We had a rep come in and present their plans to our employees last week. The rates start off reasonably enough, $3-5/wk. each depending on plan, and plan options include: Lump Sum/Critical Illness, Lump Sum/Specified Disease, Short-Term Disability (our company pays 50% LTD, can get up to 20% additional in addition to short-term coverage), Accident Indemnity (injury outside of work).

I view sufficient insurance (and assurance) as a necessary evil. Since my wife has been a stay-at-home mom for going on 15 years now, it's been my paycheck alone. If something happened to me, either outside of work or outside of my current coverage (and didn't lead to my expiration), it'd be nice to know the family would have all of the loopholes filled and not worry about paying any bills without tapping into our limited reserves.

I suppose it depends on how pessimistic you are, and I tend to be. I'm thinking $10-15/wk. pre-tax out of my paycheck might not be a bad idea, especially given my family's shaky health history. No medical exam (since I have no pre-existing conditions), guaranteed renewable and a 6 week probationary period before coverage starts.

Anyone have any experience with the annoying duck?

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

all I know is they have a duck for a mascot that screams their name in both Pain and 'other' activities

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Thanks.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

any time...any time

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

I am scheduled for my required one-on-one interview tomorrow. They have been trying to schedule this for months. First promise was that they would send a rep to my job site as I work away from the office. Well that didn't happen. I have to go in, after work ( my time) to give the rep a chance to sell me his product---talk about a captive audience.
I'll post back after I talk with the rep.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

It's AD&D insurance. It's basic and solid, not a scam. They pay, per schedule, for accidents you have whether you're injured at work or at play.

They helped our family out a lot after the house fire. They ended up paying us over $30k due to injuries. They also paid a decent chunk when I broke my leg a few years ago, and again last summer when I broke two toes.

Making the claim is easy enough, fill out a form after calling them, and send it in.

Like I said...they pay per a schedule that they give you when you purchase the coverage, so you know what is and what isn't covered, as well as how much they will pay you and for how long.

I still carry coverage, as does my wife.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

That's too bad, I'd imagine that varies greatly depending on the rep. I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to schedule a meeting at your chosen site and time, but then again customer service is one of our (company's) main selling points. Our rep. made a special trip to meet with our delivery driver who is rarely in house during normal business hours.

Thanks.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Thanks for the feedback, JP. Sounds like you've certainly put them to the test. They seem to provide some peace of mind for the unexpected.

The only unfortunate thing is with my wife being "not employed" for the last 15 years, coverage available for her is minimal (IIRC they require about $9K income to qualify). If she ever went down for a period of time and we required childcare and transportation, we'd be screwed. I'm easily replaceable. Her, not so much.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

I used to have it but never used it. I guess that's because I'm a young healthy single guy with no kids. I quit renewing it since I figured I'd never use it.

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

Life insurance and disability insurance are necessary and important parts of financial planning.

Financial planning includes both saving for retirement and managing or minimizing risk.

Parts of risk management including providing for your spouse and children in case you die or become disabled (temporarily or permanently), and are unable to work.

Most people seem to realize life insurance is a necessary evil, but it seems few people actually get it.

I've spoken to very few people who even think they need disability insurance, and virtually no one I know has it.

As far as I know, you are actually more likely to become disabled than die very young.

I think you are wise to be looking at buying these types of insurance.

As far as I know, Aflac is a company based somewhere in the Southeast, and has a stellar reputation.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I carry Short and Long Term Disability, as well as AD&D, in addition to healthcare, dental and optical. I'm using my disability insurance right now. I never thought I'd need it, but here it is.

Ever since I was licensed in 1992 in Ohio to sell insurance (even passed my NASD-6, but decided not to follow that field) I've carried plenty of insurance. Reading the statistics that were published back then scared me into making sure my family is provided for if something ever happened to me.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Swampyankee--You are master of your domain.self employed.
But
The whole idea of some employee going into the HR goons "Center of Excellence" and requesting something like this is ridiculous. Any one stupid enough to draw attention to themselves is either got it made-- a CEO's relative or some similarly situated hack.
No everyday worker bee from the cube farm had better even think its casual to inquire to the goons-- about -- "Im planning on becoming incapacitated" red flags.
Thats just asking for the sack.

I beg to differ. Asking to have a rep come in and offer this insurance as a payroll deduction (employee covers total cost) isn't stupid, it's smart.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Quote:

Originally Posted by jplinville I beg to differ. Asking to have a rep come in and offer this insurance as a payroll deduction (employee covers total cost) isn't stupid, it's smart.

for sure, and unfortunately some of these idiot companies fail to realize that "life happens". Car accidents, cancer, heart attacks, slip and falls, etc etc do occur. I have a friend who recently suffered some major health issues and as a result doctors ordered her to take a temporary leave of absence. Some of her co-workers act like she planned it and is using it as an excuse to take off work. Wait until they have an unplanned health outage and then we'll see if they sing the same tune.

So, yes, life happens and disability coverage will fill the gaps when and if you become ill and unable to work. and, this coming from Huskyman, who as many of you know doesn't like the insurance industry. Miracles never cease!

My notations for clarity.

A) Actually it was my and my brother's idea, the de facto HR dept. for all intents and purposes.

B) Or they are a trusted and valuable employee who has proven that over an extended period of time.

We just saw it as a way of offering ourselves and our employees a little bit of extra protection should something occur without any additional expense through the company (all Aflac premiums are self-funded). We already offer 50% Long Term and Short Term Disability coverage at no cost to them and they can purchase additional the additional 20% (either through our insurance provider or now Aflac) so the cancer/disease/injury outside of work provides some additional peace of mind.

While even our lowest paid employees are well above minimum wage, many are two income families and the loss of one income that didn't qualify for disability could be catastrophic. My truck driver does logging and firewood on the side, this just gives him the potential to cover lost wages should he injure himself in the woods. Of course, we'd prefer he not. But it's his own time and we chose to take the gamble on him.

We're probably not the highest paying option yet our shortest term, non-office employee has been here for 10 years. Keeping them happy, or at the very least comfortable, with flexibility and a better-than-average benefits program are key reason. This would add to that benefits portfolio.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)