Health Insurance Mountain View, Redwood City, San Carlos, CA

by on May 16, 2013

Health Insurance in Mountain View does NOT have to cost you a fortune!! It really doesn’t. If you have an Independent Broker working on your behalf AND they have an actual strategy for helping your company or family save money and obtain better coverage…..you’re in good hands. Too many times I have people looking for Health Insurance in Mountain View and they are paying a ridiculous amount for their insurance….there’s just no reason for it.

Health Insurance in Redwood City or San Carlos, again, doesn’t have to break the bank. For instance, someone in their 20′s can get a good policy for under $100. It kills me when I hear of families paying hundreds of dollars for Health Insurance in Mountain View and the surrounding cities. When I speak to business owners and they talk about their employees paying a ton of money for a specific plan and complaining about it, I always ask them the same thing: “oh, so tell me about the strategy that your broker is helping you with to mitigate much of the cost of Health Insurance”. That usually gets me either a blank stare, or a look of confusion. When we explain our strategy that many companies have been wildly successful with, they usually become OUR clients in a short time. Why?, because we are specialists….we ONLY do Employee Benefits and Health Insurance for companies in Mountain View, Redwood City, San Carlos and cities up and down California.

If you had a heart condition, would you go to a General Practitioner or a Specialist? Right, me too.

Brauer Insurance can help all people and employers that want to take another look at their Employee Benefits or Health Insurance in Mountain View, Redwood City, San Carlos, or any city in CA. We help companies “strategize” their Health Insurance. Just because a company has an expensive plan, that doesn’t mean they have the best VALUE.

If you or your company is looking at Health Insurance in Mountain View, Redwood City, San Carlos, give us a call. I will not try to SELL you….I promise. I’ll let our YELP and Google reviews speak for themselves, http://www.yelp.com/biz/brauer-insurance-services-san-jose

Or Google Brauer Insurance and you can read them for yourself.

Steve Brauer-Principal-Broker, Brauer Insurance Services LLC, (408) 421-5555

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Health Insurance San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View, CA

by on May 16, 2013

If you’re a business owner, or just looking for Health Insurance in San Jose for your family, affordability is key. Health Insurance is confusing and expensive….VERY expensive, why not get the most for your money. Independent Brokers can strategize Health Insurance plans and not break your bank account. There IS a strategy to this…I’ll give you an example: Lets say the difference between an expensive plan and cheaper plan is $500 a month (not uncommon by the way!). If you take the savings over a year’s period, that would be $6000. If the cheaper plan has a deductible of $4500, you’ve already saved MORE than your deductible on the cheaper plan….folks, at the end of the day, it’s a math problem.

Now, lets say that you are a business owner looking for Health Insurance in San Jose or Santa Clara and you have an expensive plan. Multiply the savings I just described by all of your employees and you see the savings! This is just ONE strategy that MOST agents either don’t use, don’t know about, or frankly don’t understand. Especially if they are not specialists in Health Insurance for Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Clara. I get weird looks when I use this analogy, but here goes: Let’s say you have a heart condition. Would you go to a General Practitioner or a Specialist??….Exactly. That’s my point. If you are looking for Health Insurance in San Jose, our services are free, whether you use Brauer Insurance or any broker. YOU get to choose who you want to do business with.

Health Insurance in San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View or ANY California city does NOT have to cost you a fortune…it really doesn’t!! Brauer Insurance is on the cutting edge of Health Insurance strategies, ObamaCare Health Reform and anything related to Health Insurance in San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View.

Brauer Insurance is a TRUE family owned and operated agency. My wife and kids are all brokers and makeup some of the agents in our office. My background as a Detective Sergeant with a Bay Area Police Dept makes me a little more tenacious about helping my clients and getting what I want with insurance companies. Oh yeah….we were voted as one of the top 1000 insurance companies in the country.

