An employee benefits business now offers additional discounts for members of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.
Roche Financial, at 1610 East Third St., serves as the only central Pennsylvanian business focused solely on employee benefits, such as 401k plans and group health insurance.
David Roche, president, said companies that are members of the Chamber of Commerce can receive even more discounts for voluntary benefits.
"A number of insurance carriers are going to market to a specific group," Roche said. "We asked, 'Can you give us a better deal than the public gets?' We could sell you 15 or 20 percent less than if you just walked in off the street. It makes it a benefit to be a member of the Chamber."
Roche said his company works closely with community organizations, and he strives to keep the company localized.
"There are no 800 numbers," he said. "We try to avoid that and give more personal results."
Maggie Roche, investment professional and insurance agent, said they serve as a human resources department for businesses.
"We pride ourselves as members of the human resources department without the additional cost," he said. "We do those functions for them."
Roche Financial celebrated its 20th anniversary Aug. 2011.
Since it began in 1991, business growth accounted for multiple moves around the city.
"Lycoming County has been good to us," David said. "Seventy-five to 80 percent of our business has been in Lycoming County. We do surrounding counties up to State College, Lewisburg and Northumberland."
Being in the employees benefits business results in constant changes that Roche Financial tracks. One of the biggest changes to monitor is the health care reform bill.
"I'm not sure how much reformation is in the reform act," David said. "The number of provisions doesn't transform into the ability to apply them. It's not knowing how things are gonna be that makes us nervous."
Maggie said they worry about the stock market as much as the customers.
"The customer always comes first," she said. "We're always doing our best for the customer. When the market goes down, we get pits in our stomachs. We want to do what's best."
Roche Financial lets each employee for covered businesses pick what benefits they need.
"The 25-year-old employee can get what he wants and the 55-year-old employee can do the same," Maggie said. "They don't need to go through the physical exam."
David compared different insurance agencies with shoes.
If a person walks into a specific store, they will only sell that specific brand. There are many different brands, but not every one fits everyone's needs and budget.
"We try to sell all those products," he said. "We customize to you, and not fit you into what we have."
Roche Financial could have branched into other markets and not kept just with employees benefits, but they decided against it.
"You can't know everything about everything," David said. "We stick to our area of expertise. That's important. We try to stay in the area we know the best."
