Welcome AIACA Members

Ernstam & Lewis is your preferred AIACA employee benefits and health insurance broker.

This benefit is provided through a partnership between AIACA and Ernstam & Lewis Insurance Services.

OVERVIEW

Thank you!
We’re grateful for the opportunity to serve the more than 20,000 licensed architects and nearly 200,000 people employed in the architectural industry in California.

While you design efficient, beautiful architectural spaces, we design competitive, attractive benefits plans for AIACA members.

What we do for you
As a benefits broker, we survey multiple insurers to find the best options and prices for your workplace. Because we’re not bound to any insurer, we’re free to find the best and most cost-effective options for you.

This means:

  • You don’t have to struggle to find benefits for your employees. We do the heavy lifting.

  • Our services are free.

  • We listen, research and present options. Then you decide. No pressure.

  • A full menu of benefits are available.

  • Once you’ve selected benefits, we simplify employee enrollment, education and benefit management.

Set up a 100% free consultation to discuss employee benefits with Ernstam & Lewis Insurance Services.

Eric Lewis • eric@ernstam.com • 530.751.1212

David Ernstam • david@ernstam.com • 530.751.1212

Have a quick question?

You can also send us a message here.

What’s our process?

Think streamlined. Simplicity. Turnkey. Consider us your personal benefits service. Our process:

  • You tell us the type and scope of benefit plan you’re seeking.

  • We design a plan based on your input.

  • We search the market of employee benefits insurers to craft a competitively priced, quality plan that meets your needs.

  • Once you choose a plan, we help you get started with enrollment, education and compliance.

  • We never disappear. We’re here to answer questions, troubleshoot and help you succeed.

  • Your cost? Nothing.

Employee Benefits

Whether you’re a company of two or 1,000, Ernstam & Lewis can connect you to the benefits you need including:

  • Securing competitively priced, accessible health care has become one of California employers’ number one challenges. While we can’t shield workplaces from market forces, we can help them find the best options available.

    Ernstam & Lewis surveys the market to find competitive rates and plans for your particular needs. All plans are not created equal. And a plan that fits Employer A may not be ideal for Employer B. We gather the data, but you decide. And of course we’re here to consult all along the way.

  • Should your workplace offer dental coverage? Employers who do will find employees who are enthusiastic about this benefit. According to business surveys and insurer data:

    • Dental insurance is employees’ third-most requested benefit.

    • 87% of employers surveyed feel dental benefits are essential or a differentiator when hiring and retaining employees.

    • When dental insurance is offered by an employer, the program has high employee participation.

    Another plus: Dental insurance costs are significantly lower than that of other benefits.

  • It’s hard to think of a benefit that offers more value than life insurance. However, only about 50% of Americans are covered. Often, the only time people consider life insurance is if it’s offered at work. These circumstances work together to make it an attractive benefit.

    There are two basic approaches to life insurance: term life and whole life.

    Term life
    Term life insurance is the most budget-friendly approach for employees. It offers protection at a set rate for a fixed number of years. Term life has no cash value and only pays out upon the death of the policy holder.

    Whole life insurance
    Whole life insurance costs significantly more than term life, but has more comprehensive benefits. It offers fixed premiums, death benefits and cash value (meaning funds can be used while you’re living). Whole life also has the potential to pay dividends in addition to the policy’s payout value.

    Universal life insurance
    Universal life provides more flexibility than whole life insurance by allowing the policy owner to shift money between the insurance and savings components of the policy. Policy owners can make adjustments based on their circumstances.

  • When an injury or illness removes an employee from the workforce, the results can be devastating. While some lines of work are particularly prone to injuries, no employee is immune from cardiac disease, neurological conditions or other health issues that can cause an early end to a career.

    Although there is a disability component to Social Security, it is not designed for temporary coverage.

    Disability insurance provides a safety net. The cost, duration and payout of plans can be customized.

  • Vision insurance is a popular benefit, likely because a high percentage of adults wear prescription glasses. The cost of this product alone, multiplied across family members, can result in a significant savings per employee household.

    Another benefit is preventative health care. Eye exams can reveal potential symptoms of serious health conditions including diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease.

    Vision insurance policies are customizable and often cover eye examinations and some or all of the cost of prescription eyewear. Some policies also pay for a portion of laser surgery and other corrective procedures.

  • Cafeteria Plans are authorized in Section 125 of the IRS code. These optional plans allow employees to direct a portion of their paychecks into savings accounts for health care and child care. Income dedicated to these purposes is nontaxable. Ernstam & Lewis helps employers provide Section 125 Cafeteria Plans, administer them and comply with all federal regulations.

  • While benefits cover most medical expenses, they don’t take into account income that’s lost due to an injury or prolonged illness.

    Accident insurance and cancer insurance supplement medical coverage and meet practical financial needs when an employee needs to temporarily leave the workforce.

    • Ernstam & Lewis also offers creative benefit options for employees including:

    • Identity theft insurance

    • International travel and medical insurance

    • Legal protection services

    • Teledoc virtual medical care

Managing benefits and enrolling employees

If you’ve managed employee benefits, you know that obtaining them is only the start. Educating and enrolling employees, troubleshooting problems and complying with legal mandates are all part of the package.