ObamaCare is an important issue nowadays too….I was on Channel 5 KPIX this week being interviewed in our office about ObamaCare as it relates to the new laws on breastfeeding and related topics. I looked like I was 100 years old….but my family was proud of me.

Everybody….Health Insurance in San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View does NOT have to cost you a fortune. It’s expensive, no doubt about it, but it why spend more than you have to?? WE CAN HELP YOU…we’re specialists!

Steve Brauer, Principal-Broker, Brauer Insurance Services LLC.. (408) 421-5555

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Business Health Insurance San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View, CA

by on May 7, 2013

Business Health Insurance can be a very expensive undertaking if you don’t have the right guidance. Business Health Insurance does not have to cost you a fortune with the right strategy! ObamaCare is right around the corner and many of the requirements for even small business are already in place. Most small businesses that have Business Health Insurance in San Jose, don’t even know that they have certain compliance paperwork they have to have on file for employees. At Brauer Insurance, we help employers that offer Business Health Insurance to their staff, but don’t want to break the bank. I speak to owners, CEOs, CFOs all the time that think Employee Benefits, or Business Health Insurance is way out of their price range. What we do is strategize a Business Health Insurance plan that allows the company to offer Health Insurance and other cool benefits to their people, AND, helps set a budget and puts the Business Health Insurance plan into affordable means.

Business Health Insurance does NOT have to cost you a fortune….it really doesn’t! If your broker is a specialist in Health Insurance and related products, they SHOULD be able to show you or provide you with a strategy. A strategy that will help you get better Business Health Insurance for less money. If they can’t do that..you might as well just sign up online. I speak to employers all the time that tell me that they see their broker maybe once a year, or gets an email from them from time to time. If your broker is not providing something in return for their commission…maybe it’s time for a new broker.

At Brauer Insurance, Business Health Insurance is ALL we do….we are one of the Bay Area’s top Business Health Insurance agencies. We were voted one of the top 1000 agencies in the USA! Thanks to all of our clients that voted for us!! My son and daughters and I love what we do. This is my second career….I’m a retired Detective Sergeant with a Bay Area police department.

I can show you a better way of doing Employee Benefits and Business Health Insurance in San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View and anywhere in CA.

Steve Brauer, Principal-Broker, Brauer Insurance Services LLC……(408) 421-5555

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Group Health Plans, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Menlo Park, Mountain View, CA

by on May 4, 2013

Group Health Plans do NOT have to cost you a fortune!…they really don’t! If you are looking for a Group Health Plan, Group Insurance in general, or any type of Employee Benefits, using an Independent Insurance agency is what most employer find to be the most advantageous…why? Because there is no hidden agenda, they’re “Independent” Group Health Plans can be affordable and comprehensive IF you have a way to strategize the implementation of the Group Health Plan. When I say strategy, I mean thinking about Group Health Plans, specifically Health Insurance in a different way. At Brauer Insurance, we’ve built our family agency using a different model to help employers and companies with the crazy costs of Group Health Plans. There IS a way to “bend the cost curve” as they say. That’s the “strategy” I’m always talking about. When I approach CEOs, CFOs, and Controllers, they are usually very skeptical…heck I would be too! All I ask them to do, is keep an open mind and imagine what it would be like to not only save about 30-40%, but actually get BETTER Employee Benefits or a better Group Health Plan.

My presentation involves a couple of ways to accomplish that. I can’t actually go into details in this blog for obvious reasons, but I can prove what I’m claiming. That’s how my daughters and I (my son now too) have almost doubled our business every year for the last 4 years. We are one of the top agencies specializing in Group Health Plans. We even have been voted one of the top 1000 Independent Insurance Agencies in the USA. Pretty crazy since I only started 10 years ago in a little home office in my garage! I’m a former Detective Sergeant with a Bay Area Police agency…this is my second career.

Group Health Plans are a specialty and niche product. You cannot be an expert at Group Health Plans and ObamaCare AND do other types of insurance….there simply are not enough hours in the day to absorb all of the information.

