Financial Independence Co. Insurance Services

About Our Company

Financial Independence Co. Insurance Services (FICIS) is a national, bilingual employee benefits company dedicated solely to providing effective, quality insurance benefits.

At FICIS, we offer employers and their employees much more than just group insurance. A company’s Employee Benefit program plays an essential part in its ability to retain valued employees, and directly affects the well–being and lifestyle of the company’s most valuable asset–its employees. An effective company program should also provide comprehensive protection for staff and offer the employer a seamless process for administration.

One of our core areas of expertise has been to create affordable Healthcare and Lifestyle Benefits for those employers that cannot afford to offer benefits to their employees; including 1099 (independent contractors) seasonal, part–time, or full–time employees that have not been eligible for benefits in the past.

Combining our expertise, industry insights and resources, they develop comprehensive employee benefit programs that are customized to meet the individual customer’s financial and healthcare needs. We guide owners with full human resources support and help you provide the best program possible for your staff. A professional, bilingual client service team is in place to ensure the delivery of exceptional customer service to meet the increasingly diverse and multi-cultural workforce.

With over 20 years of experience, we serve a broad array of industries including hospitality, real estate, manufacturing, financial services and associations, among others. Leading insurance partners include Aetna, SafeCo, Assurity, Colonial Life and Accident, Cigna, United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

About Our Commitment

As a trusted ally and partner to our client, we are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in providing professional benefit management services. With our commitment to provide quality healthcare and lifestyle protection plans to thousands of Americans nationwide, we hope to continue our journey with you as a National Leader in Employee Benefits Solutions.

About Our Staff

Dedicated Specialists
Each one of our fully licensed FIC Specialists focuses on specific aspects of the management of employee benefits Programs, including financial market, and benefit analysis, client services, corporate retention and quality assurance. With decades of insurance and benefit experience, our Specialists continue to understand the latest news and trends within the insurance industry through our Professional Development curriculum, industry curriculum, industry conferences and seminars.

Industry Expertise
With a deep understanding of our clients’ needs, federal and state legislation and insurance company policies, we are able to effectively negotiate with insurance companies for the best programs suited to your business needs. FICIS Specialists have worked with national insurance companies in sales, underwriting, claims, client service, contracts and premium analysis. Through these established relationships, we deliver an efficient resolution of service, premium or claims issues.

About Our Enrollment Team

Financial Independence Co. Insurance Services (FICIS) has partnered with Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company in order to provide a national enrollment team that has the capability to reach locations across the United States. To promote quality, consistent enrollment communications, Colonial enrollers communicate not only core benefits (benefits offered by FICIS), but also Colonial benefits. Through the Colonial College training program, enrollers receive consistent training and recertification on products and enrollment technology.

Colonial enrollers can support you not only in one phase of the process, but in planning the enrollment, conducting the enrollment, and providing superior service after the enrollment. Colonial enrollers use their own laptop enrollment systems in order to submit business electronically and more efficiently, along with the flexibility to bring in larger or smaller enrollment teams, depending on your needs and schedules.

Colonial is a company of people who understand people. Colonial is a concerned and responsible supplemental insurance provider, who stands apart from other supplemental insurance companies through their benefits communication, service standards and supplemental insurance portfolio.

"Colonial Supplemental Insurance" and "for what happens next" are registered service marks of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. The logo, separately and in combination with "Colonial Supplemental Insurance," is a service mark of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. All rights reserved.

SHEILA HARTMAN
President, Financial Independence Company, Insurance Services

Sheila Hartman, president and founder of Financial Independence Company Insurance Services (FICIS) of Woodland Hills, California is known as a "goodwill ambassador" for the insurance industry. Her national, full - service insurance brokerage specializes in providing affordable insurance services and bilingual education and training to her clients' diverse workforce of multicultural, hourly employees.

