The benefits staff has compiled the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and answers to give U-Haul Independent Dealers and their employees ready access to the basic facts on the U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program. If you have a question that is not listed here, please call the benefits center at (888) 551-9801, or email us at contactus@dealerbenefits.org.
A: Dealers and their employees are eligible immediately upon activating their dealership, with no waiting period. Right here, on the dedicated Dealer Benefits website, you will find all the details and complete your enrollment. It’s all voluntary and portable and maintained solely for the benefit of U-Haul Dealers.
The U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program offers a full lineup of today’s top insurance products and workplace benefits selected and sponsored by the Program for U-Haul Dealers. We know one size does not fit all when it comes to insurance and benefits. So, the Program is based on Dealer requests and our annual due diligence on the benefits we believe are the best values available in Dealer locations throughout the U.S. We provide a wide selection of health and retirement benefit plans that meet our standard for quality and affordability, so you and the employees’ of your businesses — even part-time and 1099 people — can find the benefits they need.
To make it easy, the Program employs the U-Haul “do-it-yourself” philosophy to let you and your employees review your health insurance and other benefit choices on our private exchange. Each person makes their own individual/family coverage decision and enrolls themselves privately and securely online. Each person pays for their own selections, unless the Dealer business decides to help with the cost of benefits.
Our national private health insurance exchange has been operating for over a decade. Dealers tell us they much prefer using the private U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program over the public exchanges, thanks to the great help of our technology partners in keeping the process easy. Dealers can share the benefit website www.dealerbenefits.org with their employees, so no logon is required.
A: The Program is a U-Haul-style “do-it-yourself” benefit program, designed to let U.S. dealers and employees sign themselves up online, using our secure and private benefits website (you’re on it if you’re reading this). You choose your own plans.
Our popular freshbenies gives you unlimited, no copay access to physician telehealth and health advocate. 401k plans give U-Haul Dealers improved financial wellbeing and employee security. Medical, Dental, Accident, Life, Long Term Care and Medicare Supplement insurance are available all year around. Our Basic Individual Health and Short Term Medical plans, approved in most states, provide limited, affordable health solutions.
Importantly, U-Haul Dealers also have the option to set up a traditional Small Business Group plan starting on the first of any month of the year.
Individual Comprehensive Qualified Major Medical (“Obamacare”) plans with tax credits for lower income households that cover pre-existing conditions are available only during federally stipulated enrollment periods. Each year, a federal OPEN enrollment period (running November into January in most states) lets people across the country enroll for these medical plans without answering personal health questions. At other times of the year, SPECIAL enrollment periods are available and people with ‘qualifying life events’ such as COBRA, marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, graduation from college and loss of school health coverage, loss of coverage through an employer, or a ‘hardship exemption’ such as home foreclosure can also enroll. When you enroll using the U-Haul Dealer Benefits private exchange, we guide you through these questions.
Simply visit the Health Benefits//Insurance section of the dealer benefits website. Call the Benefit Department at (888) 551-9801 for assistance during business hours, or if we don’t connect right away, please leave a message with your dealer number and we’ll get back to you soon.
The U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program is a national program of Medical, Dental, Accident, Life, Disability, Long Term Care and Medicare Supplement insurance and Retirement benefits designed for dealers and their families. The program also includes freshbenies, the big company no copay telehealth and health advocate benefit that pairs up with your health insurance plan, 401k plans designed for us by SaveDay with zero fees for improved employee financial wellbeing and retirement security, WellCar vehicle protection benefit, the U-Haul Federal Credit Union and Workforce Management Solutions from Ceridian.
We have done the due diligence for you. Each year the Program reviews the annual state insurance department filings of health and benefit plans and rates by the top-rated insurance companies offering plans for the current year. We give you the choice of the best value plans we find each year in each area of the U.S.
The U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program was established in the year 2000 in response to Dealer requests for help and built based on Dealer input. We continually evaluate the market for benefits and insurance services. We keep in touch so we can expand and improve the benefit choices in response to Dealer requests. Insurance benefits are highly regulated and vary by state. Not available in Canada.
A: U-Haul Dealers and employees can simply go directly to the proprietary Dealer benefits website www.dealerbenefits.org. No login ID/password is required, but use your Dealer number to self-enroll.