If you are thinking about Employee Benefits, Health Insurance or a Group Health Plan for your company, give us a call. We’re on top of our game. But don’t take our word for it…. Google us and check out our reviews of clients on YELP.

Take care!

Steve Brauer-Principal/Broker, Brauer Insurance Services LLC…(408) 421-5555

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Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, CA

by on May 3, 2013

Health Insurance and Dental insurance does NOT have to cost you a fortune!!…it really doesn’t. There are not only tons of plans out there that are affordable and comprehensive, but there are proven strategies to help mitigate much of the cost of Health insurance and Dental insurance.

At Brauer Insurance, we don’t just offer Health Insurance….we SPECIALIZE in it!! Imagine if one of your family members had a specific medical issue. Would they go to a General Practitioner or a Specialist? That’s our point. We are not only experts in the ObamaCare Health Reform, but we ONLY do Health Insurance and Dental Insurance for families and businesses. Health Insurance in San Jose, Sunnyvale is expensive….VERY expensive, but it doesn’t have to be!

If I were you, I’d be skeptical too….being a cop for 25 years does that to you! But don’t take our word for it, google us or go to Yelp and check us out. We’ll let our customers and clients speak on our behalf. If I review your insurance and determine you’re exactly where you should be….I’ll tell you! We’re not just looking for business, we want to have a definite relationship and be able to help our clients. If they don’t need help…we’re outta there!! Stay with your current broker!

When I approach potential business clients, I always ask them “so, what kind of strategy did your broker suggest for you, based on your industry?” The look I get is either one of confusion or they’re thinking “strategy, what strategy?”. I usually let them off the hook by telling them that most companies do NOT have a strategy and that is something that I hear most often.

We are in the business of helping people take a different look at their insurance needs. That usually spins off into a different conversation about how to think of their employee’s healthcare more like a “financial plan”. Hey, it is the second most costly item for a company. Why NOT have an actual plan to deal with the outrageous costs and price increases year after year!

Steve Brauer-Principal/Broker….Brauer Insurance Services LLC (408) 421-5555

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Health insurance for large groups, ObamaCare, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, CA

by on April 30, 2013

If you are an employer with over 50 full time employees OR under 50 employees with a bunch of part timers…you better get ready. There’s a good chance you will have to offer at least the minimum level coverage that has been identified by ObamaCare, for your employees and their “dependents”…excluding spouses (weird huh!) The offering cannot cost the employee more than 9.5% of their gross wages, or it will be deemed “unaffordable” and non-compliant. That means you, the employer, will have to contribute up to that point. Health Insurnace for larger groups is complicated and getting worse. If you have a broker that does not specialize in Health Insurance for Larger Groups, you may be getting misled or incorrect information. There are only a certain number of hours in the day, if the broker sells more than just Health Insurance for Large Groups, there is not way anyone can absorb and stay current with all of the requirements. Things are changing CONSTANTLY!

ObamaCare is a complicated piece of legislation,love it or hate it, it’s not going anywhere. BUT….you have to understand it, you have to embrace it, to some extent. That means being on the cutting edge of what’s going on in the industry. If you’re dealing with other insurance, Home, Auto, Life, Fire, etc, it is IMPOSSIBLE to become an expert. There simply is not enough hours in the day AND too much information to study.

At Brauer Insurance, we are certified in ObamaCare and how it relates to Health Insurance for Large Groups. That’s a big deal and not easy to do. Because I’ve positioned ourselves as experts in the industry and I don’t want to look like a moron when people ask me questions, we have to stay current on developements and how it impacts Health Insurance for large groups.

Even small groups (defined as under 50 employees) have compliance issues with ObamaCare..right now, not in 2014!! If you’re broker has not stepped up and gotten you the tailored paperwork for your company…ask them WHY NOT??

There are a lot of things to consider with Health Insurance for Larger Groups…”do I self fund, do we not offer it at all and pay the penalty”. Lots to consider. January is right around the corner…my suggestion is to align yourself with a broker that you can trust to help you navigate it. Hopefully they’re “independent and family owned”.

