Showing posts with label cafe plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cafe plan. Show all posts

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Voluntary Benefits are more relevant more today




If your #employer groups have resolved to be more financially savvy in 2017, they’re probably focused on making their money work for them through wise investments — such as a quality workforce. One way to support their employee investment is through #voluntary benefits

While growing financial strength is essential, #protecting it is equally important. After all, a business is built upon the strength of its employees. When staff is out, for whatever reason, workflow suffers. The product knowledge and on-the-job training the company has invested is lost. One of the most common and potentially catastrophic dangers employees experience is a major medical event.

Ask employers how confident they are that employees could pay the costs related to an accident, critical illness or physical inability to work for a while. Wait for an answer. Count how many reply with, “We offer #healthInsurance.”

Even with health insurance in place, remind them of the out-of-pocket expenses – #deductibles, travel related to specialized medical treatment, child care or missed work pay. Explain that because deductibles, #co-pays and coinsurance have been on the rise in recent years, major medical coverage doesn’t always cover the needs of the individual. If an #employee is unable to meet his other basic needs, they are likely to find other employment. Their investment has just walked out the door.

However, when #supplemental benefits are offered, employees can be paid directly in the case of events like an illness or accident. They can use it for the #out-of-pocket expenses and take care of their family.

Investment saved.





Types of benefits to consider.

1. Accident Insurance: 
Pays policy-specified amounts for injuries incurred in an accident, typically with higher amounts for more severe situations.

2. Short-term disability income insurance: 
Replaces a portion of income if an illness or injury prevents an insured from working for specific periods of time.

3. Cancer insurance: 
As the name suggests, offers lump sum payments after a cancer diagnosis, as well as benefits that assist with payment for ongoing treatments.

4. Life insurance: 
Though primarily a way to help protect beneficiaries in the event of death, can include benefits to help pay the costs of long-term care or even critical illnesses while the insured is still living.

5. Critical illness insurance: 
Pays benefits for certain medical events, such as stroke, cancer diagnosis, heart attack or organ failure.

6. Hospital indemnity insurance: 
Helps make up for the costs a major medical plan might not pay, like deductibles, copays and co-insurance expenses. It provides benefits for each day spent in the hospital.
Employee benefits form part of a complete financial plan.

Succeeding financially in 2016 is a fantastic goal—let your employer groups see how voluntary benefits help protect their employee investment.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Why Aflac

What is Voluntary Insurance?

American Family Life Assurance Compnay

Simply put, voluntary or supplemental insurance plans help people protect their financial wellbeing in the event of a serious accident or illness. —Voluntary insurance offers a way to stay ahead of the medical and out-of-pocket expenses that major medical insurance does not cover and that add up quickly after an accidental injury or illness. From emergency treatment and transportation costs to receive care, or your everyday bills, voluntary insurance pays cash benefits directly to the policyholder (unless otherwise assigned), and the policyholder decides how or when to use the money.

Takes a quick look at four popular policies:

• Accident Insurance
• Cancer Insurance
• Hospital Indemnity Insurance
• Short-term Disability Insurance

To see a full list of available Aflac policies, visit: http://www.aflac.com/individuals/policies 


Please watch this video.



Voluntary insurance works with major medical coverage to provide an essential safety net 

Supplemental policies, like the ones offered by Aflac, work together with major medical insurance to help provide protection to policyholders. As health care costs continue to rise, these policies help provide an affordable extra layer of financial protection for your family. Unlike major medical insurance, these policies pay cash benefits directly to the policyholder (unless assigned otherwise) if they get sick or injured. 

While no one anticipates the unexpected, more than 38.9 million medically consulted injuries occur in a year.

These injuries pose more than simply a health risk, but also a risk to financial security. Illness or medical bills contributed to 62.1% of bankruptcies in 2007, and threequarters of these debtors had medical insurance.

Often, having these policies can save individuals and their families from out-of-pocket costs, unexpected debt and even bankruptcy — helping them to focus on getting better and getting back to work.


 More Relevant Than Ever 

Before Health care reform and increasing health care costs continue to drive demand for voluntary benefits — and for good reason. As the cost of health care rises, employees are shouldering both additional health care costs and decision-making responsibility. Individuals and their families also face more decisions as health care becomes more consumer-driven, and new options become available to them through health care reform. 

Even with a comprehensive major medical plan, the out-of-pocket costs (both medical and non-medical related) can be substantial. In fact, 44% of workers would have to use a credit card or borrow from friends or family to pay for out-of-pocket expenses associated with a serious illness or accident.

For many, voluntary benefits help solve a number of concerns and challenges that are surfacing during this time of health care and financial insecurity. Unlike major medical insurance, these supplemental policies pay cash benefits directly to the policyholder.  
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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Aflac Named to Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies List

Aflac has been named a World's Most Ethical Company by the Ethisphere Institute for a 10th consecutive year.

