Supplemental Insurance

What can your PHCC Supplemental Benefits Do for You?

Voluntary insurance creates a win-win situation for both employers and employees. It helps employers expand their employee benefits program and gives employees the flexibility they want in their benefits package. Voluntary insurance has many advantages, and we’d like to explain how it can benefit you and how it differs from major medical insurance coverage.

What is Voluntary Insurance?

Sometimes referred to as supplemental insurance, voluntary means the insurance is offered in addition to an employer’s core or standard benefits. Employers can offer core benefits plus a menu of voluntary products to give their employees an enhanced benefits program. The employee can then create a benefits package that helps meet their specific needs. They choose and pay for voluntary benefits and the premium is typically deducted from their paycheck.

The Need for Voluntary Insurance

Solely owning health coverage leaves Americans vulnerable to bankruptcy. More comprehensive insurance for indemnity and coverage of out-of-pocket expenses is needed.

 Just over one-half of families filing for bankruptcy in 2001 did so due to medical causes.
 Out-of-pocket expenses average $11,854.
 Filers or spouse lost at least two weeks of work-related income because of illness/injury.

Types of Voluntary Insurance

There are several voluntary products available that can address many different employee needs. With the help of a good voluntary insurance provider, employers can offer a broad portfolio of products that may include the following insurance plans:

• Disability Insurance - helps employees protect their most valuable asset: their income. This insurance replaces part of the employees income if they are disabled because of a covered injury or sickness.

• Supplemental Life Insurance - complements employer-provided life insurance. Products may include term, whole or universal life, and benefits can be used to help pay for final expenses and to help provide financial security for family members.

• Accident Insurance - helps protect against the unexpected, including significant out-of-pocket expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance.

• Hospital Confinement Insurance - can help fill the gaps in major medical coverage to help pay for hospital-related expenses including co-payments and deductibles.

• Cancer and Critical Illness Insurance - supplements major medical coverage to help with the high cost of cancer or critical illness treatment. Some plans offer screening benefits that encourage regular health exams.

The Advantages of Voluntary Insurance

In addition to choice and affordability, voluntary insurance offers the following features:

• Flexibility in using Claim Payments. You can use claim payments any way you wish. Payments can be used to pay deductibles, co-payments, co-insurance and other non-covered costs associated with unexpected accidents or sicknesses. With medical costs rising every year, assistance from voluntary policies can help with the unexpected expenses that may result from these accidents or sicknesses.

• Portability. If an employee leaves his/her place of employment, they can take the individual voluntary covered with them - unlike most group insurance products. Most policies are individual rather than group; therefore, employees can keep the coverage when they change jobs or retire, as long as they keep paying the premiums. (An exception might be a disability policy, which is designed to provide income protection during normal working years, such as ages 18-65).

• Intact Coverage. The provisions of an individual voluntary policy don’t change when an employee leaves a job, whether the move is made voluntarily or not. As a policyholder, the employee maintains the same protection and coverage whether they are employed or not.

• Continued Convenience. Many employees especially appreciate the convenience of paying premiums for voluntary benefits through payroll deduction - there are no checks to write and no premium payment deadlines to remember. If an employee leaves their job, they can usually continue that convenience simply by changing the payment method to direct billing.