Re: Any NON auto insurance people here?

[Jimc]

This is a question about injury insurance.  The optional stuff that pays you if you are hurt, cannot work, in the hospital , kinda that lost wages insurance stuff.

My  company brought in an optional insurance plan that one of the owners son worked for the insurer ( go figure) that offers this plan.  Every year I am required to fill out a form to "op-out" of this stuff.  The agent claims IRS requires me to fill it out.

I do not like my name and numbers in a system I am not part of.  KWIM?


Any insurance folks here that can offer some truth to this or what?  Why would IRS need to know I refused this optional insurance  stuff?

This year I got a little pi$$y with the agent about this.  He also had my name as Anthony in his system , which is not my name.  I should have kept my mouth shut and let his  mistakes add up I guess.

When I still had a job, we, as employees, were asked to opt out of any portion of the company supplied(employees shared cost) each policy year, but that was a book keeping requirement to insure each employee had been advised of availability of insurance.
What is in a name, any way.
A Ford street rod is still just a Chevy.

[Rayvyn]

This is a question about injury insurance.  The optional stuff that pays you if you are hurt, cannot work, in the hospital , kinda that lost wages insurance stuff.

My  company brought in an optional insurance plan that one of the owners son worked for the insurer ( go figure) that offers this plan.  Every year I am required to fill out a form to "op-out" of this stuff.  The agent claims IRS requires me to fill it out.

I do not like my name and numbers in a system I am not part of.  KWIM?


Any insurance folks here that can offer some truth to this or what?  Why would IRS need to know I refused this optional insurance  stuff?

This year I got a little pi$$y with the agent about this.  He also had my name as Anthony in his system , which is not my name.  I should have kept my mouth shut and let his  mistakes add up I guess.

I'm guessing you were being asked to participate in a "flexible spending account" type of plan such as AFLAC.
These plans are payroll deduction before taxes. I cannot see why the IRS has to be notified if you elect not to participate. That is a personal choice.
The IRS doesn't have to be notified if you choose not to buy an IRA, so requiring you to sign an IRS notification when you opt out of a plan is Bogus. I can understand signing a waiver not to participate; because alot of companies carry these secondary providers in their health coverage, and if you don't turn it down, it's an automatic payroll deduction.

The only time the IRS gets involved is if you receive money from the insurance company (which you supplied to the account before taxes) and don't claim it as income. The company is required to file a form 55 every year for each participant, listing the amount payed back to the member.

I have participated in alot of primary and secondary health plans on a federal level over the past 24 years, but have never been told the IRS needs to be notified if I turn a plan down. That sounds like pure garbage.

I would definitely place a call to the local IRS office and speak to someone familiar with Thrift Savings Plans and Secondary Pre-Tax Health Coverage. I'll bet you get a different answer than the one the so-called "agent" gave you.

And, under the new Patriot Act, you have a right to question a company you suspect has used your SS# or other private priviledged information to see if they've used that info. to gain access to things you don't want them to see or know about, or sold your info. or gained financially from it, especially if you haven't given them permission to do so. It's covered under the freedom of information act now. As long as it contains your SS#, you have a right to see it.  

Good Luck.

[river1]

tony, try the link below it is a site that i use when i have workplace benefit questions and want unbiased (read as for my benefit not my companies) answers. most of the posters that answer questions are human resource professionals. they cover all sorts of workplace benefit areas.

http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?act=idx

later jim