Considered a leader in her industry for setting a new standard for education and customer service in multiple industries, her main focus has been hospitality. FICIS has represented some of the top, national hotel chains in the country such as Sheraton Hotels and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Currently she represents Cendant franchisee hotel chains: Ramada Inns, Super 8, Days Inn, Knight Inn, Travelodge, Amerihost Inn, Wingate, Howard Johnson and Villager. Her company also represents leading real estate companies: Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby's International; noted travel firm, Galileo International; vehicle rental: Avis, Budget; prestigious financial company Jackson Hewitt Tax Service and leading manufacturing firms.

Born in Florida and raised in Mexico, Sheila came to United States at age 13 when her parents moved to the USA. After earning a Bachelor's Degree in education from California State University, Los Angeles, she attained her teaching credentials. Over the next fourteen years, Sheila taught Spanish, English as a second language, and Special Education for the Los Angeles Unified School District and the William S. Hart School System as well as teaching Spanish language skills to adults.

In 1983, she transitioned into the insurance industry recognizing that the growing Spanish- speaking market was not being served by the insurance industry. Her mission then, and remains the same today, was to service this market by providing education and training for the minority workforce to properly utilize the insurance benefits offered by their employers.

Sheila's first major client was Sheraton Hotels for which she provided medical and dental insurance benefits. Recognizing the value of her staff's bilingual capabilities and outreach services, her company was hired to represent Sheratons' entire Western Region (approximately 20,000 employees at thirty (30) hotels). For the next twelve years, FICIS provided insurance services to the Sheraton chain until their corporate acquisition by Starwood.

As word spread of her company's added – value services with the bilingual workforce, Sheila's company became the broker/consultant for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and remained as such for over 10 years.

Always thinking "out of the box," Sheila has made a name for herself and her company by creating innovative solutions to meet the needs of today's employers. FICIS offers a full range of insurance packages for all classifications of employees: salaried, hourly, part time, seasonal, 1099 employees, and executive benefits plans for top - level management.

With her goal to provide affordable healthcare and lifestyle benefits to the forty-one (41) million, currently, uninsured Americans, Sheila's remains committed to the needs of the multi-cultural workforce.

Sheila chose the name Financial Independence Company for her business to acknowledge the vision that immigrants have of the United States – "The Land of Dreams, The Land of Opportunities." Sheila states: "People come to this country from all over the world to become financially independent." "Our logo, the American flag, is a symbol of this country and the opportunity we give to everyone; our focus on diversity is to educate and provide added value to employers with a large minority workforce."

As president of FICIS, Sheila Hartman has received multiple awards for her company's growth, leadership, and high level of service offered. Since 1997, her company has been awarded eight "Golden Eagle Awards" from the National Association of Health Underwriters. In 2000, Sheila was inducted into the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) "Hall of Fame" and listed in the prestigious Who's Who in North America, Special Limited Edition. In 2002, Sheila was selected as NAWBO's "Member of the Year." In 2004, Sheila was honored as one of the Top 25 Women Business Honorees in the Los Angeles County.

Sheila Hartman is a member for the American Resort and Development Association and a member of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. She serves on the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Multicultural Diversity Advisory Council and Advisory Council of Small and Independent Properties as well as their Government Affairs Committee. Sheila was recently appointed to the Hospitality Industry Diversity Institute Advisory Board at the University of Houston.

In addition, she is an active supporter of the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation, the National Association of Health Underwriters, and serves on the board of the Pacific Boys Lodge, the San Gabriel Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America and the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony.

Howard S. Hartman
Chairman

Howard S. Hartman is Chairman of FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE CO. INSURANCE
SERVICES, INC. and specializes in developing employee benefit products that are customized for clients nationally and worldwide. He is also President of PROFESSIONAL PARTNERS GROUP, a company that provides creative and cost-effective executive benefits.

Howard has been a corporate financial planning professional for 30 years and is the former director/founder of the Bear Stearns Financial Services and Benefits Group in Los Angeles.