TOTAL REWARDS

Total Rewards

The Total Rewards program is essential to supporting, reinforcing, and aligning employees with our mission, values, and business strategies. The program promotes and encourages Western National's Core Values: Connectiveness, Empowerment, and Accountability. The Company believes these programs and any decisions made in relation to them are essential to recruiting and retaining employees.

Our goal is to clearly communicate performance expectations, provide clear focus and measurement on key company objectives, improve productivity and provide career growth/development opportunities, in addition to recognizing individual contributions to the company’s overall success. 

Using a structure of base pay, discretionary/incentive pay, and benefits, Western National strives to provide monetary compensation that is competitive. Our company culture values and encourages curiosity, continuous learning, autonomy, teamwork, and success. A place where you matter.

Compensation

It is important to us to pay you a competitive wage, but your compensation includes more than your base pay. Other compensation available to you:

• Profit sharing program
• Discretionary bonuses
• Company provided benefits
• And many other opportunities to earn and save money. 

Benefits

There are many benefits to working at Western National that support your mental, physical, and financial health. You can find more details on our benefit offerings throughout this site. 

Work-Life Balance

Life is about more than working for a living. Spending time with your family, on your hobbies, and doing what makes you happy is important. See the Work-Life Balance tab for more information.

Recognition

Your hard work is important to us and we like to recognize employees for extra efforts and big accomplishments. There are also a number of ways we empower employees to acknowledge each other. Examples include:

• Thank you note or email
• "Power of Nice" stickers and gifs (gifs available through Teams)
• Peer-to-peer acknowledgment for a great Customer Experience (CX)
• Department Activities
• Service Awards
• Spot Awards
• STAR Awards
• Education Awards
• Discretionary Bonus 

Development

We are committed to providing you with resources, training, and opportunities. These help create, promote and foster your skills in both your professional and personal environments.

These include access to LinkedIn Learning, In-house training opportunities, and expanding your insurance industry knowledge through courses offered by The Institutes. 

We cover the cost of all approved professional certifications. Connect with your manager if you are interested in pursuing a certification.

We are here to help by providing tuition reimbursement that pays 100% of tuition, books, and fees for approved courses. To learn more about our tuition reimbursement policy, click on the Tuition Reimbursement button below or talk with your manager. 

We support our employee's continued growth and development by posting current job openings both internally and externally. Talk with your manager or Human Resources if you are interested in a current opening. Or maybe you know someone who would be a good fit - be sure to complete the Referral Form below for a $1,000 bonus!

Connections

We recognize the workplace is about more than just the day-to-day work, it’s also an opportunity to establish relationships, give back, and have fun!

We have several committees and programs that help create connections across the company and in our communities including our Social Committee, Wellbeing Committee, Safety Committee, Community Relationship Committee, and our Charitable Giving Committee & Program.

Our Charitable Giving Program offers employees the opportunity to support their community by nominating well-run, tax-deductible organizations in communities in which we do business. To nominate a charity or apply for a sponsorship complete the Charitable Giving Request using the button below. 

In addition, we provide 8 hours of paid volunteer time to every employee at the start of each year so you can choose where to give back.

QUESTIONS?

Email: 

Call:

Welcome to Western National Insurance Group!

We know how important benefits are for you and your family. That's why Western National is committed to offering excellent, well-rounded options that support your physical, mental, and financial health—and that of those you love. Our programs are designed to provide peace of mind in protecting your lifestyle and planning for the future.

Because choosing your benefits takes careful thought and planning, we've created this virtual benefits showcase to help you easily navigate and understand our offerings. Please take some time to review the information using the tabs at the top of the page. You can return to the site whenever you or your family members have questions or when you want to review Western National's benefit offerings.

