SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE
Supplemental Insurance:
A Great Employee Benefit
D
oes your company offer
supplemental insurance, also
referred to as voluntary or
worksite insurance? If not,
maybe it’s time to consider
it. Over the past several years, with the
astronomical increases in health plan
deductibles, the use of supplemental
insurance has increased to the point that
it is part of many companies’ standard
benefits packages.
The purpose of supplemental insurance is
to provide that extra layer of coverage for
people whose medical insurance doesn’t
kick in until they have already paid a
large deductible or who have reached
30
a maximum coverage cap. Since most
Americans don’t have that type of cash
available on hand, uncovered medical costs
can easily eat into budgets. Many families
already struggle with debt repayment.
The last thing they need is to worry about
finances when they may be dealing with a
serious health crisis. With supplemental
insurance, employees have peace of
mind knowing that their out-of-pocket
medical costs—including deductibles,
co-payments, and co-insurance—will
be covered without undue disruption to
family finances.
Supplemental insurance can be offered
in a variety of configurations, with the
most common being accident and critical
illness. Critical illness insurance covers
a wide range of expensive, out-of-pocket,
treatment costs for things like heart
attack, stroke, and cancer. Supplemental
insurance plans are also available to
cover a range of other possible hardships,
including those relating to disability,
dental, vision, hospital, and long-term
care.
While the employee still must bear the
premium costs, generally without employer
support, these policies provide good value
at only about 30 to 50 dollars per month
for a family of four. Individual coverage
can often be as low as just ten dollars per