwriters (CAHU) with legislative matters. Our involvement with the CAHU includes attending meetings in Southern California and lobbying in Sacramento and Washington D.C. We believe all this makes us more knowledgeable and better able to help our clients.

Professional Benefits’ Code of Ethics

(Adapted from the NAHU Code of Ethics)

• To hold the selling, service, and administration of health insurance and related products and services as a professional and public trust and do all in our power to maintain its prestige

• To keep paramount the needs of those whom we serve.

• To respect our clients’ trust, and to never do anything which would betray their trust or confidence.

• To give all service possible when service is needed.

• To present policies factually and accurately, providing all information necessary for the issuance of sound insurance coverage to the public we serve.

• To use no advertising which we know may be false or misleading.

• To consider the sale, service, and administration of health insurance and related products and services as a career.

• To know and abide by the laws of any jurisdiction, Federal or State, in which we practice, and to seek constantly to increase our knowledge and improve our ability to meet the needs of our clients.

• To be fair and just to our competitors, and to engage in no practices which may reflect unfavorably on our industry or ourselves.

• To treat prospective clients, current clients, and companies fairly by submitting applications which reveal all available information pertinent to underwriting a policy.

• To extend honest and professional conduct to our clients, associates, fellow agents and brokers, and the company or companies whose products we represent.