TouchPoints Daws a publication of Dawson Insurance
Heritage Homes
Building Dreams As the area’s only licensed Woman-Centric homebuilder, Heritage Homes is improving lifestyles through innovative ideas and better design.
Winter 2014
Financial Se President’s Dawson Message Insurance Financial Services
President’s Message
A Wonderful Time in a Wonderful Place By Tom Dawson
’T
is the season of familiar comforts and new memories in the making…favorite dishes and savory sweets, holiday lights and beloved decorations, fun get-togethers with old friends and new friends. In so many ways, it is, as Andy Williams sang, the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a wonderful time in a wonderful place. While Fargo-Moorhead isn’t immune from nasty winter weather and harrowing wind chills from time to time, it possesses a warmth that doesn’t waver, no matter what the thermometer reads. National accolades are routinely bestowed on our community… great place to work, great place to live, city on the rise…you name it, it seems that we’ve been recognized for it. What is that “it factor” that makes our community so vibrant? Undoubtedly there are numerous things that contribute to the success of Fargo-Moorhead. I think an important one is the number of home-grown businesses in our community; they’ve laid a foundation for success and growth. Heritage Homes, featured in our Client Spotlight, is a great example. The company has grown from building a handful of homes a year to building about 75 annually. And these are no ordinary houses. They are custom homes exemplified, incredibly personalized to how a family lives and manages day-today routines, schedules, and commitments. Along with many other area quality builders, Heritage Homes is instrumental in the creation of thoughtful developments across the greater Fargo-Moorhead community. Ultimately these developments become the cornerstone of thriving neighborhoods for a city on the grow. Some of you reading this will nod knowingly when I say that Fargo “ended” at King Leo’s; West Acres was in the middle of a wheat field. Today, West Acres and the oh-if-we-could-only-bringit-back King Leo’s – which stood near the intersection of “old 81” and Interstate 94 – would be considered by most to be located in the middle of town. The list of home-grown businesses – Heritage Homes included – in the FM area goes on and on and continues to grow. And thankfully so, for they have helped create the wonderful place that we call home, a place with exceptional schools, outstanding colleges and universities, and remarkable medical facilities, a place poised for growth and continued success. We are truly blessed. From all of us at Dawson Insurance, all the best for a happy, healthy holiday season and a wonderful new year in this wonderful place! D
Private Exchange
If you are looking for new or alternative ways to offer insurance benefits and retain employees, and/or you have individuals looking to buy insurance, you may want to consider the Dawson Insurance Private Exchange. What is a Private Exchange? A Private Exchange is a multiple-carrier platform for insurance policies where individuals can shop for the best insurance solutions. It is an online marketplace with insurance choices such as health, dental, life, and supplemental, as well as non-insurance products. The Private Exchange offers shopping and comparison tools as well as decision-making assistance and ongoing support. Think of it as an Amazon.com for insurance. Benefits for Individuals •• Private Exchange sites will give individuals the opportunity to get quotes, information, or purchase immediately. •• Optional outbound phone calls can help ensure that every individual has the chance to talk with an insurance expert. •• Experts will help everyone find a plan regardless of their pre-existing conditions or their budget. •• Personal health plans – all the major carriers, guaranteed issue. •• Limited benefit plans – low-cost options, guaranteed issue. •• Plans they can take with them regardless of their job situation.
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TouchPoints • Winter 2014
Services FinancDaws Benefits for Employees Defined Contribution plans allow employers to set their benefits budget while still offering employees choices that fit their needs regarding health, dental, disability, and other benefit options. Employers enjoy the ability to fully budget their benefits package and employees enjoy the freedom to choose the coverages and carriers that make sense for them. This model of Defined Contribution planning helps stream line the benefits, human resources, and payroll processes and shifts the burden away from the human resource department in explaining and enrolling employees in their benefits plan.
How Does it Help Me With Health Care Reform? The Affordable Care Act has caused major changes in how employers handle their benefits packages to attract and retain employees. While there are no “one size fits all” models, Dawson Insurance can help you decide what the best path is for your business. By looking at a Defined Contribution solution, employers can continue to provide affordable, flexible coverage. Additionally, employers:
Assoc Dawson Associates SALES STAFF
Todd Anderson, CPCU, CIC Dan Armbrust, CIC, CPIA, CPCU, CRIS Penny Crowder, CISR, CIC Tom Dawson, CPCU, CIC Zack Dawson, CIC Ryan Hoffman, CPCU, AIC, ARM Mark Julik, CIC, CRIS Jay Kleingartner, CIC Wayne Lauwers, CIC Jim Nyhof Matt Peterson, CIC Roger Peterson, CIC Natalie Schultz, CPCU, AIC Steve Winter, CIC Ben Zietz
ADMINISTRATION Mary Bjerke, CPCU Jaclyn Hanson Steve Miller, CPA Maria Reinhiller Angie Wohl
CUSTOMER SUPPORT BONDS
Becky Hecker Bridget Helm
CLAIMS
Jill Graveline Kathy Richard
COMMERCIAL LINES
•• Powerful self-service tools, reports, and management functions.