New Hires/Life Events

You must complete your benefits enrollment within 30 days from your date of hire. Benefit elections are made through Paylocity and are effective the first of the month following your hire date (unless otherwise noted). Unless you have a qualifying life event during the calendar year (birth, marriage, loss of other coverage, etc.) you cannot make changes outside of the annual open enrollment period. If you do have a qualifying event, you will be allowed to make changes to your benefits mid year. You must submit benefit election changes, including documentation of the life event, in Paylocity within 30 days of the qualifying event date. 

How to Navigate

Use the navigation bar at the top of the page to learn more about each category of benefits. Check out the videos and documents provided by our benefit carriers for more information. If you have questions, we are here HR_Team@wnins.com! 

QUESTIONS?

Email: 

Call:

Medical

Western National offers two medical plan options - a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and a traditional copay plan. Both plans cover preventive care at 100% when visiting an in-network provider. Use the information below to learn about both plans and determine which one is right for you. Both the HDHP and copay plan are self-funded, which means Western National pays the cost of claims. We can all help keep claim costs low by being smart healthcare consumers. What does that mean?

Being a smart healthcare consumer includes:

Dental

Maintaining good oral hygiene is paramount to your overall health and wellness. This is why Western National uses HealthPartners to offer employees and their families a robust and affordable dental plan. Highlights include 100% coverage for cleanings 2x/year, orthodontia coverage for all ages, and a $2,000 calendar year benefit. 

Vision (materials only plan)

Our vision discount program with EyeMed can help you and your family save money on frames, lenses, and even LASIK. Please note, vision exams are covered at 100% under our medical plans when going to an in network provider.

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Health Savings Account Overview

A Health Savings Account (HSA) lets you make the most of your earnings by setting aside tax-free dollars for medical, dental, and vision expenses. HSAs are individually owned and provide tax benefits to help you both save money on current year expenses, and grow your savings for future healthcare costs into retirement. To help you get started, the company will contribute $500 (employee only)/$1,000 (all other coverage tiers) to your HSA (amounts prorated for new hires during the year).

Eligibility

You must be enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) to get a HSA, which can be used to pay for out-of-pocket expenses until you've met your deductible, at which point, your health plan kicks in.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) allows you to budget and save for qualified medical expenses incurred over the course of your plan year. Dollars invested in a FSA are tax free, and the entire election amount is available on the first day of the plan year. Western National's plan offers a rollover each year, but any unspent funds above the rollover amount are forfeited. Types of FSAs:

• Medical FSA - Paired with the copay medical plan, a FSA covers eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses
• Limited FSA - If you are enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), you're eligible to enroll in a Limited FSA alongside your HSA for dental and vision expenses only.

Dependent Care 

A Dependent Care FSA lets you set aside pretax dollars to pay for daycare and other eligible dependent care expenses.

Your Dependent Care FSA can be used to pay for out-of-pocket daycare expenses, after-school programs, and day camp programs for dependents up to the age of 13.

Your household can elect up to $5,000 annually through the Dependent Care FSA.

QUESTIONS?

Email: 

Call:

Life/AD&D Insurance

Life insurance is about providing some financial protection for your loved ones in the event of your death. These funds can help pay monthly living expenses, provide an emergency fund, pay off debts, or help provide for someone's education. Western National supports its employees and their families by providing basic life and AD&D coverage at no cost to you. All benefit-eligible employees are automatically enrolled at 1x their annual base salary, with a minimum of $50,000 in coverage. Employees may also purchase additional Life/AD&D coverage for his/herself, a spouse, and dependent children under the age of 26.                                                                                                                        

• Employee coverage is limited to 5x annual salary or $500,000 (whichever amount is lower). The guaranteed issue amount during new hire enrollment is $250,000. Any amount over $250,000 will require Evidence of Insurability (EOI).
• Spouse coverage is limited to 100% of the employee's benefit (up to a max of $250,000). The guaranteed issue amount during new hire enrollment is $50,000. Any amount over $50,000 will required EOI
• Child(ren) coverage is elected in $2,500 increments, up to a max of $10,000
• Costs for voluntary life insurance are based on age bands, and spouse rates are based on employee age.

