Supplemental Insurance
Tax-advantage plans benefit both the employer and employee
The tax-advantage plan offered through Aflac allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for certain benefit costs. When you lower the taxable incomes of all participating employees, you may also reduce your overall share of FICA and FUTA taxes. Not only is the potential tax savings a real advantage, but each employee is also given the opportunity that may help pay for expenses not covered by traditional coverage.
How Does a Supplemental Insurance Plan Work?
Supplemental insurance pays a cash benefit to the insured. The amount of cash and how it is paid out depends on the supplemental health insurance plan or policy. Some popular supplemental health insurance policies are specific disease insurance such as for cancer, accidental death and dismemberment insurance or accident health insurance, and hospital indemnity insurance.
Determine Your Need for Supplemental Insurance
Since you already have health insurance do you need any of these supplemental health insurance plans? Well, that depends on your risk factors and how much insurance you want to carry or can afford to carry and how much savings you have put back.
What to Consider when Choosing Supplemental Insurance
Only you can decide if a supplemental health insurance plan is right for you. Some things to consider when deciding if you need a supplemental health insurance plan are your health risk factors, your savings, and how much insurance you can afford. Of course no one can predict what their health will be in the future, but if you have always been in good health and take good care of yourself then you would be less likely to use a supplemental health insurance policy than someone who is often in bad health. Also, your savings should play an important role in your decision to purchase a supplemental health insurance policy. If you were in the hospital for a few weeks or more, would you have enough to cover your other expenses that your insurance would not?
Supplemental Policies
The three main supplemental products that are provided:
- Disease Specific Insurance: This type of supplemental health insurance provides a cash benefit paid directly to you if you require treatment for a specific disease such as cancer. Usually the benefit is paid per day or per procedure. There is a usually a minimum daily benefit and a policy maximum. The cash can be spent in any way you would choose and getting your benefit would have nothing to do with how much your insurance paid for your medical costs.
- Accident Health Insurance or Accidental Death and Dismemberment Supplemental Insurance: This type of supplemental insurance typically would reimburse you for medical costs resulting from accidents. Benefits are paid if you die (to your beneficiaries) or are disabled due to a specific accident outlined in the policy. Premiums are usually low and no medical exam is required. Accidents can include car accidents and accidents in the home or at your job. Also, if you loose limbs, fingers, toes, or your vision due to a covered accident, you may be able to collect a percentage of the death benefit.
- Hospital Indemnity Insurance: This type of supplemental health insurance provides a daily, weekly, or monthly cash benefit if you are confined to a hospital stay. Usually there is a minimum hospital stay before benefits are paid. The cash benefit is paid in addition to any other insurance you may have. Benefits are usually reduced if you are confined to a mental hospital and often you can find plans through an employer that require no health exam.
Examples of other products that can be offered through payroll duduction and can be paid on a pre-tax basis:
- Dental: A Dental insurance policy provides employees with basic, preventive, or major dental benefits, with cash benefits paid for specific procedures—regardless of any other coverage.
- Hospital Intensive Care: A Hospital Intensive Care insurance policy can help employees and their families with the costs of an expensive stay in an intensive care unit.
- Life: There are a variety of Life insurance policies: term, whole, or a combination of both. So you can provide employees with the level of coverage they want.
- Long-Term Care: An Long-Term Care insurance policy can help employees and their families pay for the rising expenses associated with assisted living and other long-term care services.
- Short-Term Disability: An Short-Term Disability insurance policy is designed to help employees when they become disabled and can’t work due to a covered sickness (such as cancer, heart disease, or stroke) or a covered injury.
- Specified Health Event: A Specified Health Event insurance policy can help employees be prepared when a life-changing health event such as a heart attack or stroke occurs quickly and without any warning.
- Vision: Vision insurance policy pays benefits that address a wide range of eye-related issues, from helping employees pay for prescription eyewear to providing financial assistance to those affected by glaucoma and other eye diseases.
 
For more information please call (203) 237-7900 or click here
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