Joni Alfson, CIC, CPCU Kevin Bruggeman, CPCU Donna Christlieb, AU, CIC Jennifer Davis, CISR Alex Dawson Holly Fitch, CISR Cindy Fleming Joan Hagen, CISR Deb Johnsen, AU Stacy Kemerling Lesley Koehler Jen Kopel, CISR, CIC Melissa Krystosek, CIC Karen Lundberg Pam Rudolf Kelsey Stevens Matthew Weis
•• Timely and consistent compliance support.
Evonne Johnson, INS
•• Reduce income tax liability just as employers do with other qualified benefits. •• Provide expanded insurance and benefit choices to employees, coordinated with health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs). How Does It Work? We provide an online marketplace of insurance products from which individuals choose. Employers set the amount to contribute to the employee’s spending account. Employees then access a simple, online enrollment site to shop for an insurance plan that meets their needs. Employees get the added tax benefit of contributing additional pre-tax funds either for insurance premiums or current/future out-of-pocket costs. Key benefits include: •• Flexible configuration to determine contribution amounts per type of employee.
•• Integration with FSAs and HSAs. •• Easy access anytime, anywhere via mobile, debit/credit card, or online portal. To learn more, call us today at 1-800-220-4514. D
FINANCIAL SERVICES PERSONAL LINES
Kendra Ahlquist Connie Bertram Grant Ellis Stacey Frolek, CISR Christina Maynard Raeanna McCollum Crystal Rosen
800.220.4514 • DawsonIns.com
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Client Spotlight Clien Client Spotlight
Building a Legacy of Quality
Heritage Homes Embodies “Your Home. Your Heritage.” Heritage Homes Dawson Client Since: 1998 Founded: 1998 Website: www.heritagefargo.com Location: Fargo, North Dakota Number of employees: 27 Heritage Homes, the area’s exclusive Woman-Centric homebuilder, builds homes throughout Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota, Moorhead, Minnesota, and the surrounding communities. The company builds about 75 homes a year.
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TouchPoints • Winter 2014
Founded in 1998, Heritage Homes set out to create a reputation for quality, distinctiveness, and service. As it celebrates its 15th anniversary, the company has achieved its goal – and continues building on its legacy every day. Innovative ideas like WomanCentric Design and Right Way Home™ are the cornerstones of Heritage Homes.
“B
eing able to deliver a home with the brightest, most innovative ideas is a result of a great team and working with very responsible and progressive partners,” says Tyrone Leslie, president of Heritage Homes. Deliver indeed: The company built three homes its inaugural year; today it
nt Spotlight Client Sp “Being able to deliver a home with the brightest, most innovative ideas is a result of a great team and working with very responsible and progressive partners.” – Tyrone Leslie builds about 75 homes each year and is nearing 700 total. One thing that differentiates Heritage Homes from others is its approach to the homebuilding process. As the area’s only licensed Woman-Centric homebuilder, Heritage Homes designs everything within a home from the woman’s perspective and how she and her family actually live in their home. “Nine times out of 10, women manage the home,” says Tyrone. “As a Woman-Centric builder, we manage her needs and anticipate them in our design process. Our approach actually makes the homebuilding process easier for men.” The Woman-Centric approach focuses on four main components: storage and organization, entertaining preferences, flexible living, and de-stressing. The result of such an approach, Tyrone says, is that the home is built to accommodate a family’s lifestyle versus changing their lifestyle to accommodate the house plan. “Understanding the subtleties of a woman’s needs as related to her home is immensely important,” says Tyrone. “It makes all the difference, and when you can do that, you’ve got something good happening.” The “something good” at Heritage Homes also includes an unwavering commitment to making the homebuilding process an enjoyable and stress-free journey. To that end, the company has created the Right Way Home seven-step process. “Building a home is a very exciting time,” Tyrone says. “On the backside, it can be very frustrating to the homeowners if there are hidden costs. We pride ourselves on having no hidden-cost surprises for our customers.” Heritage Homes strives to give its customers the most enjoyable and most effective homebuilding journey through the most innovative ideas. Ultimately this gives customers the most livable home they can buy for their money. The passion for homebuilding permeates throughout the Heritage Homes team. “Everyone on our staff understands every aspect of the homebuilding process,” says Tyrone. “They truly understand and appreciate how remarkable it is to be able to positively impact people’s lives on a daily basis. We are very blessed to have our team.” D
Giving Back
Heritage Homes was chosen by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to build homes in Minot, North Dakota, Moorhead, Minnesota, and New Orleans, Louisiana and has been involved in three additional Extreme Makeover: Home Edition projects. The company also took the lead in “100 Days”, a project that transformed a deteriorated facility into a place nine young people call “home.” These teenagers and young adults – all clients of Access of the Red River Valley – have emotional, physical, and developmental disabilities. Additionally, a big part of the philosophy of Heritage Homes is to give back to the community throughout the year. The company gives its time, talent, and resources to a number of organizations and activities, including: Access of the Red River Valley, Sunshine Kids Foundation, HOPE, Inc., the Essentia Health Festival of Trees, Herdina Academy, the Salvation Army Annual Red Kettle Campaign, the Sanford Heart Gala, and many more. “We are incredibly blessed, and we believe in giving back,” says Tyrone. D
