By: Duane Blankenship | Category: Financial Services | Issue: March 2009
Pictured: Angela Ritchie, owner of Creative Insurance Solutions, and Mike Bausch, owner of Andolini’s. His restaurant is one of the many small businesses Creative Insurance Solutions provides with health insurance.
As Angela Ritchie was starting her small business in 2005, she fully understood the significance of offering good health insurance benefits in order to attract and maintain a top-notch staff. “Health benefits were acutely critical, as was keeping operating expenses as low as humanly possible,” says Angela. She has built her successful company, Creative Insurance Solutions, upon these two cornerstones.
When Angela opened Creative Insurance Solutions, her goal was simple. “I wanted an agency that specialized in seeking out the absolute best benefits available for my clients, at the lowest price possible,” she says. Today’s economic times are tough for business owners, who have to constantly be on the lookout for ways to get the biggest bang for their buck; this is perhaps even truer for small business owners.
Now that 2008 has passed, businesses are beginning a new budget year. If you are a small business owner, undoubtedly you are looking for ways to stretch every dollar. Angela points out, “If you have been with the same health insurance carrier for a few years, you have probably experienced a 12 to 14 percent rate increase.” Now is an excellent time to shop health insurance offerings. Maybe you’ve experienced some additions or turnovers in your staff and would like to find out more health insurance choices. If you currently do not offer health insurance to your employees but would like to start, Angela can provide a review of what’s available and a price quote.
Andolini’s specializes in making pizza and other Italian specialty dishes from scratch. They have in the past been voted the number one pizza in the Tulsa metro area, the number one restaurant in Owasso, and the number seven restaurant in the Tulsa metro area. Owner Mike Busch says, “I was first introduced to Angela Ritchie and Creative Insurance Solutions when she was the speaker at a Chamber of Commerce event.” Mike knew he had a quality product and that one of the best ways to ensure getting and keeping a dependable staff was to offer a quality, low-cost health insurance package. “It’s a great incentive for our staff,” he says.
Keenly aware that Mike’s business works to keep overhead low, Angela has recommended a change in insurance carriers two times during the four years Andolini’s has been in business. “I know a lot about making pizza, but I admit that I don’t know much about insurance,” says Mike. “I fully trust Angela to research and recommend the best package available for me and my employees.”
Angela suggested that Mike apply for Insure Oklahoma, a program offered by the state that pays 60 percent of your business’s insurance premium if you employ fewer than 99 workers and qualify for the program. This helped Mike keep insurance expenses to a minimum, while making his employees happy with a great health package.
Creative Insurance Solutions is flexible and will work with you to make the whole insurance process simple and painless. If you are interested in finding out if your business qualifies for the Insure Oklahoma plan, Angela and her team will assist you in filing the required forms. Call (918) 272-7660 today to find out if Creative Insurance Solutions can help your business cut health insurance premiums.
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Blankenship graduated from the University of Oklahoma and has enjoyed a lifetime career in advertising. He started his own advertising business in 1993 and enjoys creating graphic art and writing. Hobbies include hunting, fishing and pencil drawings. Duane and his wife, Janice, have been married over 50 years and are active in their church and community. He has been a contributing writer for Value News/Values Magazine since 2005.
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