Disability Insurance

Western National offers company-paid short-term disability and long-term disability insurance through Mutual of Omaha. Disability insurance will pay a percentage of your salary if you are unable to work due to an injury or illness. Short-term disability, which is paid through payroll, replaces 80% of your pre-disability earnings with a maximum of $2,500 per week. The elimination period for short-term disability is 7 calendar days. Long-term disability replaces 50% of your pre-disability earnings with a monthly maximum of $6,000. Employees are automatically enrolled in these company-paid benefits.

Critical Illness

Critical Illness Insurance pays a lump-sum benefit if you are diagnosed with a covered illness or condition. You can use this money however you like, for example: to help pay for expenses not covered by your medical plan, lost wages, child care, travel, home health care costs or any of your regular household expenses. Coverage options are $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 for employees and their spouses. Coverage for eligible children is automatically included with employee coverage at 50% of the employee's amount up to $10,000. 

Accident Insurance

If you experience a covered accident that happens on or off the job, this policy will pay you a lump-sum benefit. The amount you receive depends on the type of injury and the care received. The cash benefit is paid directly to you and can either offset the unexpected medical expenses or you can use it however you wish – to buy groceries or help with your rent or mortgage. For more information on payments for any one event/accident, review the full schedule of benefits. Accident Insurance is a limited benefit policy. This policy is not considered health insurance and does not satisfy the requirement of minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Legal/ID Theft

Western National offers Legal and ID Theft plans through LegalShield. Learn more about how to protect you and your family with these voluntary plans.

Transportation Reimbursement Account

A Transportation Reimbursement Account (TRA) allows employees to use pre-tax dollars for eligible parking or commuter expenses from their home to their workplace. Contact Human Resources for more information. 

QUESTIONS?

Email: 

Call:

Western Wellbeing

What Is Wellbeing? 

Wellbeing is more than just being happy, athletic or wealthy. Wellbeing is a combination of our physical self, which includes our emotional and mental wellbeing, our financial security, loving what we do each day, the quality of our relationships and contributing to our communities. Wellbeing is about a mindful, purposeful life; and it looks different for each of us.

In order to meet each individual's unique needs and provide support to all employees, Western Wellbeing offers a holistic wellbeing program that includes the following elements of wellbeing: Physical, Emotional/Mental, Social, Financial, Community and Purpose Wellbeing. 

Physical Wellbeing

Physical Wellbeing relates to having good physical health and enough energy to get things done that are important to you.

Western Wellbeing provides resources to help support you and your physical wellbeing. 

Emotional and Mental Wellbeing

Our emotional and mental health are just as important as our physical health. More and more people are talking about emotional and mental health. Thankfully, these conversations have led to increased awareness about mental health and how it is an important component of our overall health and wellbeing.

Western Wellbeing wants to ensure all employees have access to mental health resources they may need now or any time throughout the year.

• In an emergency: Dial 911
• Mental Health Crisis Hotline: Dial 988
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with Mutual of Omaha: If you or a family member need someone to talk with, call 1-800-316-2796. The EAP Benefit includes six face-to-face sessions with a counselor, per household per calendar year. 
• Crisis Text Line: Text "HOME" to 741741
• Substance Abuse & Mental Health Helpline: Dial 1-800-985-5990 or Text "talkwithus" to 66746
• Doctor on Demand: Dial 800-997-6196 or https://doctorondemand.com/

Massage Program

Massage helps to reduce stress, anxiety, tension, and also helps to increase circulation, boost your immune system, lower blood pressure, improve awareness, and increase energy. For these reasons and many others, offering onsite massage is an excellent way to help support your physical and emotional/mental wellbeing. 

In-Office Workstations

We have a strong commitment to the wellbeing of our employees. Part of your wellbeing is being comfortable in the workspace where you spend most of your day. 

Ergonomics

You spend a lot of time at your workspace and it should be comfortable. To get started on your workstation set-up, please follow the workstation ergonomic diagram and guide located in the button below.

