Meet Jenny: Thrift Trucking

Thrift Trucking is primarily an LTL, which means less than truckload carrier. We actually pick up freight in the Chicago area each day and then distribute it next day to for delivery throughout Central Illinois. My dad started the business in 1988. I started working here in 97 and shortly after that my brother started working here.

It's a small company. We have about 40 or so employees at each of our locations, so you really get to know the employees. It definitely is a difficult responsibility to try to choose a good benefits package for the employees. Each year we try to examine what we're offering our employees and make sure that it's something that is a value to them.

When we're looking at what supplemental policies we're going to be offering, we really look to the advice of Scott Remole through the Ware Group.

There's three different variables that I take into consideration whenever picking and choosing and designing the benefit program for an account, and the first thing is, of course, is always going to be the price. But as we know the least expensive thing doesn't mean it's going to be the best, so we're looking for low premiums, but it must have adequate coverage. And then the third thing is the use of claims administration. How could we deliver for you? And whenever my administrators are calling and working for a client, for my clients, and handling on all their claims, I know that they're in great hands dealing with Illinois Mutual.

We currently have the Accident Policy and a Short-Term Disability Policy through Illinois Mutual. We've had a couple employees that have gotten hurt and thank goodness they did choose the disability policy through Illinois Mutual, and also, we have a couple that we got in the Accident Policy and have used them. It's in those situations that I think other employees really realize, wow this is something that I really need.

I love putting things in places designed to be able to help people, first and foremost, and put something that can make a difference in people's lives.

I feel that, as part of our HR department, that it is important to protect all the opportunities that our employees have within the company. If they were to get hurt and they end up off work for a period of time, then this policy enables them to still stay off work, recover, get better. I think it's nice for them to have the peace of mind that the insurance is there, should they need it, and it's there at an affordable cost.