For health insurance, go to the section titled “Health Benefits//Insurance” and use the drop-down to select the type of coverage you want. Personal qualified comprehensive medical insurance plans that cover pre-existing conditions are only available during federally stipulated enrollment periods.
All other benefits, including personal basic and supplemental health, dental, accident, life, and long term care, as well as small business group plans, are available year around. Our convenient comparison-shopping tool is built in. Over a decade of operation, the Program’s private online exchange has proved to be safe and secure and Dealers tell us it is easy to use, thanks to our technology and web-broker partner eHealth. Many Dealers have told us they much prefer using our private exchange over the public exchanges.
Start by putting in your zip code (where you live), the dates of birth of all family members you want to cover, and your Dealer number and click the “Get Quotes” button. You’ll see our selection of the health insurance plans currently available in your area. Be sure to also look at dental, basic health and traditional small business group plans. Several choices will be shown, identifying the Program selection of top-rated carriers, benefit design details and the monthly premium.
You can even look up a doctor or hospital if you want to make sure they are in the plan you like. Be sure to click the “Details” button to review the plan you like in greater detail. Then, just click the “Apply” button for the plan you want. Your completed application goes securely and confidentially to the insurance carrier/health plan issuer you have chosen. It does not go to U-Haul. You will be asked to give your email so you can get confirmation and status updates. Confirmation of your enrollment, ID cards and policy will be sent to you by the plan you pick and they will bill you for the monthly premium. Personal private health and financial information does not go to your employer or to us at the U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program.
The process is about as easy as we can make it, without having an agent come out and fill out paperwork. Call the Dealer Benefits department with questions at 888-551-9801.
A: No. U-Haul Dealers and employees should know that you are completely free to purchase personal/family “qualified” comprehensive medical insurance (known as ACA or Obamacare “Qualified Health Plans”) OFF the public exchanges, using the U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program national private exchange, powered by our technology and web-partner eHealth. You will find our annual selection of health plans that meet both your state and federal requirements with rates and benefits approved for the upcoming year of coverage. We also assist you in checking your eligibility for Advance Premium Tax Credits from the IRS that help lower-income households get “qualified” coverage at a lower subsidized cost.
Remember, health insurance plans and rates are highly regulated by both your state and the federal government. Plans and prices are filed annually and not subject to negotiation. The cost will be the same or may sometimes be even less when you rely on our plan selection and experienced staff for guidance. If your household is eligible for a federal advance premium credit (tax subsidy), our private exchange is authorized to include it in your enrollment. Our staff is fully trained and properly licensed and appointed.
A: No. All coverage through the U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program is voluntary and portable. Each person in the dealership and the dealer’s other businesses can select the combination of insurance and benefits that is right for themselves and their families. In other words, there is no obligation to enroll for coverage under the program, but once covered, it’s portable. Dealers and employees can keep their coverage as long as they want it and pay for it, even if they should leave the dealership.
Important: Employers having fewer than 50 employees are NOT required under federal regulations to pay for health insurance for their employees. But many Dealers want get one of our small business group plans for employees and the tax advantages for the business that go with it. Get a small business group quote from us and then check with your tax advisor.
A: Yes, but only in limited “life event change” situations or Open and Special Enrollment Periods approved by federal and state regulators. Unfortunately, being unsatisfied with your current insurance or starting new employment that does not offer health coverage are NOT qualifying life events. Under the federal health reform law, your window for switching up your health insurance is restricted, so it is important to choose wisely!
Life Events — Outside of the annual OPEN enrollment, you can enroll in a qualified individual health plan that covers pre-existing conditions only if you have certain life events that qualify you for a SPECIAL 60-day enrollment period.
Counts as a Qualifying Life Event:
- Getting married
- Giving birth, adopting or placement of a child
- Permanently moving to a new area that offers different health plan choices than your previous residential area
- Losing other health coverage (for example, due to a job loss, divorce, dropping off a parent plan at age 26, loss of eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP, a COBRA election or expiration of COBRA coverage, or a health plan being decertified)
- COVID Health Emergency “Unwiding” – A “Special Enrollment” is available if you or a family member loses coverage under Medicaid or Childrens Health due to newly restrictive federal/state eligibility rules taking effect April 1, 2023. Starting April 1, 2023, as the COVID public health emergency ends, thousands of consumers are becoming eligible to enroll in their own “qualified” individual/family health plan as states begin terminating government-paid Medicaid and Childrens Health coverage of those who are no longer eligible.
