LIVE EVENT & WEBINAR FEE SCHEDULE ComedyCE.com Eric Johnson 817-366-7536 eric@comedyce.com
Thank you for considering ComedyCE.com for your education needs. Below you will find our fee schedule for live events and webinars. Speaker Fees Our speaker fee includes access to one of our existing presentations with minor modifications (rearranging slides or emphasizing a specific point). Note that additional charges will apply for extensive modifications or custom presentations. Speaker Fee Up to 3 hours Each additional hour New (Custom) Presentations Price is for Eric Johnson or Danielle Kunkle. Other speakers may be available at lower rates if you re interested, just let us know and we ll put you in touch with them. Be aware that if you schedule an event longer than 3 hours, your guests may expect you to provide food, which can add significantly to the cost. Fee includes consulting, brainstorming, research, and PowerPoint creation. The process takes longer than you may realize (often 10-40 hours per course), but we can provide an estimate of the time required. ComedyCE.com retains ownership of the new course. $1,000 $250 $50 per hour TIP: You may be able to reduce the design cost for a custom presentation by providing your own material for the speaker to present. 1
CE Credit ComedyCE.com is an approved insurance continuing education provider in the state of Texas (provider number 37719). We re also working on getting set up as an HRCI provider (for Human Resource professionals). The below fees apply to Texas general lines insurance CE courses. Continuing Education Fees CE Processing Only for those attendees who want insurance CE credit. $1.75 per hr. per attendee Printing New Course Filing If you want to offer CE credit, we ll email you the CE sign-in sheets and evaluation forms ahead of time to print. If you would like us to print them, we can. Just tell us how many attendees you expect. If you would like us to file your new customized course for CE credit, we can. It does take some work, though, and, once filed, can take up to 3 weeks for TDI approval. ComedyCE.com will retain rights to the presentation. Many of our new courses are born from a request for a custom course. The good news is that you ll hear it before anyone else. 25 cents per course per attendee $100 per CE credit hour TIP: While some guests will appreciate CE credit, others may assume that if it s a continuing education class the material may not be that valuable. With all of the uncertainty about health reform, both brokers and employers are hungry for information CE credit may not be necessary to attract attendees and have a successful event. 2
Reference Material Most event hosts want to provide attendees with some sort of reference material. There are several options available, including handouts, reference guides, online access to the presentation, and even voice-over PowerPoints, all of which can be placed on a special website with your branding. Handouts / Copies of Presentation Handouts for Attendees $100 We don't like handouts. They waste paper and create an arbitrary deadline to complete the presentation, often days before an event, which prevents us from making last-minute changes if we receive new information. Plus they distract attendees and make it difficult for them to follow along since we use a lot of slides and change them quickly. But if you really want handouts, we'll provide notes pages (in PDF format) two days before the event that you can print for the attendees. TIP: Resource While some Guide guests As will an appreciate alternative CE to credit, a printout others of the may PowerPoint assume that presentation, if it s a continuing $200 education class for Attendees the material may not we be can that create valuable. a resource With guide all of the for attendees uncertainty that about includes health the reform, both brokers and employers major are hungry points for of information the presentation CE in credit bullet-point may not format be necessary. and in Online Access to Presentation Video (voice-over PowerPoint) of presentation the order that they are covered. This guide can include your logo/branding, and you can print copies for the attendees to take notes on. Available after the event. We will create a page on our site for you to email to attendees (can be password protected) with a link to the presentation in PDF format (one slide per page). We can also include links to reference material mentioned during the presentation at no extra charge. If some of your invited guests cannot attend, or if some of the attendees would like to watch the presentation again, they can. We can record the presentation (as a whole or in separate sections) and load it onto a web page for your guests to view. This would be a separate recording, not a video or audio recording of the event itself. TIP: If you really want to provide a valuable resource to attendees, we can create a separate website with your branding and load the resource guide, voice-over PowerPoint(s), links to reference material, a personal message from you, and any additional information you would like included. This may actually be more economical for you and more useful for your clients than a live event. $50 $250 per hour 3
