Senate Bill 141 helps protect LTD affordability and educate consumers
Belleville, Ill. — Aug. 2, 2010 — Connecticut lawmakers recently passed legislation that helps educate consumers about their long-term disability (LTD) coverage provisions, while also protecting the affordability of LTD coverage, according to Allsup. Based in Belleville, Ill., Allsup works with employers to coordinate their disability, group health and workers’ compensation benefit plans with Social Security and Medicare.
The bill, “An Act Requiring Disclosure of Offsets in Group Long-Term Disability Insurance Policies,” outlines information that should be provided to disability policyholders when their policy contains an offset. An offset is a provision that reduces the amount of benefits provided to the policyholder if other resources are available, for example, Social Security disability benefits.
“Long-term disability policies were designed to integrate with benefits, such as Social Security Disability Insurance,” said Eric Gudmestad, Allsup senior vice president of commercial business. “Without this integration, LTD policies would be more costly to the average consumer.”
“Offsets allow LTD policies to be offered at lower cost to consumers,” Gudmestad said. “This legislation also enhances the education that insurance providers currently offer to their policyholders by emphasizing important provisions in their coverage.”
Specifically, the bill requires each group LTD policy sold in Connecticut with an offset to provide a separate document (when the policy is delivered, renewed, amended or continued) to:
- Explain that the policy has an offset.
- Explain that the offset serves to limit payments to the total amount specified in the policy and also factors in benefits from other resources.
- List the other benefits for which the policy offsets.
- Provide the income percentage that the policy covers.
- Give an example of how the offset works.
- Informs the employee that he may contact an agent or provider for a policy without an offset.
Some of this information already is available in the plan provisions given to consumers at the time of purchase. But this new requirement may make it easier for consumers to see and understand these features. As a result, individuals will be able to make more informed decisions, Gudmestad said.
This legislation applies only to LTD policies sold in Connecticut.
“Allsup values education, especially informing people about the benefits available to them through both public and private disability insurance benefits,” Gudmestad said.
For more information about Allsup’s services to employers and plan providers, call (866) 380-3048.
ABOUT ALLSUP
A benefits coordinator between private and public plans, Allsup has helped hundreds of self-insured Fortune 500 employers, state and municipal governments, disability and workers’ compensation plans in reconciling and complying with Social Security and Medicare entitlements. For more information, visit
www.AllsupInc.com.
Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, Medicare and Medicare Secondary Payer compliance services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Founded in 1984, Allsup employs nearly 700 professionals who deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. The company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis.