One question that seems to keep coming up is whether productsare “worksite” products or “voluntary” products. Let’s analyze thedifference.

Historically, it’s safe to say worksite products have theirroots in individual insurance products, while voluntary productshave their origins in group products. But as Hegel observed, overtime a synthesis emerges between competing theses and this isreflected in “hybrid” products that combine some of the principalsof group and individual insurance.

First, a product is built around several elements—the benefitsit offers, the processes that support it and the compliancerequired by regulators. Are the benefits any different in worksiteor voluntary? Not in my eyes. A death claim is a death claim. Adisability is a disability, and although there are vast differencesin the definition of disability between products, these differenceshave nothing to do with the worksite/voluntary distinction.

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