Travel Costs We do a lot of traveling, which makes it more difficult to say yes to additional out-of-town events. Plus it s expensive. But we are reasonable and will make every effort to keep costs down, including driving when it makes sense and using Hotwire.com to find affordable hotels. Airfare, Hotels, and Other Travel Expenses Airfare Rental Car You can book it or we can book it, but if we do it we will require payment in advance. If you want to book it, we will provide the airline and flight number but will keep price in mind when choosing the flights. We get the miles! Actual cost of flight + $15 per day for parking Actual cost of car + 25 Compact or Intermediate is fine, depending on the distance we'll be driving. We'll reserve it and bill for the quoted price + gas. We ll use Google Maps to figure out how far we ll drive for cents per your event. That way you don t get charged for any additional TIP: While some guests miles will appreciate we drive. CE credit, others may assume that if it s a continuing mile education for fuel class the material may not be that valuable. With all of the uncertainty about health reform, both Mileage We will drive when it makes sense. Even when we fly, we have 56.5 cents brokers and employers are hungry for information CE credit may not be necessary. to drive to the airport. IRS mileage reimbursement rates apply. per mile This includes DFW-area events as well. Hotel Overnight Stay We normally use Hotwire.com to keep costs down. With Hotwire, you pre-pay for the hotel but it's sight-unseen. We can book it but will need payment before booking. If you want to book it, we'll select the hotel and let you know we re very reasonable but we reserve the right to choose a hotel that is in a safe and convenient location. We like sleeping in our own beds and can only spend so many nights away from the family before they begin to gripe. This allows us to do something nice for them. To save money, you could schedule your event at a time that will allow us to fly in and out on the same day. Actual cost of hotel $300 TIP: To help reduce travel costs, you might consider teaming up with another broker/organization and split costs. You could combine events or schedule back-to-back events (one in the morning, one in the afternoon). This may also help reduce facility fees. 4
Other Things to Think About Planning an event takes a lot of work and it can take a lot of money. Here are a few things you might want to think about when budgeting for your event. Promo and Facility Costs Promo Language When we decide on a topic, we ll provide you with some promo language for your invitations and marketing material. No charge Flyer Design Email Blast Facility and Food We believe you are the best person to promote your event, and you can use our course description in your promo piece. But if you'd like us to create your marketing flyer or email for you, we can. We ll let you print it and send it out. If you are conducting a broker event in Texas, we can promote the event to our database (one email blast to agents who have attended our courses in the past). Events can be expensive. If possible, try to find a free facility (like a large conference room or even a carrier s meeting room if they re willing to let you use it). It s also a good idea to schedule the event between meals (9 to 11 or 1:30 to 3:30) so you don t have to pay for food for the attendees. For morning meetings, coffee is almost a necessity, and snacks are always a good idea, but be sure to check with the facility to see if they can provide these or if it s ok for you bring your own. $50 $50 Your Responsibility TIP: You may be able to help offset the facility and food costs by selling sponsorships. Insurance companies frequently provide support for insurance association meetings, but they ll also help support a broker s efforts to reach out to employers. If you re reasonable in the fees you charge and search for a win-win solution, you may find some vendors who can help defray some of your costs. 5
Approved Continuing Education Course List Below is a list of our current insurance CE courses (TDI provider number 37719). Additionally, we offer several non-ce courses (topics listed at afterwards). Agency Management Pimp My Spreadsheet ( 88666 ) Enrollment meetings...who needs them? ( 85291 ) Why you're on the B list ( 89757 ) Red Headed Step Children: Challenging Group Cases ( 84442 ) General Insurance The History of Health Insurance ( 90041 ) Back to the 80s ( 84443 ) A Crash Course in COBRA ( 84447 ) The Health Benefits of Wine & Chocolate ( 90442 ) 2 hours 2 hours Ethics Pro-Bono Opportunities for Insurance Agents ( 83395 ) - ethics Why do I need ethics? ( 88650 ) - ethics Finally, a FUN Ethics Class! ( 83903 ) - ethics Insurance Ethics ( 89633 ) - ethics 2 hours 2 hours 6