Steve Brauer- Principal/Broker Brauer Insurance Services LLC..(408) 421-5555

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Why is Small Business Health Insurance so expensive, Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Jose, San Francisco, CA

by on April 30, 2013

Small Business Health Insurance is expensive because HEALTH CARE is expensive. Big shock right….it’s crazy expensive on many plans. But, it does NOT have to cost your company a fortune, it really doesn’t! Many of our employer clients have been wildly successful with a strategy that we’ve developed over the years, and I guarantee, your current broker has not shared this with you. Either they don’t understand it, or does not want to shrink their commission from a lesser cost plan design. Either way, you’re the loser.

The first comments out of my mouth with a new company that I speak to is that if I cannot save you at least 20-30% AND help you get BETTER Employee Benefits for your employees….I will leave and never bother you again. Hey, if I were them, I’d be skeptical, VERY skeptical. As a former Detective Sergeant for a Bay Area Police agency, I am probably the most skeptical of anyone…prove it is my mantra!

Well…I can prove it. I just won’t go into details in this blog because I know my competition reads these constantly. I know this because I get comments back from “readers” that ask technical questions that the normal person would not ask.

Small Business Health Insurance in the Bay Area or anywhere in CA does NOT have to cost you a fortune…it’s expensive, no doubt about it, but you can mitigate much of that cost with a relatively simple STRATEGY. That’s what we do. We help companies strategize their Employee Benefit offering so Small Business Health Insurance is not so expensive. Our mindset is more like a financial planner. If you take on that type of attitude, you’re really helping companies “finance their employees healthcare”. Hey, its usually the second most costly item for a company…many progressive companies feel it’s time for a new way of doing business. Brauer Insurance can help them with that.

Small Business Health Insurance is expensive and it’s not getting any cheaper, especially with ObamaCare on the horizon is about 9 months. If you are looking for a unique, out of the box strategy, give us a call. Like I said, if I can’t help you…I’ll tell you.

Steve Brauer-Principal/Broker….Brauer Insurance Services LLC, (408) 421-5555

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Health Reform and small companies, San Jose, Milpitas, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, CA

by on April 29, 2013

Health Reform has already affected small companies in San Jose, Santa Clara, Palo Alto and all over California. If you have under 50 employees, your “compliance” requirements are much less than the over 50 employers. If you’re concerned about Health Reform and you own a small company, your broker should have already supplied you with not only the information about ObamaCare and Health Reform for Small Businesses, but the specific compliance paperwork related to your company. The Health Reform laws are very specific. When an employee comes to the boss or the HR person and asks about the specific health plan that the company offers, by law, the employer has to have that information on hand to distribute to the employee. At Brauer Insurance, we provide employers with an ObamaCare binder that has all the pertinent paperwork tailored to that employer.

Health Reform is confusing. Very confusing. When you have a broker that does not specialize in Health Insurance and tries to become an expert at everything, you end up not being an expert at anything. There are so many types of insurance that unless you specialize, there are simply not enough hours in the day to stay current. It’s even worse with Health Reform and small companies. Health Reform is changing, literally weekly. Even with the Health Reform certification that we have, the landscape continues to change and we are constantly having to update ourselves and retool our knowledge base. Small companies in San Jose and the surrounding areas have a ton of choices when it comes to working with a broker. You can go to a “big box” broker that have 100+ agents, and become one of their thousands of clients, or you can hire an Independent agency that not only values the relationship, but SPECIALIZES in Health Reform for small and medium sized companies. Brauer Insurance is a family owned and operated, Independent, No Fee agency that helps companies to take a more progressive look at their Employee Benefit offerings. We believe in more of a “financial plan” mindset when it comes to the second most costly expense for a small company.

