Pub. 4 2014 Issue 1

8 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com Dealership Insurance: Will you be Pro-Active or Re-Active in 2014? T he Illinois Insurance Landscape in 2014 is changing dramatically. Whether it is Group Health Insur- ance, Business Insurance (Espe- cially Floor Plan Insurance) or Workers Compensation Insurance expect significant changes to your current pro- grams, especially if you are not Pro-Active in seeking alternative solutions to those programs. Group Health Insurance Of the many substantive employer compliance provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that take effect in 2014, HR and Payroll departments may find that the most immediate impact will be in determining which employees qualify as “full-time employees” under the law. The Employer Shared Responsibility assessment to the IRS was delayed for the 2014 plan year and will be effective start- ing January, 2015. Large employers are encouraged to offer affordable health cov- erage that provides minimum value to all full-time workers. Under section 4980H of the ACA, beginning in 2014 large employ- ers must track each employee’s monthly employment status. The ACA defines full-time as an average of 30 or more hours per week or at least 130 hours in a month. Then you also have part-time or variable hourly employment status to track. The IRS has proposed the safe harbor alterna- tive measurement process to help employ- ers track employee status by offering a de- fined stability period, measurement period and administrative periods to determine full time employee status. Now is the time to decide if your or- ganization is going to offer affordable and minimum value group health insur- ance coverage or pay the IRS penalties to sending your employees to the Exchange and possibly qualifying for a government subsidy. This is also commonly known as the “Pay or Play” decision all businesses must face now. I highly encourage your company to consult with your broker or tax advisor to learn more about the Employer Shared Responsibility IRS assessment and how it could possibly impact your 2015 bot- tom line. Business Insurance The severe storms that have taken place the last several years had insurers strate- By W. Robert Messer Managing Partner , RetinQ Consulting Group Now is the time to decide if your organization is going to offer affordable and minimum value group health insurance coverage or pay the IRS penalties to sending your employees to the Exchange and possibly qualifying for a government subsidy. This is also commonly known as the “Pay or Play” decision all businesses must face now. CONSULTANT’S CORNER