Account Based Plans HSAs: Do the Math! ( 84444 ) HSAs: the plan of the future ( 90042 ) Crazy HSA Rules ( 83214 ) HSAs: Who can play and how much fun can they have? ( 83877 ) HSAs: Screw the Tax Advisor, We Have the Answers! ( 83886 ) Have you heard? About the MERP? ( 84441 ) Medicare Medicare in Pictures ( 84445 ) Medicare for the Small Group Agent ( 84446 ) Medicare Funding Through the Ages ( 84781 ) How Agents Can Help Seniors in Need ( 84865 ) - ethics Medicare Ethics - Compliance Conundrums ( 84867 ) - ethics Medicare Ethics - Consumers, Carriers & You ( 84866 ) - ethics Certification Classes Medicare-Related Products Certification Course ( 80585 ) Medicare-Related Products Re-Certification Course ( 87922 ) Texas Small Group Agent Certification Class ( 84213 ) Texas Small Group Agent Re-Certification Class ( 87844 ) 8 hours 4 hours 8 hours 5 hours 7
Health Reform Health Reform Boot Camp ( 88832 ) Health Reform: A Refresher ( 90703 ) Health Reform: What the hell were they thinking? ( 89469 ) Health Reform: Winners and Losers ( 89483 ) Private Exchanges - the next big thing ( 90266 ) Private Exchanges and the Outside Market ( 89750 ) Top 10 Health Reform Tips for Brokers ( 89751 ) What's a Navigator? Can I be one? ( 89900 ) David vs. Goliath - the new non-profit co-ops ( 88652 ) 4 hours 3 hours 2 hours Non CE Courses In addition to our approved continuing education courses, ComedyCE.com also conducts a number of health reform presentations for both brokers and employers. Topics include: General health reform overview Small employer plan and rating changes Large employer shared responsibility Public and private exchanges MLR and commissions 8
Frequently Asked Questions If you don t find what you re looking for below, email Eric at eric@comedyce.com. Your fees are a little more than our budget will allow. Are there any other options? People are looking for information, but it doesn t necessarily need to be in person. A webinar might be more cost-effective and may be more convenient for your clients. So why are your fees so high? We don t think they are. The presentation is the part that most people see, but keep in mind that there s a whole lot of behind-the-scenes work coming up with an idea for a course, researching it, developing an outline and course description, filing it for CE credit, creating the PowerPoint slides, learning the presentation, coordinating schedules, booking travel, answering follow-up questions after the event, keeping the material up to date, etc. There s also an opportunity cost to any speaking invitation we accept we have a limited amount of time, and agreeing to speak at a smaller event might prevent us from hosting a bigger event with more attendees. Okay that makes sense, but we definitely prefer a live event to a webinar. What suggestions do you have for making our event as affordable as possible? Here are a few ideas: You might consider hosting the event a little later in the morning or earlier in the afternoon so that we can travel there and back in the same day, eliminating the overnight expense and hotel expense. Free facilities are always good check with your carriers and general agencies and see if they have a facility they can let you use. Try scheduling the event before or after lunch to avoid food costs (but it s a good idea to spend some money on snacks and drinks). You might try teaming up with another broker or organization and split expenses or see if you can find a sponsor to help defray costs. And, finally, you could charge for the event. Not only will this reduce your costs, you may actually make a profit. Are your presentations funny? Our company name is ComedyCE.com, but we re definitely not comedians. We do, however, believe that humor is a useful tool to help people learn and retain information, so we try to make the presentations as entertaining as possible. Keep in mind, though, that with topics like health reform, this can be a challenge. Our goal, first and foremost, is to provide useful information and present it in a way that will help you understand the humor and the CE are secondary. But whatever we re doing seems to be working we have lots of testimonials we can share if you need a second, third, or fourth opinion. 9
Payment Policy Below is our payment policy. Note that a non-refundable deposit is required to hold the date and that pre-payment is required for all of our travel costs since we usually incur those expenses well in advance of an event. Course and Speaker Fees: 50% non-refundable deposit required to hold the date New CE Course Filing: Required prior to filing course with TDI Travel: Required prior to booking travel (booking early helps save money) Printing, CE Processing, and Other Expenses: Required prior to presentation Contact Us Give us a call we d love to talk with you about your event and provide you with a customized quote. You can reach Eric at 817-366-7536 or eric@comedyce.com (email is better than a voicemail). 10