"In 20 years no other health insurance broker has provided such fine service"

This year marks my 20th year in business. Therefore as a small business owner I know a little something about health benefits and the merits of a good broker. In short, the reason I was taken with Dan is that in 20 years no other health insurance broker has provided such fine service. And I will define that for you. His presentation of each year's cost proposal is comprehensive, lucid, and addresses the variables that seem to make the most sense for my company. This presentation of costs, services, differences, etc. is the best I have seen. In addition, he promised to be there whenever there was a service issue and this has proven to be true. When an issue arises, Dan's company intercedes on ESA's behalf. This means that me and my employees do not have to waste our time on the phone with the insurance company. Interestingly, I had a claim denied this year due to an error by Blue Cross. The issue was rectified without my involvement.

Stephen E. Fauer, President
Environmental Strategies & Applications, Inc.
www.askesa.com

"We think he belongs to us!"

Just wanted you to know that you might think of Jeff Ingalls as one of your employees - but we think he belongs to us - he is so very helpful - always gets back to us in a very short time - solves all our problems and knows all our names - he could not be any better!

Annie Gorycki
All Souls Church Administrator

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Needless to say we are very impressed with Jeff Ingalls and the Stratford Group

I just wanted to send you a quick email to let you know how great Jeffrey Ingalls handled our 2010 benefits renewal. I know that you were present during the initial presentation which included plenty of background and information in a detailed yet very organized presentation. His efforts and work did not stop here he renegotiated with Aetna and provided us with a viable cost saving alternative medical benefit option for 2010 based on our past individual medical experience.

He was also outstanding during the 2010 benefit presentations providing just the right amount of information in a timely manner and being available for additional one-on-one consultations with our employees. He kept the employees engaged and entertained during the presentations (I attended 2 out of the 3 meetings). Jeffrey is always very responsive and just a pleasure to work with throughout the year. Ericca Nussbaum who manages HR at the Credit Union has heard nothing but positive feedback about him. Needless to say we are very impressed with Jeff Ingalls and the Stratford Group.

Thank you!

Beth V. Elbaum
SVP Administration
Financial Resources Federal Credit Union

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"Although you were not obligated to answer my numerous calls and e-mails"

When my former husband announced he was changing medical insurance providers for the children, I panicked due to the various doctor's appointments that were already scheduled only a few weeks away. Although you were not obligated to answer my numerous calls and e-mails while he was out of the country, you were unbelievably calming and resourceful and assured me that the insurance was in place and explained all the benefits provided and how it worked. Insurance can be confusing but with your help, I'm thankfully able to move forward as scheduled and see to the medical needs of my daughters in a timely fashion. Thank you so much for your great service!

Roberta

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"Your honesty and ethics make you a stand-out"

Dear Dan,

I thought I should let you know that my staff really appreciate the HRA plan that you got for us. It makes their life so much easier when they don't have to pay for prescriptions or co-pays at the doctor's office. And, when their life is easier, so is mine. The savings that we have realized is also incredible. My Board of Directors is thrilled with the savings we have experienced over the last two years. Thank you so much for bringing this plan to our attention.

I know I have told you this before, but you are the best! You can be sure that you have our business for as long as you want us (and beyond I am afraid). Your honesty and ethics make you a stand-out. Thanks for everything.

Lorraine Cooke, Ed.D.
Executive Director

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SUCCESS!

I received a check for $865 from Englewood Hospital.? Case closed!
Thank you for speaking to them on my behalf, as well as getting back to me about your progress with both Healthnet and Englewood Hospital. It's good to know I can contact you if I can't resolve my insurance and/or medical provider issues on my own,
Best,
Laurie

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"I was pleasantly surprised to see you devoting space on your publications to help charitable organizations."

I was pleasantly surprised to see you devoting space on your publications to help charitable organizations.

First, you started to alert us to changes in legislation before the government lets us know about them ( which, maybe, is part of your responsibility to your clients and a way to keep in touch ) and now you go out and out into helping charitable causes. What a nice thing to do !
Sorry, I don't play golf and won't be able to respond, but I encourage you to do more in that direction. It might cement more loyalty to your business from at least some of your clientelle. So, it is a win win situation.

Best regards to everybody,
Ralph

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"You have added tremendous value to my company. Thanks!"

Read The Letter
We have now entered our 2nd year of HSA's, and I figured that it was time that I sit down and write you about what a change it had made in my company.

As you know, thanks to your introduction to HSAs two years ago, I had my entire company switch over to Aetna's program in January 2008. When I first explained it to my staff myself back in the fall of 2007, there was a lot of skepticism about the program, and I was hesitant to make the change. Thankfully, you offered to come in and explain the program to everyone, and I must say, that you were able to explain the benefits of it fully to even my most junior employee.

Keep reading

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"Stratford has made health insurance so much easier for our company!"

Read The Letter
We are a small business in Northern New Jersey and one of the hardest things to do is find the right health insurance platform for a small company. We have had numerous brokers give us all different recommendations and were unsure of the best route to go. We contacted The Stratford Financial Group who was able to not only point us in the right direction, but also recommended a plan for us that could save the company and employees money!

Keep reading

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"It has been years now since you first told me of the impending legislation that would change the way health care costs could be administered"

Read The Letter
Dan,
It has been years now since you first told me of the impending legislation that would change the way health care costs could be administered. At the time, my business was being crushed by health care costs and I was truly frightened about my Company's ability to continue paying for its employee's insurance benefits and seriously thinking of dropping that benefit altogether. You gave me hope. I owed you for that!

Keep reading

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"my company saved over $150,000!!!"

I have been using an HSA plan for my company since 2007. I am happy to report that I personally have had great success from this strategy, my company saved over $150,000!!! I recommend moving to this plan as it has helped stabilize the costs of providing health care for my 55 employees.

Best regards,

Jarl Jensen, Presiden & CEO
Euromed, Inc.
Orangeburg, NY

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"This is good "outside the box" thinking!"

Hi Dan:
It was a good show last night and your piece was well spoken - nice job. You are right that the cost of turnover is one of those hidden costs that if employers ignore it can have negative consequences. This is good "outside the box" thinking!

Good for you for taking the opportunity and if you have not yet done so you should add it to your resume - "appeared as an expert on employee benefits on the CNBC Show The Big Idea".

Best regards,
Brett A. Rea, CPA
Principal
Savastano, Kaufman & Company, LLC

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Reviews of Our Book "Stop Buying Health Plans and Start Buying Health Insurance"

An Easy-To-Understand Guide to the How and Why of Consumer Directed Healthcare (Linking-up Deductible-First Medical Insurance with HRAs and HSAs)
By Jeffrey Ingalls and Daniel Ritter

It's money in my pocket, and yours too., December 18, 2008
By JB Blanchard NJ

I'm an entrepreneur, I'm not an administrator. Insurance has always been an irksome expensive time-consuming necessity, and dealing with it took me away from running my business. Once I read this book, I realized that I had an opportunity to improve my company bottom line AND improve the lives and compensation of my employees. I now have a compensation package that is very difficult to compete with, and don't have to worry so much about having my talent stolen away.

Saved $150,000 using an HSA!, May 30, 2007
By Jarl Jensen Orangeburg, NY

As the book describes I moved from an HMO model to an HSA model and will save $150,000 in the first year. And that is only for 55 people. Bigger companies can really save big time. In addition, my employees get to save money before taxes that can be used like a retirement plan. For a business owner or a human resource manager the concepts described in this book are important if bottom line profits are important to your company.

New thoughts for solving and old problem., January 21, 2007
By Joe Brooks Wayne, NJ

The book was a great read. It finally answers the old question, "How to control the rising cost of healthcare without lowering benefits." It should be read by both employers as well as employees so the mind set towards healthcare in this country can change for the better.

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"It has been a pleasure to work with Stratford Financial"

Mr. Ritter:
It has been a pleasure to work with Stratford Financial and as such, it was important for me to contact you to inform you of how pleased I am with the service that Unity has received over the past two years.

Tom Kohler and his staff, Jeff Ingalls and Shirley Mitchell have far exceeded my expectations and continue to do so on a daily basis.
Tom goes above and beyond to assist me with our staff's needs and I never worry that something will not be handled properly or expediently. He has assisted me with building a complete benefit package for our staff, which was lacking prior to working with Tom.

I look forward to a long lasting relationship with Stratford and appreciate all that your team has done.

Thank you.
Linda Schneck, VP of Corporate Affairs
Unity Construction Services, Inc.

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