GGAHU Cruise Interrupted by Fire on Board
All were safe, but surprised
Thanks to CAHIP (CAHU) President-Elect Sue Wakamoto-Lee and attendee Alexander Gredysa of Justworks.com for pictures and details.
On a beautiful sunny day — Thursday, May 12 — the San Francisco Spirit set sail on the bay for the National Association of Health Underwriters California Golden Gate (GGAHU) Chapter Annual Symposium. We were excited to finally be in-person for, “Anchor Your Business,” especially because it was taking place on a Hornblower yacht cruising San Francisco Bay. A collective of 60 health insurance agents, brokers, general consultants and benefit professionals were joined by 10 sponsoring exhibitors.
The weather cooperated, but unfortunately, the yacht didn’t. A small fire broke out below deck just 45 minutes into the cruise, during the delicious lunch, and just before the keynote from NAHU’s President Eugene Starks.
Everyone quickly moved to an upper deck and donned lifejackets to prepare for evacuation to another boat. Fortunately, the captain was able to start the engines and get us to Sausalito, on the north side of the bay. The San Francisco Bay Fire Department as well as Coast Guard was swiftly on the scene to escort our distressed vessel.
Throughout the whole incident, everyone kept their cool and handled the situation with calm and good humor. About an hour after we disembarked, twe were ferried back to San Francisco. Boy, were we happy to be back on land unharmed and to have enjoyed a beautiful day on the bay — even though it ended abruptly! We were in good spirits as we tackled the unexpected. Not quite the event we had planned, but it was definitely memorable!
Ahoy! Glad y’all made it back unscathed to continue to ‘Anchor Your Business’!
MENTAL HEALTH
Want to Form a New Habit Habit Habit?
How long will it take? According to WebMD.com, forming a new habit is less about the amount of time it takes, and more about repetition. How to? Start small … Think of the smallest possible thing you can do toward your habit, and master it. Make it impossible not to do. Expect it to take about 66 days or less if you repeat it more. Make it enjoyable, pin it to an existing habit, use your environment and practice self acceptance. Try it! Full story.
Mental Wellness On the Go
Employees aren’t just looking for digital solutions to help them successfully work from home, but to help them heal from home, too.
“The pandemic spurred an increased focus on the ongoing mental health crisis with demand for health and fitness apps increasing by 25% compared to 2019,” says Lexi Sydow, head of insights, digital insights platform data.ai. “As employees return to the office, mobile enables consumers to practice meditation no matter their location.”
In the U.S., the top three most-used mental health apps throughout the pandemic were Calm, Headspace and Reflecthttps://reflectly.apply, according to data.ai. Combined, the three apps reached 12.53 million downloads across iOS and Google Play in the first six months of 2020 alone.
I’m intrigued by Paired. See what sparks your curiousity on the Top 10 list.
Be Careful: Insurers restrictive mental health benefits may be breaking the law
Restrictive interpretation of mental health coverage is technically against federal law — namely, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which requires that access to mental health and substance use disorder services is comparable with access to medical and surgical services.
The law is intended to stop plans from choosing to cover only some types of mental health and substance abuse treatments if the same plan covered comparable medical and surgical treatments. Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, chief medical officer at American Addiction Centers notes that the parity act required health plans and insurers to have comparable treatment across categories like emergency care, prescription drugs, in-network and out-of-network care and residential treatment, as well as comparable co-pays, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums and reimbursements rates. Read more.
FINANCE
Health is Wealth: Purchasing Power Report Shows Financial Well-Being Benefits Pay Off
As employee health, morale and productivity fall as financial stress rises post-pandemic, Purchasing Power’s report shows employers can help workers get out of the red.
Regardless of household income or age of an employee, financial struggles don’t discriminate these days. Americans nationwide are finding themselves in deep financial and emotional trouble. As we transition from pandemic to endemic, consumers face dire financial stress, exacerbated by unpredictable inflation. Many are unable to cover monthly bills and are encountering extreme dissatisfaction in the workplace due to money troubles. And don’t forget soaring gas prices!
Bottom line, says Purchasing Power’s research: Employers who implement a spectrum of financial well-being benefits will gain from increased employee performance and retention.
According to “The State of Employee Finances: 2022, A Purchasing Power® Report,” over the past year, 54% of full-time employees struggled to cover monthly living expenses. The results of this second annual survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power reflect how financial pressures have increased for most full-time employees.
Trey Loughran, CEO, Purchasing Power, notes, `“The State of Employee Finances: 2022, A Purchasing Power® Report,” provides us with a clear indicator of what employees’ financial situation and financial stress levels are today, and where we can expect them to be in a year from now. The survey also shows that employers who implement a spectrum of financial well-being benefits will gain from increased employee performance and retention.”
GOOD WORKS
Life Insurers to Fund Affordable Housing
The American Council of Life Insurers recently announced a pledge to help more minorities and people of color get affordable homes though a nonprofit investment partnership: Economic Empowerment & Racial Equity Initiative.
The Scoop: If the new partnership succeeds, U.S. life insurers could end up investing less money in low-yielding financing for high-cost housing, often in waterfront locations that are vulnerable to flooding and windstorms, and more in affordable housing.
3 Pillars to Create Ethical Workplaces
By modeling integrity, leaders inspire an ethical culture. Talking about ethics and enforcing consequences is another pillar — but more than talk, equipping employees to report violations is critical. Most companies don’t, according to Gallup research. It’s most effective when employees “learn the why and the how of the rules in context, can debate and define acceptable behaviors, and can get some practice reporting potential issues,” write Marco Nink and Jennifer Robison of Gallup. Full Story:Gallup
EVENTS
- Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) Inclusion in Insurance Forum “Advancing Ideas into Action.” In person: New York, June 9 • Los Angeles, June 16 • Chicago, June 20 • Dallas, June 22. In person. Registration info here.
- National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) 2022 Annuity Leadership Forum, in person, June 13-14, Washington, DC. Info here.
- OnRamp Insurance Conference: the leading conference for insurance innovation, in person, June 15, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Info here.
- National African-American Insurance Association (NAAIA) Juneteenth Event, in person: June 16, various U.S. venues. Info here.
- NAHU 2022 Annual Convention: The Power of Story, in person: June 25-28, Austin, Texas. Info here.
- IEAHU, OCAHU & SDAHU Senior Summit, Aug 23-25, in person, Pechanga resort, Temecula, Calif. Register here.