That’s where we come in. Not only is Ernstam & Lewis actively engaged in securing a benefits package for you, we’re still here once you purchase it. We help you manage your benefits rollout and administration, and remain present to help you succeed. That means providing education and tools to help you:

  • Enroll employees in benefits plans.

  • Educate groups or individual employees about their benefits.

  • Understand and comply with legal mandates surrounding your benefits.

  • Finally, with your permission, we proactively seek new annual bids for employee benefits, making sure you have the best options every time you return to the market.

More on managing benefits

  • Ease helps employees enroll and manage benefits online, reducing paperwork and saving time. Employers can use Ease to view benefit descriptions and costs, the status of payroll deductions and more.

  • When employers offer benefits, state and federal laws require documentation and compliance. Not only is this challenging and time consuming, but there are penalties for noncompliance. Ernstam & Lewis provides support, guidance, and documentation for:

    • Affordable Care Act (ACA)

    • COBRA

    • HIPPA

    • ERISA, SPD and Wrap documentation that explains benefits to employees.

  • Ernstam & Lewis provides comprehensive human resources assistance through our partner, Mineral. Mineral provides a vast searchable database on human resources law. Our clients can also call licensed HR professionals for a personalized consultation.

If you’re reading this section, you’re serious about getting the most from employee benefits. Why should you entrust this process to Ernstam & Lewis? Here are a few reasons.

1. Benefits are all we do
“Sure, we do benefits!” is a common refrain from financial planners, property and liability agents and HR consultants. Employee benefits are a piece of their “all-the-above” pie. At Ernstam & Lewis, benefits are the whole pie. They’re all we do. Obtaining competitive benefits and managing them is not simple, otherwise you’d do it yourself. Benefit procurement requires immersive knowledge, industry relationships and tenacity. Which leads us to the next point …

2. We’ve been around for awhile
Ernstam & Lewis has been serving California businesses since 1983. In our four-plus decades, we’ve helped thousands of employers and individuals find the right benefits at competitive rates. Our experience = your benefit.

3. We know California
California, with 39 million people, is America’s largest state insurance market. This presents opportunities and challenges. For employers seeking benefits, the state’s size, regulatory climate and pricing can sometimes turn “California Dreamin” into California screamin’. But not for us. We know the California market, its regulations and all of its key insurers. We’re here to help you obtain the Golden State benefits that are best for your business and workers.

4. We’re focused on service, not commissions
As a broker, we charge no fees for our services. That means we consult, not sell. You’re a name, not a number. You receive the same rate whether you work with us or contact an insurer directly. Why go it alone when we can do it for you? Please consider us your personal benefits agents.

5. We sell … and stay
After you purchase a plan, we remain visible, because that’s when the real work begins. Enrolling employees? Benefits education? Compliance? Yup. We’re here to support you in all of those.

Why Ernstam & Lewis Insurance Services?

 FAQs

We know not everyone thinks about insurance all day, every day, like we do. Here are some answers to common questions about employee benefits. Questions about something else? Please contact us. We’re glad to help.

  • Yes. We can help you design and determine what you’d like to include in your employee benefits plan. Our approach is to help you create the plan that best fits your workplace. We don’t impose our ideas upon you. Instead, we start with questions that help determine your goals and identify your budget. With decades of experience helping companies create plans, we’re pleased to help AIACA members design benefit options for their workplaces.

  • When creating a plan, an employer ultimately has to choose between the ideal benefits selection and the package that will work in your particular environment. While it would be wonderful to offer every conceivable benefit to your employees, even the largest corporations are constrained by numbers. Benefits have budgets.

    So which benefits should you offer? One way to refine the scope is to survey employees. What benefits would they most like to see? Perhaps they’re interested in some products you’re not aware of? They may also be less enthusiastic about benefits you thought were essential.  Although this information alone can’t make your decision, it’s valuable as you consider options.

    Second, as we’ve mentioned, every benefits offering must live within a budget. You’ll need to have a defined cost in mind before you go shopping and choose a plan.

    Finally, every solid benefits plan includes a review. What’s working? What do employees like? Has anything been problematic?

    Ernstam & Lewis is here to help you with the A to Z of benefits acquisition and management. Let us know how we can be of service.  

  • Ernstam & Lewis is an employee benefits broker. This means we do not work for an insurance company. Instead, we are a part of your team and our job is to use our expertise to survey the market and find the plan (or combination of plans) that meet your criteria. One size never fits all. As a broker, we identify benefits that fit you.

  • Yes we do. The “alphabet soup” of regulations often proves stressful for employers to manage completely on their own. Ernstam & Lewis provides support, guidance and documentation for federal mandates including:

    Affordable Care Act (ACA)
    Federal law requires companies with more than 50 employees to file ACA compliance reports.

    COBRA
    Employers with more than 20 workers must offer COBRA and administer the plan.

    HIPPA
    Employers must comply with the privacy and reporting requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

    ERISA, SPD and Wrap documentation
    We help you comply with documentation requirements and regulations required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). We also help provide mandatory Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD) and Wrap documents that explain benefits to employees.

  • We work with dozens of industry-leading employee benefit insurers, giving us a “deep bench” of companies to solicit bids and products on your behalf. Our independence as a broker gives us complete freedom to survey the marketplace and solicit pricing and packages from as many insurers as it takes to find what you need. Some are household names, while many occupy a niche, specializing only in employer benefits. View our full list of carriers here.