Healthcare Reform has put health insurance front and center in everyone’s mind, but have you considered what you would do if you had to have extensive dental work done? If your company does not offer dental or vision insurance, Group Insurance Services of Fort Wayne, Inc. offers several additional kinds of insurance products (called ancillary) for individuals. From vision and dental to travel insurance and more, we have you covered.
Offering a combination of group and voluntary benefits fosters a healthy work environment. Group voluntary benefits offer substantial coverage in a way that is convenient and cost-effective for both employers and employees.
Ancillary benefits have become an increasingly popular benefit category for all employers. As both large and small employers struggle to offer competitive benefits packages and medical costs continue to rise, these additional offerings bring value and convenience to employees.
2010 Survey Results
The following results of an independently run survey reflect the primary plans offered, including dental, life, accidental death & dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability and voluntary benefits. A total of 1,291 respondents participated in this survey. All costs and prices are for informational purposes exclusively, and individual prices will vary. Please contact Michelle Walters to learn what ancillary products are right for you.
Dental Insurance
Dental insurance continues to be a popular benefit offering. Eighty-five percent of respondents offer dental benefits, with PPO dental plans being the most prevalent at 58 percent. The most common in-network and out-of-network single deductible is in the $40 to $59 range. The most popular family deductible is three times the single. The deductible is waived in 91 percent of the plans for preventive care. Thirty-six percent of plans do not provide any coverage for orthodontia services, and of those that do, 41 percent restrict coverage to children only.
Life Insurance
Most employers offer basic life insurance – 85 percent are offering this benefit, and for 90 percent of employers offering, it is non-contributory for the employee. The most popular level is one times the employee’s salary. Fifty-eight percent of respondents offer employee supplemental life as well. Fifty-three percent are offering spousal life insurance, up from 51 percent in 2009 and 46 percent the year before. Finally, half of respondents offer children’s life insurance.
Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Coverage
AD&D is offered by over three-fourths of employers surveyed, and of those, the largest percentage (25%) cover one times an employee’s salary as the benefit. Seventy-five percent of employers are non-contributory. However, of the plans that are contributory, 81 percent require employees to pay 100 percent of the premium for coverage.
Short-Term Disability (STD) Coverage
Short-Term Disability is offered by 65 percent of employers who responded, and 58 percent of the plans are non-contributory. Eighty-two percent of employees who do contribute pay 100 percent of their premium. The majority of respondents (39 percent) have an elimination period of 5-8 days for an accident, and 56 percent reported that their elimination period for an illness is also 5-8 days.
Long-Term Disability (LTD) Coverage
LTD is being offered by 68 percent of employers, and 69 percent of those plans are non-contributory. For contributory plans, 78 percent require 100 percent employee contribution. The majority of respondents (63 percent) offer LTD that pays 60 percent of salary.
