Present a creative benefits solution: Group Critical Illness coverage

With budget belt-tightening, more and more employers are reluctantly breaking the news to employees that out-of-pocket costs like deductibles are being increased. However, economically challenging times require out-of-the box solutions and adding a supplemental group Critical Illness plan is one of them. Offered on a group basis, a Critical Illness plan is an affordable way to keep a benefits offering robust while still enabling employers to manage costs, even when offered on an employer-funded basis.

Higher Deductibles: Employees fear not when Critical Illness coverage is added
Critical Illness policyholders receive a lump-sum benefit upon diagnosis of certain serious illnesses (such as heart attack, stroke or cancer) which they can use in any way and without needing to fill out reimbursement forms. A new generation of plans like that offered by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America goes a step further beyond coverage for certain prevalent illnesses and provides per-day payments for extended hospital stays for all other illnesses and injuries.

The cash infusion helps alleviate the burden of growing out-of-pocket medical costs, especially higher deductibles. According to a Guardian study titled Benefits & Behavior: Spotlight on Group Critical Illness Insurance, 73% would use the lump sum payment toward uncovered medical expenses if diagnosed with a critical illness. Research has shown that the availability of a Critical Illness benefit removes employee concerns about meeting the high deductible and as a result they are much more likely to enroll and appreciate their medical benefits.

More advantages for employees than meets the eye
While Critical Illness coverage provides help with out-of-pocket medical costs, it provides advantages beyond this need as the insured person has the freedom to spend benefit payments how he or she chooses. Situations that trigger a cash payout often entail indirect costs - travel to treatment centers, lost income by a loved one because of time off to help out, child care expenses - that add up quickly and require their fair share of financial support. Many people turn to savings or credit cards to cover these expenses. Critical illness gives them the added advantage to protect their financial security and not resort to these less than ideal options.

To learn more, download Guardian's Benefits & Behavior: Spotlight on Group Critical Illness Insurance at www.GuardianBenefits.com