800.220.4514 • DawsonIns.com
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Extra Mile Extra Mile E Extra Mile
TOTAL FUNDS RAISED
Making an
Impact U
nited Way of Cass-Clay is committed to inspiring community-wide collaboration by providing the greatest return on investment in addressing the needs of the greater Fargo-Moorhead community. The organization holds an annual fund raising campaign every fall and relies on volunteers to carry out campaign efforts in the workplace. Melissa Krystosek, account manager at Dawson Insurance, leads the effort for Melissa Krystosek the Dawson team. To set the tone for an exceptional campaign, Melissa – who has served as campaign coordinator the last five of her six and a half years at Dawson – held a kickoff meeting for the entire Dawson staff at the start of the company’s two-week campaign. Her “Impact of Your Giving” presentation enabled employees to quickly and easily see how their donation would make a difference. Excerpts from the presentation included: •• $2 per paycheck ($52/year) – Provide 35 meals for a person who would otherwise go hungry •• $5 per paycheck ($130/year) – Provide 11 people who are experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter
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TouchPoints • Winter 2014
•• $10 per paycheck ($260/year) – Put 114 age-appropriate books per month into the hands of children. •• The Dawson goal of $50,000 – 33,333 meals, or emergency shelter for 4,160, or 21,930 books for children “It’s so important to have a good, solid kick-off,” says Melissa. “In addition to stats, we have an ‘impact speaker’ from one of United Way’s member agencies join us. We try to get someone from a lesser-known organization as it really opens people’s eyes to all the various ways United Way helps our community.” Special events are always a fun component of the Dawson campaign, and this year was no exception. Plus, they were profitable: $4,304 was raised, which is about $2,000 more than special events netted last year. New this year was the VIP badge. Dawson employees were able to purchase the badge for $50 at the beginning of the campaign. With the badge – which could be pinned to a shirt or jacket – employees didn’t need to pay daily for special events such as a bean bag tournament, catered lunch, and so on. Also new this year – and incredibly well-received – was a scavenger hunt. The hunt consisted
$52,453 PARTICIPATION
100% LEADERS IN GIVING
$600 or more
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of identifying items in the office from extreme close-up photos (for example, an extreme close-up of a small section of a piece of office artwork). “Our events get people up and out of their desks and moving around, which is part of what makes them so fun,” says Melissa. Melissa is quick to thank her committee members, Evonne Johnson, Crystal Rosen, and Mary Bjerke, for their help and commitment throughout the campaign. “It’s an intense two weeks, and it’s truly a team effort,” she says. “I couldn’t do it without Evonne, Crystal, and Mary.” Melissa notes that Jaclyn Hanson and Steve Miller provide important additional support. Dawson’s United Way campaign has grown from less than $30,000 five years ago to more than $50,000, and that, Melissa says, is because of the Dawson team itself. “The people that I work with are so phenomenal,” she says. “The thing that sets our company apart from others is the support we have from our leadership team. Having that example that everyone sees is a big boost, and having that kind of support from management is critical for success.” Thousands of people in our community will benefit from the funds raised in the Dawson campaign. Thank you, Melissa, for leading the charge! D
Client Safety Client New Em Sa Client Safety
New Employee
Introducing
Medcor Triage
D
awson Insurance has partnered with Medcor® to provide their clients with telephonic triage services. This service will enable Dawson’s clients to effectively reduce workers’ compensation costs while providing their clients’ employees with access to medical guidance immediately after an injury occurs. Medcor’s call center is staffed by experienced registered nurses who are specially trained in workplace injury triage. They use proprietary triage algorithms developed by Medcor’s team of doctors and nurses who are extremely knowledgeable about occupational health and emergency medicine. Medcor’s clinical algorithms are designed specifically for workplace injuries, updated regularly, and monitored by a continuous quality-improvement process. The operation is overseen by a fulltime physician who is residency trained and board certified in both emergency and internal medicine. In addition to multiple U.S. and foreign patents on this service, Medcor Triage has been accredited by URAC (formerly known as Utilization Review Accreditation Commission) for more than six years. How Medcor Triage Works The triage nurse first speaks with the supervisor (if available) and the injured employee. If a foreign language interpreter is needed, a translator joins the call. The nurse gathers information about the incident, injury, symptoms, and the worksite. Using sophisticated software, the nurse assesses the injury. The nurse then recommends a treatment that is medically appropriate for the specific case. If the injury is minor and does not require offsite care, the nurse provides injury-specific first aid instructions, and the employee may return to work. When the employee needs off-site care, the nurse makes an in-network referral recommendation. The nurse takes time to answer the employee’s questions and make sure the employee is comfortable with the recommendations. Once the appropriate medical care is determined, the nurse collects clientcustomized data to document the incident and closes the call with the supervisor, explaining the recommended treatment
