Buffer Insurance

Employers, individuals and seniors each get a separate route into this independent insurance agency in Southlake, Texas, which says it serves clients across 41 states.

Benefits packages and the four to six week assessment

On the employer side the agency arranges medical cover alongside dental, vision, life, critical illness and other ancillary plans meant to protect staff and their families. Key person life insurance, benefits administration and wellness support sit in the same section. The agency promotes a free benefits assessment which, it says, produces a tailored strategy in four to six weeks. The aim is to attract and keep talent with carefully chosen benefits that appeal to a particular team, to hold spending down by using plans that cost less but carry similar value, and to educate employees so they understand what their benefits are worth. It also refers to strategies that cut an employer's tax burden within the law.

Compliance, handbooks and retirement

Buffer Insurance publishes resources on state continuation and COBRA coverage, health savings accounts and the ACA questions that finance leaders face. It also describes building an employee handbook that is easy to update when policies change, and offers retirement plans that give employees a way to save for the future. Keeping clients informed of legislative and market changes in insurance is part of the pitch.

Medicare, long-term care and life cover

For older clients the agency explains Medicare basics, how and when to apply, and how to choose between Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and prescription drug plans, including what the donut hole is. Long-term care insurance is presented as protection against the cost of assisted living, nursing homes or home health care. A life insurance section covers cash benefits paid to loved ones as an inheritance, income replacement or help with expenses, and there is a travel insurance page and a set of forms and frequently asked questions.

Personal coverage in plain English

Individuals and families are offered Medicare, ACA plans, life insurance, long-term care, dental and vision. The agency's own line is that insurance does not have to be complicated, and it describes its approach as explaining coverage in plain English so that families, teams and businesses can protect what matters to them.

Buffer Insurance is an independent insurance agency based in Southlake, Texas. It arranges group health and benefits for employers, Medicare and personal plans for individuals, and commercial insurance for businesses, working across 41 US states.

What Buffer Insurance does

• Employee benefits: group medical, dental, vision, life, critical illness and other plans, with benefits administration and wellness support.
• Benefits strategy: a review of an employer's package to attract staff, control spending and stay compliant.
• Retirement plans: savings plans for employees.
• Medicare: help choosing Medicare Advantage, supplement and prescription drug plans.
• Personal cover: ACA plans, life, long-term care, dental, vision and travel insurance.
• Commercial insurance: cover for businesses, including key person life insurance.

Clients

The agency serves employers, individuals and families, and seniors approaching or on Medicare.

Key facts

• Based in: Southlake, Texas, USA
• Coverage area: 41 US states
• Type: Independent agency