There ARE strategies that help bend the cost curve and mitigate much of the expense of Employee Benefit and specifically Health Insurance. Most of our clients BECAME our clients when they understood the methodology and how we’ve helped Small and Medium sized companies become wildly successful with our strategy.

Helping Small companies with Health Reform and helping those companies navigate the unsettled waters ahead is what we do….it’s ALL we do.
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Steve Brauer-Principle Broker, Brauer Insurance Services, (408) 421-5555

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Group Benefits for Start up companies, San Francisco, San Mateo, Redwood City, Burlingame, CA

by on April 24, 2013

It is very important for a Start up company in San Francisco or San Mateo or Redwood City to have some expert advice when it comes to setting up their Group Benefits. Group Benefits are NOT all created equal. Unless you have an Independent Broker that “specializes” in Health Insurance and Group Benefits, you are really short changing yourself. The services that Independent Brokers give for Start up companies are completely free…..or should be.

Having a competent and knowledgable attorney is crucial as well. Who knows who to trust…unless you have a relative or neighbor that is in the business of helping Start Up companies in San Francisco or Redwood City. I have known a bunch of “business attorneys” in my years in business, most of which are self proclaimed “experts” at Start Up businesses. My advice….check out www.bedrocksf. Leila Banijamali is a rock star when it comes to helping Start Up companies in cities around the Bay Area. She has published many papers to help companies in what to look for when they are involved in a Start Up company in San Francisco, Redwood City, San Mateo or anywhere in CA.

Leila will tell you, having good Group Benefits for a Start Up company is crucial when it comes time to recruit talent. People nowadays are almost more interested in what their benefit package consists of, over simply the wage.

Surprisingly, there are many agents and brokers out there that still tell their clients that there is nothing they can do to help them bend the cost curve of Employee Benefits and Group Health insurance for Start up companies. Folks, there IS a strategy to it. Think of it like a “financial plan” for your Employee Benefits. It’s the second most costly item for a Start Up Company, why not have a PLAN for it. At Brauer Insurance, we look at Group Benefits more like an investment….an investment that needs a strategy. Think about it like this “we will help you FINANCE the healthcare for your employees”. When you look at it in terms like that, it takes on a whole new meaning.

Steve Brauer-Principal Broker, Brauer Insurance Services (408) 421-5555

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Confused about ObamaCare, San Jose, San Francisco, Walnut Creek, CA

by on April 16, 2013

If you are an employer and confused about ObamaCare and how it will impact your If you are an employer and confused about ObamaCare and how it will impact your business, you’re not alone. Almost 80% of business owners and C-level executives are either confused or misinformed about the affects. A staggering 60% of Insurance Agents that were surveyed were either incorrect, confused, or not interested in ObamaCare, which is the largest piece of healthcare legislation in the last 50 years. All the more reason small and large employers are seeking the advice of Independent Brokers that SPECIALIZE in Health Insurance and Employee Benefits for businesses.

At Brauer Insurance, we’ve built our business on BEING the expert when it comes to Health Insurance and the confusion about ObamaCare in San Jose, San Francisco, and all around California. I learned a long time ago, you cannot be an expert at everything….there simply isn’t enough hours in the day to absorb all of the material and practice it day in, and day out, to become proficient. We decided that we would refer out all other insurance business and focus solely on Health Insurance and Employee Benefits for small and medium size companies with 2-500 employees.

This is my second career…I spent 25 years with a local police department. When I began my insurance career, I did not want to work 80 hours a week and try to be all things to all people….I picked Health Insurance and Employee Benefits for companies. I immersed myself in it, surrounded myself with people that I trusted and were very knowledgable, and became an expert in the field. I’m not good at many things…but I AM good at Obamacare, Health Insurance and Employee Benefits. Let my daughters, and my son now, help you and your company with the confusion about ObamaCare. If you are confused about ObamaCare, we are the experts and can help you with every step of the way…Oh, yeah, our services are free too!!

Steve Brauer-President, Brauer Insurance Services LLC….(408) 421-5555

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