Disability Benefits Prepare You for the Unexpected

05.03.2017
HR & Safety

Few of us think we’re going to get sick beyond catching a cold or the occasional stomach bug. At worst, we figure, a virus like the flu may take us out of circulation for three or four days.
When we’re sidelined, we do our best to recover quickly and return to work.
But what happens when the unexpected strikes—an extended illness, serious injury, or condition that may require weeks or even months before we can return to work?

Harsh Reality

For most people, the notion of being out of circulation for weeks or months is unthinkable.
For all our talk about saving money for rainy days, the average American would experience serious hardship if he or she missed work for a month, and a quarter of all Americans can’t afford to miss work, period.
If you’re an employer, that means most of your employees would face serious financial challenges if an illness, accident, or pregnancy prevented them from working—and the odds of such events occurring are substantial.
According to the Council for Disability Awareness, there is a 25% chance an employee will become disabled for three or more months during their working lifetime. Half of working Americans say that would severely compromise their financial stability.
For you, it means one out of two of your employees doesn’t have adequate protection from illness or a disability.

Solutions

One proactive course of action is to offer your workers a short-term disability or long-term disability insurance policy.
Such policies offer income replacement of between 50% and 67% of an employee’s salary after a prescribed waiting period—typically seven to 14 days for short-term, and from 90 to 180 days for long-term coverage—for a sustained, pre-determined coverage period.

Many plan features are unique to our program and cannot be found elsewhere in the market.

These are critical dollars that allow employees' lives to continue without the financial trauma that can accompany a prolonged work disruption.
CBIA Health Connections offers employers voluntary and group short- and long-term disability insurance products from The Hartford that meet the diverse needs of your employees.
Many plan features are unique to our program and cannot be found elsewhere in the market.
Benefits of CBIA's disability program include:

  • Income replacement between 50% and 67% of salary
  • Great pricing, and plans can be employer-paid, or employee-paid through post-tax payroll deductions
  • Low participation requirements; employer- and employee-paid plans through CBIA require as few as three enrolled employees
  • Easy all-in-one bill and enrollment form
  • Superior claims support to answer questions and help get your employees back to work quickly

'The Relief Is Invaluable'

Considering how important this kind of insurance option is to employees, it's surprising that only approximately 15% of small business employers offer short- or long-term disability coverage.
Stephen Sonnone is an account executive for CBIA.
In his four years with the organization, he says, he has heard countless stories of unexpected illnesses, car accidents, complicated pregnancies, sports injuries, heart attacks, and other long-term health issues that came out of nowhere and resulted in someone being out of work for an extended period of time.

In today's highly competitive employment marketplace, disability insurance is an attractive benefit.

“Everyone knows somebody with a story about struggling with illness or recovery that kept them out of work seemingly forever,” Sonnone says.
“For those people with the opportunity and the foresight to buy into a short-term or long-term disability plan, the relief is invaluable in mitigating financial crisis.”

Recruitment and Retention

Furthermore, in today’s highly competitive employment marketplace, disability insurance is an attractive benefit for recruiting and retaining high-quality employees.
“CBIA is offering great disability products that typically aren't available to small employers and employees can't buy directly from the marketplace,” adds Sonnone.
“It's part of our overall effort to offer small employers a benefit package that is more comprehensive than just health insurance.
“That's valuable to them for attracting and retaining talented employees, and it's good for employees who worry about the financial consequences of getting sick or hurt.”


For more information about CBIA's short- and long-term disability benefits, contact your agent or CBIA's Robert LaChance (860.244.1937).

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