New Employee Cindy Fleming Commercial Lines Account Manager
and next steps. Employees can call back anytime their symptoms change or if they have additional questions about their injuries. After each call, Medcor’s software automatically sends detailed reports, with customized distribution for each company. Within minutes, all incidents are reported to safety, HR, claims, and risk management staff as directed by the client. Case managers learn about new claims in time to be proactive, safety managers are alerted to start investigations, and first reports of injury can be generated for all 50 states. The benefits from Medcor’s Triage are numerous, including: •• Unnecessary doctor visits are avoided, reducing unnecessary claims. •• Supervisors are freed from making medical decisions, but stay involved.
Prior to joining the Dawson team in mid-September, Cindy worked for several years at First International Insurance as well as for Applied Systems. She was drawn to Dawson because of the agency’s reputation for its high level of professionalism. In her day-to-day responsibilities of providing commercial lines service and support to customers, insurance companies, and her co-workers, Cindy says the best part of her job is learning new things while helping to meet customers’ needs. As for what sets Dawson apart from other agencies, Cindy says it’s the agency’s commitment to not only its customers, but also its community. Cindy lives in north Fargo. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, sewing, traveling, and enjoying time with family and friends. D
•• Liability for triage decisions transfers from the employer to Medcor. •• Employers receive notice of injuries within minutes. •• Calls are recorded for case documentation, quality assurance, and fraud deterrence and defense. •• Incident and injury data is available over a secure website for risk and safety analysis. •• Medcor’s triage software, Afkam™ 6.0, is the most reliable, advanced, and flexible system in use. To learn more, contact Dawson Insurance today at 800-220-4514. D
Dawson 24/7 Online Access
Your insurance information is always available so you can: •• Obtain Certificates of Insurance. •• Print auto ID cards. •• Notify Dawson of a claim or loss. •• View your policy information. •• Make change requests such as address or adding vehicles/ drivers. Keep in mind, coverages are not bound until you receive confirmation from our office.
800.220.4514 • DawsonIns.com
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Unique Adv Your Unique Advantage
Dawson Insurance is proud to be a locally-owned, independent agency that provides a full line of property and casualty coverage, as well as life and health benefits, surety and financial services for individuals and businesses. For more than 96 years, we have been working hard to ensure our customers always come first, both in the services we offer and the protection we provide. Thank you for your business. Dawson Insurance 721 1st Avenue North PO Box 1958 Fargo, ND 58107
701-237-3311 800-220-4514 701-232-4442 (fax)
24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week claims@dawsonins.com info@dawsonins.com
Claims Corner Be Prepared…
A
n estimated 240,500 one- and two-family residential building fires are reported to U.S. fire departments each year and cause an estimated 2,050 deaths, 8,350 injuries, and $5.8 billion in property loss. The most common time of year for residential fires is December-March; cooking being the leading cause. Fire deaths in one- and two-family dwellings account for far more deaths in most years than all natural disasters combined. The real tragedy is that most of these fires are preventable! Be prepared: Ensure there are smoke detectors in every room of your home – including the basement and attic areas – and test them frequently. Create a fire escape plan that everyone in your home understands, and hold a fire drill. And remember: •• When using a space heater, leave a three-foot space around the heater clear of any other item.
Pay Your Home And Auto Bills Online
•• Don’t put electrical cords where they can be damaged or pinched by furniture, under rugs, or across doorways.
CHECK US OUT AT dawsonins.com
•• Do not link more than three holiday light strings together.
TouchPoints content is for illustration and informational purposes only. Dawson Insurance relies on the accuracy of information provided to us in developing this newsletter. For premium quotes, specific coverage options and other products and services, please contact us.
•• Do not put wrapping paper in the fireplace. It can create a very large fire, throwing off dangerous sparks and embers that can result in a chimney fire. D Source: FEMA Topical Fire Report Series
721 1st Avenue North PO Box 1958 Fargo, ND 58107
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