If you are uncomfortable an ergonomic assessment is available for in-office workstations.  

Sit/Stand Workstation

The recommendation for employees with the sit/stand workstation is to use it approximately 15-20 minutes every hour or 20% of the time in an eight-hour workday. These are general guidelines.

To request an in-office sit/stand workstation: Send an email to your supervisor letting them know you are interested in an in-office sit/stand workstation. Next, either you or your supervisor can submit a Facilities Request via the Service Desk Portal on Winston with your request. 

Treadmill Workstation

To use the Treadmill Workstation, you must attend the safety training and sign a waiver before using.

To reserve the Treadmill Workstation on 2nd or 3rd floor, go to Outlook and search for: Treadmill Workstation 2E or 3W. 

QUESTIONS?

Email: 

Call:

Principal 401(k)

Western National recognizes how important it is to invest in your future, which is why we provide an employer match on our 401(k) plan. The company will match 100% on the first 3% and 50% on the next 2% of salary deferrals. This means, if you contribute at least 5% to your 401(k), you will receive the full 4% company match. We offer a traditional 401(k) option and a Roth after-tax option.

New hires are eligible for the 401(k) plan on the first of the month following 30 days of employment. Please note that newly eligible employees will be automatically enrolled at 5%. If you wish to contribute a different amount, log into your Principal account to make your change(s). Employees can contribute up to 90% of their pay to their 401(k) account and are fully vested after two years of employment.

SageView Financial Advisor

Planning for retirement can be confusing! We often have questions on how much to save, what investment options we should be using, tax strategies, and/or estate planning, just to name a few. SageView, Western National's financial partner, is here to help. Schedule a meeting with a financial advisor and take advantage of this free planning resource available to all Western National employees.

Emergency Loans

Western National recognizes that life can throw us a curve ball. That's why we've created a program to provide short term loans to employees who have an immediate need for funds as the result of an emergency or a personal financial hardship. 

QUESTIONS?

Email: 

Call:

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Western National recognizes the importance of taking time away from work to rest and recharge. We offer Paid Time Off (PTO) to all employees at the beginning of each year, to use throughout that year. Employees begin accruing at 16 days in their first full year of employment, and gain one additional PTO day each year until reaching a maximum allotment of 30 days. PTO for new hires is prorated for the first year of employment. Employees can roll over up to 240 hours of unused PTO time at the end of every year to their Carryover PTO balance (maximum Carryover PTO balance is 240 hours). PTO is requested through Paylocity.

Holidays

In our increasingly diverse world, Western National recognizes that employees value and choose to celebrate different and equally special days/time throughout the year. To recognize this, the company designates 7 holidays every year as well as 3 floating holidays to allow our employees to celebrate what matters to them. 

Volunteer Time

Western National is committed to giving back to the communities in which we live and work. The company provides 8 hours of paid volunteer time every year for employees to support a 501(c)(3) organization. Volunteer time is requested through Paylocity.

Leave of Absence

Leave of Absence and/or FMLA is available when you need to be away from work to care for yourself, your child, your spouse or your parent due to a serious health condition. Contact Human Resources for more information on types of leave, and to discuss eligibility. 

Paid Parental Leave

Western National provides four weeks of paid parental leave to eligible employees for activities related to the care and well-being of their newborn or adopted child(ren). Paid parental leave runs concurrently with FMLA and/or state leave. Paid Parental Leave is requested through Paylocity.

Parenting Resources

Amma 

Amma Parenting offers prenatal and new parent (and grandparent!) classes. Classes are a mix of in person and virtual and are geared towards expecting mothers, fathers, grandparents, and anyone else who is welcoming a new baby into their family. Amma childbirth teachers are all either Registered Nurses or Certified Childbirth Educators. Western National covers the cost of up to two classes per employee each calendar year.

Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace

Western National Insurance has met the highest standards of excellence and received a certificate of recognition as a Minnesota Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace by the Minnesota Department of Health. 

QUESTIONS?

Email: 

Call: