Average Duration for Long Term Disability
Source: Reprinted with permission of the
publisher from the 2005 Field Guide to Estate Planning, Business Planning &
Employee Benefits, by Donald F. Cady, Copyright 2005, The National Underwriter
Company, 1-800-543-0874 (Figures based upon Commissioners Disability Table and
Commissioners 1980 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table)
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The start of the year brings a renewed focus to upgrading product and
technology service offerings by leading disability insurance carriers.
This edition will focus on offerings by Hartford Life Insurance Company,
Principal Financial Group, and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
Over the past 5 years, Hartford Life Insurance Company has used a team of
athletes with disabilities to promote its group disability insurance
plans. These athletes help to spread the word to employers and employees
that active and fulfilling lives need not end when disabilities strike.
Building on this theme, Hartford started offering an employee assistance
program called “Ability Assist” to its new LTD customers with up to 500 lives.
more...
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As part of its effort to standardize the producer licensing process among the
states, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has been discussing
a controversial fingerprinting program. The collection of fingerprints would be
part of a routine criminal background check. However, support for the NAIC
model that includes the fingerprinting proposal is less than enthusiastic. The
article in this issue of 4 Corners explains.
more...
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In October 2005, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) under Commissioner
John Garamendi issued a letter to insurers to impose changes to individual and
group disability insurance policies. The CDI has indicated that the
changes would affect new and existing policies. The changes would also apply
retroactively to existing LTD policies that were previously approved by the CDI
and sold by the carriers. The changes affect seven disability contract
provisions which the CDI deems inappropriate; these provisions may have an
effect on the claim adjudication process.
The provisions affected are: discretionary clauses, definition of total
disability, additional benefit triggers, offsets in group disability policies,
pre-existing conditions, compulsory uniform provisions, and benefits paid to
parties other than the insured.
more...
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