COLUMBUS, Ga.March 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the leader of voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the United States, announced today it has been named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2016 World's Most Ethical Companies list. This marks 10 consecutive years that Aflac has appeared on this prestigious list, making them the sole insurance company to have appeared on the list every year since its inception. All told, 131 companies made the list this year, eight of which are 10-time recipients, including Aflac.
"Appearing on Ethisphere's list of the World's Most Ethical Companies for an amazing 10 consecutive years is an honor and, in today's climate, a welcomed validation of our business practices," Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos said. "Research continues to show that consumers and investors have a heightened expectation for companies to behave ethically and responsibly, so we are proud to receive this award from Ethisphere, a top authority in the field of corporate ethics."
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Ethisphere and the World's Most Ethical Companies designation, which, according to Ethisphere, recognizes companies that align principle with action, work tirelessly to make trust part of their corporate DNA and, in doing so, shape future industry standards by introducing tomorrow's best practices today.
"Operating in an industry where trust is everything, Aflac has a longstanding history of transparency and leadership in governance practices that has earned them that trust," explained Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer Timothy Erblich. "Their unwavering commitment to the communities in which they operate around the globe and their values-based leadership approach are only a few of the reasons they have made the list since its inception, 10 years running. Congratulations to everyone at Aflac for being recognized as a 2016 World's Most Ethical Company."
The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research and vetted and refined by the expert advice from Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel. The EQ offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.
The scores provided to all companies that participate in the process are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35 percent); corporate citizenship and responsibility (20 percent); culture of ethics (20 percent); governance (15 percent); and leadership, innovation and reputation (10 percent). Visit http://worldsmostethicalcompanies.ethisphere.com/honorees for a complete list of this year's honorees.
Best practices and insights from the 2016 honorees will be released in the form of a whitepaper and infographics over the next few months (download the 2015 insights). Organizations interested in how they compare to the World's Most Ethical Companies are invited to participate in the Ethics Quotient.
ABOUT AFLAC
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader of voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive, process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one business day. In Japan, Aflac is a leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac individual and group insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For a decade straight, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies, the only insurance company to appear on the list every year since its inception. In 2016, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the 18th consecutive year. Also, in 2016, Fortune magazine included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 15th time, ranking the company No. 1 in innovation for the insurance, life and health category for the second consecutive year. In 2015, Aflac's contact centers were recognized by J.D. Power by providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" for the Live Phone Channel. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.
About the Ethisphere Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the publication of Ethisphere magazine. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: http://ethisphere.com.
Aflac Logo
Media contact – Jon Sullivan, 706.763.4813 or jsullivan@aflac.com
Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y. Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667, FAX: 706.324.6330, or rwilkey@aflac.com
Ethisphere Media Contact - Clea Nabozny, 480.397.2658 or Clea.Nabozny@ethisphere.com
SOURCE Aflac

Monday, January 18, 2016

WHY NOT LOOK AT AFLAC

A whirlwind of changes to the way health insurance in the United States is purchased and delivered has more Americans focused on cost and coverage than ever before. Suddenly, major medical insurance isn’t just a nice-to-have: It’s a must, much like auto and homeowners insurance are musts for those of us who drive cars or own homes.
Health care reform has turned workers’ attention to their personal health care situations. They’re also looking closely at their insurance coverage to identify gaps that might leave them vulnerable to medical expenses they’re ill-equipped to pay. Enter voluntary insurance, a type of coverage that’s not required or mandated, with enrollment that’s completely optional – which is why it’s known as “voluntary.”

Why voluntary?

Voluntary insurance works hand in hand with major medical plans to help ensure individuals who are sick or hurt have the funds needed to pay health-related costs their primary insurance might not cover, as well as other out-of-pocket costs. After all, when a medical event occurs, there are deductibles, copayments and treatment costs that may not be covered to consider – not to mention the bills that continue to roll in even if an individual is too ill or injured to work.
According to the 2015 Aflac WorkForces Report,1 52 percent of today’s workers have less than $1,000 on hand to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses, and 67 percent at least somewhat agree they would not be able to adjust to the financial costs associated with a serious injury or illness.
Perhaps that’s why so many are open to voluntary insurance: 70 percent of workers who don’t currently have access to voluntary insurance through their companies say they’d be at least somewhat likely to purchase them if their employers made them available.
With that in mind, here are several reasons employers should seriously consider offering voluntary options:
  • Voluntary insurance can help provide employees with financial safety nets that keep their minds on their jobs and not on money concerns. That’s especially important given that employees who participated in the 2015 Aflac WorkForces Report said personal financial issues are among the top non-work-related issues that distract them while they’re on the job.1
  • Voluntary insurance pays cash benefits workers can use to help pay unexpected health care costs that might not be covered by major medical insurance or to help pay bills that threaten their financial security.
  • Voluntary insurance pays cash benefits regardless of any other insurance coverage employees have in place, including policies available through government health care exchanges.
  • Employees who are offered and enrolled in voluntary insurance policies, report increased job satisfaction and believe they’re more financially prepared to cope with unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenses.1

A win-win scenario

With so much uncertainty swirling around benefits and options in the wake of reform, developing a plan to manage health care-related costs can be overwhelming for both employers and workers. Voluntary insurance options are a double win: They can soften the blow of rising out-of-pocket costs for workers and, because premiums are employee-paid, they can be made available at no direct cost to companies.