Does Not Count as a Qualifying Life Event:
- Voluntarily stopping other health coverage
- Having coverage terminated for not paying your premiums
- Starting a new job that does not provide employer-paid health coverage
- Losing coverage that does not qualify as minimum essential coverage, such as short term medical
- Finding out your health care provider is not covered through your insurance plan
If you qualify, your SPECIAL enrollment period lasts 60 days from the date of the qualifying life event. Your qualifying life event must be verified electronically or through documentation you submit on the exchange. Final determination and confirmation of your SPECIAL enrollment period will be provided after you submit documentation supporting any qualifying event(s).
Year-Round — The following people may enroll on the U-Haul Dealer Benefit Program’s private exchange for health coverage year-round:
A: Only the most expensive health insurance plans provide “first-dollar” coverage and DO NOT have a deductible. Look at it this way: If the deductible is zero, that means you are asking the health insurance company to pay ALL claims you incur with your health care providers each year. Such a plan would come at a very high monthly premium cost. That may be fine if someone else, like a large employer, union or government entity, is paying the lion’s share of the premium. However, most individuals and small businesses can not afford complete first-dollar coverage.
A deductible is a dollar amount of health care charges stated in the plan design that you pay out of pocket (or self-insure) each year, BEFORE the insurance company starts paying health care providers for your claims. A deductible gives you some control over the monthly premium charged by the health insurance company. If you select an annual deductible amount of $1000, for example, that means you are telling the health insurance company to lower its premium cost that you must pay every month, because you will be paying for claims out of your pocket up to $1000 for the year. But you still get the benefit of having the insurance company process any claim amounts you may have under your deductible based on the carrier’s discounted contract prices to your health care providers, instead of paying providers high retail charges for uninsured people. Most importantly, you have health insurance in place for the major claims that could happen.
So when selecting the right medical plan, it is important to compare the trade-off between the monthly premium you pay to the insurance company, regardless of whether or not you have any claims, and your deductible and the plan limits on your annual out-of-pocket costs if you do have claims during the year.
Each year, health plans continue to change and carriers must re-file their plans to meet state and federal requirements, including premium rates, county by county. Our national private exchange identifies the top-rated carriers in each state and what we believe are their highest value plans. Under federal rules, premium costs for Qualified Comprehensive Major Medical plans vary by your age, your residence location, how many family members are covered, tobacco use, the insurance carrier and the plan design (“metal tier” governing your out-of-pocket costs: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum), but not health status.
Federal rules for Qualified individual medical insurance plans require coverage of most preventive care, free with no deductible. For example, there are many preventive-care services provided specifically for women under the law. The editors of Health list them as including mammograms, cervical cancer screenings and well-woman visits. Other covered preventive care services include blood pressure, diabetes, depression and cholesterol screenings for adults, and vaccines and well visits for children. You pay nothing for these services – no deductible, copay or coinsurance. Knowing preventive care is covered outside your plan’s deductible makes it much more acceptable to select a plan with a higher deductible to get your monthly premium cost down.
The smart budgeting strategy is to build up a savings account equal to your deductible, so you can draw on it if needed. That is why the Federal government in 2004 put tax incentives in place for you if you set up a Health Savings Account (HSA) plan (a bank account) that coordinates with a medical insurance plan that meets IRS guidelines for the plan’s annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. HSA deposits are dollars you pay to yourself, not to the insurance company. The deposits you make into your own HSA savings account at your bank are tax-deductible (IRS publishes limits each year). Even better, your unused HSA deposits roll over each year, ready to be used in the future as needed, all the way into retirement.
The U-Haul Dealer Benefit Program’s comparison-shopping tool makes it easy find out in hard dollars how controlling the amount of your deductible will impact the monthly premium you pay for health insurance. And we offer HSA health plans where they are approved by state insurance authorities.
A: Unfortunately, at this time, health, dental, accident, life insurance and other benefits are only available in the U.S. The Program periodically researches benefit plans in Canada but to date we have been unsuccessful in finding plans that would fit our U-Haul-style “Do-It-Yourself” program requirements and provide substantial pricing benefits for Canadian dealerships.