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As the U.S. health coverage environment evolves, working Americans increasingly are turning to voluntary employee benefits to supplement core coverage. Voluntary benefits can offer added financial security to employees, with no direct costs incurred by employers.
Many insurers are responding to this need. Through comprehensive voluntary benefit products and services, employees are gaining access to enhanced coverage that otherwise might not be available to them.
Voluntary disability insurance provides benefits over and above basic health insurance, offering eligible employees income protection insurance in the form of benefits that partially replace income lost as a result of a disabling non-occupational accident or illness. When such an event takes away the ability to bring home a paycheck, voluntary disability insurance coverage can help fill the gap as payments may be used for any purpose including ongoing bills such as rent, mortgages, educational expenses, food, and car payments.
Voluntary life insurance plans allow employers to provide, at no cost to them, life insurance to eligible employees and family members at rates that reflect group economies of scale. Some products offer “life and lifestyle” insurance in one policy, which can be accessed when health, life and death circumstances require. Considered life insurance, such products allow employees to receive a benefit while living.
Two primary types of life insurance are term life and whole (or permanent) life.
Term life insurance, an original or “pure” insurance form, offers protection for a specified period of time and builds no cash value. If the insured dies during the specified term, policy benefits are paid to beneficiary/ies. Products offer varying durations and benefit amounts and often include embedded benefits for terminal illness and AD&D. Coverage durations can be annual renewable or “level” for periods such as 10, 15, 20 and 30 years, during which the premiums remain unchanged. Coverage may be portable and riders for items such as critical illness/total disability, quality of life, increasing death benefits, AD&D and families are often available.
Whole life insurance can play a role in meeting current as well as future financial needs. Consisting of a permanent life insurance policy that protects the policyholder through his/her life, whole life insurance offers a completion of premiums at a predetermined age. Features of whole life plans include premiums that remain level throughout the life of the policy, guaranteed renewable protection that cannot be reduced and accumulated cash values that can be withdrawn (upon the policy’s surrender), borrowed against as a loan, annuitized or used to purchase extended or reduced paid-up insurance. Some whole life plans may also include dividends paid annually and guaranteed cash values.
Vision and dental plans can greatly reduce an employee’s risk of significant eye or teeth expenses. Preventive care is the focus of vision and dental programs and with regular check ups, an employee can avoid many of the costly complications that develop from delayed treatment. Vision and dental programs can provide a benefit as simple as a discount for services from certain providers, to complete reimbursement for comprehensive services.
Offering protection beyond basic health coverage, voluntary accident insurance provides supplemental on- or off-the-job coverage and may cover deductibles and other services standard health care coverage may not provide. Some voluntary accident insurance products can be both a reimbursement and an indemnity insurance policy – expense reimbursements paid are for actual charges or up to the maximum amount stipulated per selection.
When we say Long Term Care most people think "nursing home". And for most men, the next thought is "I'd rather die." But Long Term Care insurance also covers care you receive at home. The fact is, of the 12 million people needing Long Term Care, only 1.5 million are in nursing homes.
Long Term Care actually refers to a wide range of services provided to those with a chronic illness or disability. At its core, it involves assistance with the most basic and personal activities of daily life; getting out of bed, getting dressed, going to the bathroom, etc. However, it can also include help with secondary tasks such as assistance with cooking and cleaning.
"It [Long Term Care] differs from other types of health care in that the goal of Long Term Care is not to cure an illness, but to allow an individual to attain and maintain an optimal level of functioning."
