Frequently Asked Questions What do you believe differentiates your firm from the competition? Model’s philosophy is “Planning for the Future Health of Your Company”. This philosophy takes shape in our approach to identifying and managing the physical health of your employees to managing the fiscal health of your company through claims and absenteeism. As many of our competitors focus on administration, Model protects your most valuable asset, your employees for the long term. Additionally, Model Consulting utilizes a Strategic Partnership Profile to develop long term strategies that enable us to provide creative solutions best suited to our client’s corporate culture. How long has your firm been in business? Model Consulting has been recognized repeatedly as one of Philadelphia's fastest growing privately held companies since our inception in 1990. Is your firm publicly held or private? The company is privately held. Neil J. Model is founding principal and owner. How large is your firm? Model Consulting, Inc. currently employs thirty full-time benefits professionals and support staff. What is your firm's client profile? The profile of our clients is typically companies with 50 – 1,000 employees. Their approach is more strategic in nature and they place a high value on “high touch” service. What percentage of your clients has multiple states/locations? More than one-third of our clients have multiple locations. Some of these accounts have multiple locations within the Philadelphia tri-state area. Similarly many of these accounts have employees in multiple states requiring a regional approach to the design and implementation of an overall benefits program. Explain what methodology and processes your firm uses to ensure client expectations are met. Working together with our clients, we create a “Strategic Benefit Plan Action Timetable” which includes scheduled planning meetings to monitor the set objectives, priorities and timelines for the renewal and plan management process. This tool also enables us to proactively manage any budgetary, service related, Human Resource compliance and legal updates. Describe on-going training you offer your clients, if any. We describe ourselves as the eyes and ears of our clients with respect to all relevant public and client specific developments in the benefits industry. We regularly communicate via seminars/webinars, weekly and monthly newsletters, and legislative and regulatory assistance. Client Seminars Model Consulting has conducted free employer seminars on various topics. Our seminars have been held at centralized locations in the tri-state Philadelphia metropolitan area. We realize our clients are juggling multiple priorities, so we target current topics that are relevant to their day to day activities. We have found that webinars are an extremely useful tool to communicate time-sensitive information. Webinars allow our clients to save time and valuable resources. Examples of presented topics include FMLA and COBRA as well as cutting-edge benefits related topics such as Wellness Initiatives. Newsletters Model Consulting believes in effectively communicating with our clients…and communicating often. Model issues 2 different electronically based newsletters. The “Week in Review” is a weekly newsletter that focuses on time sensitive information pertaining to insurance provider releases, Model Consulting announcements, and urgent benefits related issues. The “Monthly Newsletter” focuses on timely compliance and regulatory topics as well as insightful benefit related articles. Legislative and Regulatory Assistance One of the most important resources available to Model Consulting and our clients is our in-house benefits attorney who handles various questions and concerns on behalf of our clients. This specialized advice is often supplemented by our subscriptions to various expert resources. Basic services and research are regularly handled at no cost to our clients. Examples of this service include unique employee situations requiring interpretation of COBRA, HIPAA, IRC Section 125, and ERISA. With an ever-changing benefits industry and a dynamic legislative climate, our clients value this integral component of our consulting services. Do you have an internal tracking system that monitors problem resolution and average response time? Model has created a unique system that captures detailed information on every account on-line to ensure that all members of the service team have access to the most current information. Model's client database is used as a record for important account information including, but not limited to: direct client contact information plan policy numbers renewal data employee questions current and terminated carrier daily service activity detailed summaries of any other ongoing issues Model's database helps us to improve overall service and efficiency. Management reviews the daily account information on a regular basis to monitor all service issues. What insurance companies do you work with? The strength of our relationships with many insurance carriers is one of our strongest attributes. For example, Model Consulting is among the top producers for Aetna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, MetLife, Prudential, and The Hartford. We have achieved a position of trust with the carriers through a deep commitment to integrity, honesty and full disclosure. We continually demonstrate our influence in the marketplace during annual renewal negotiations, which results in substantial direct savings for our clients. Our superior working relationships with quality carriers also results in excellent customer service for our clients because we are able to resolve issues expeditiously. What are the basic steps or the timeline that you follow when bringing on a new client? The basic steps for the initial introduction of a new client are generally outlined as follows: Broker of Record letter executed Initial meeting to discuss strategy and objectives (Strategic Partnership Profile) Model to collect and review all data including census, plan details, rates, SPDs and contracts Request all renewal information, and review upon availability. Negotiate rates and discuss alternatives with inforce carriers Discuss and confirm marketing strategy for various benefit plans Create RFPs and conduct comprehensive market analysis for the plans mutually agreed upon with client Review proposals and finalize all rate negotiations and write comprehensive report including all cost analyses, projections and recommendations Meet to review recommendations and findings Client to make final determination of any changes Model Account Team will begin process for implementation including notification to carriers of final decisions Open enrollment meetings scheduled, coordinated and conducted Follow up and due diligence to ensure smooth transition of all employee enrollment materials and delivery of ID cards What information do you need from an employer who decides to utilize your firm? First, we would like to gain a full appreciation of our client's business. This valuable insight will facilitate our ability to provide the best advice and service suited to specific needs. The completion of our Strategic Partnership Profile process enables us to truly understand you, your business, and your objectives. The following is a standard list of required data that we would customize for each employer. Group Profile: Address of all locations and subsidiaries, and SIC code of employer group. Name and phone number of the servicing account representative for each inforce carrier. Broker of Record letter Renewal dates for all policies. Payable rate history (current and prior year). Renewal rates, if available. Copies of all current billing statements. All stop loss and administrative fees for self-insured medical plans, including stop loss levels, and contract basis (12/12, 12/15, etc). Available paid claims and premium reports, including average number of covered lives (past 3 years for health and 5 years for life insurance). Covered volumes for all life and disability plans. Catastrophic claim listing for the past 3 years as well as year to date if available. A complete listing of all plan design changes during the periods for which claim experience is provided. Employee payroll contributions (indicate whether weekly, bi-weekly or monthly). Plan Booklets or summaries for all current plans. Plan eligibility description, including dependent limiting age, and eligibility waiting period. Open disability and waiver claim information (including date of disability, age of claimant, diagnosis and prognosis) Complete census, including: I.D./Name Gender Date of Birth or Age Home zip code and state Family or Dependent status Plan option elected (if more than one choice is available) Date of Hire (optional) Salary (required for disability and dental) Life insurance amount (basic and voluntary) Job description/title/occupation Identify any other separate eligible classes of employees such as executives, hourly, etc. Full-time/Part-time indicator (if necessary)

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