Source: 2006 U.S. Group Disability Rate and Risk Management Study

This edition's product corner will feature two new worksite products from "Assurity at Work," the worksite sales division of Assurity Life Insurance Company. Both products have a disability focus by insuring some level of income should an employee experience an accident or disabling event. They are appropriately titled Accident Expense+ and Disability Income+.

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Discretionary Authority in Disability Insurance Contracts: Why Should You Care?

You may have heard the buzz recently about “discretionary authority” clauses in group LTD contracts. The California Department of Insurance has banned them, and is now involved in litigation with the industry over this issue. New York, Michigan, and Illinois are also considering banning these clauses. The implications of these decisions could change the way ERISA is interpreted, and also how employers and employees gain access to disability insurance benefits.

Click below to read a position paper from AHIP (America's Health Insurance Plans), an insurance industry trade group on discretionary clauses, consumer protections, and ERISA.

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Is $10,000 the new $5,000?

In the past few years at JHA, we have been hearing from our clients that an average $5,000 maximum LTD benefit is no longer adequate in the marketplace. We have seen a steady increase in requests for plan maximums from $10,000 to $15,000. As one underwriter put it, "$10,000 is the new $5,000".

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