Thoits Insurance introduces Diana Korolog

Thoits Insurance is pleased to introduce Diana Korolog as a Vice President in our Employee Benefits Team.

Diana Korolog has rejoined Thoits Insurance as an employee benefits consultant and Vice President in September 2006. After graduating from San Jose State University with a degree in Sociology and Psychology, she began her career in employee benefits by assuming responsibilities for managing multi-employer trusts and partially funded benefit programs.

Diana originally joined Thoits in the 1980’s as our first employee benefits specialist. In her initial 13 years at Thoits Diana worked with creative, cutting edge solutions for her clients. She focused on helping employers manage overall benefit costs and to remain competitive, improve employee retention and provide innovative solutions to businesses in a dynamic market.

Diana has rejoined Thoits after taking time off to raise a family. She is deeply involved in Bay Area community events, particularly education and the visual and performing arts.

Prevent sexual harassment

California employers with 50 or more employees (including temporary service employees, independent contractors, and employees outside the state) are required to provide supervisors with two hours of classroom or other interactive sexual harassment training every 2 years.

Critical illness: filling the benefits gap

As medical technologies and treatments improve, more people are surviving once-fatal forms of cancer, heart disease and other conditions. But surviving a critical illness can be very costly, and ongoing medical and non-medical expenses often fall outside coverage by traditional health or disability insurance. These trends are creating a growing demand for supplemental health care benefits such as critical illness policies. Here’s what your company needs to know about critical illness coverage and benefits.

Coverage. A critical illness policy pays a lump sum benefit if a plan participant is diagnosed with a serious health condition, such as cancer, heart attack or stroke. Illnesses covered under the policies vary, but can include a far longer list of ailments, including Alzheimer’s, paralysis, coma, multiple sclerosis and loss of hearing. Lump-sum payments can be used for any expense—co-payments, travel costs, experimental treatments, or even to replace wages of a family member leaving work to provide support.

Payouts for critical illness policies typically average around $25,000, with premiums costing about $300 to $500 annually, depending on the health, gender, age and location of the insured. Higher-end policies covering a dozen or more conditions generally pay benefits of more than $100,000 and cost about $1,500 to $2,000 a year. As a voluntary benefit, the employee is responsible for premiums, although an employer may choose to offset part of the cost.

Critical illness policies are generally portable, and benefits are not reduced after the insured reaches a certain age. In addition, equal benefit amounts are available for each family member when the employee buys family coverage.

Eligibility and enrollment. Employees usually have to complete a medical questionnaire as part of the critical illness insurance enrollment process. Policyholders might be denied coverage if they already have a covered illness or if several direct relatives have had one. Policies under $100,000 generally don’t require a medical exam. Some plans require waiting periods of 30 days or even several months before coverage begins. Others may stop paying benefits after a fixed period of two or three years.

Limitations. Most policies have age limitations. New policies often can’t be issued after age 65, although the age cut offs vary by insurer. After the cut-off age, many policies reduce the lump-sum payout by half, but don’t reduce the premiums. In other words, if a policyholder has a stroke at age 75, she might only get half the benefit. Many critical illness policies also have fixed dollar limits, paying a maximum amount for individual services or limiting total benefits to a fixed amount, such as $10,000.

Critical illness insurance vs. cancer insurance. Critical illness insurance differs from “cancer insurance and other so-called “dread disease” coverages,” which have been available for some time. First, critical illness policies cover illnesses in addition to cancer. What’s more, cancer policies are typically indemnity plans that pay for specific treatment costs, such as hospital stays or radiation treatments. For an additional premium, riders may be added to cover emergency room visits, certain inpatient and outpatient procedures, and other disability benefits.

While cancer treatment accounts for about 10 percent of U.S. health ex¬penses, no single disease accounts for more than a small proportion of the overall national health care bill. That’s why it is essential to offer coverage for all conditions, not just cancer. And because cancer patients often face large non-medical expenses, such as home care, transportation and rehabilitation costs, many prefer the flexibility of critical illness coverage.

Employee education. Some financial advisors and consumer advocates claim that aggressive marketing by insurers might be scaring some individuals into purchas¬ing coverage unnecessarily. They believe consumers would be better off devoting the premium dollars to savings, investments, or even to fitness programs to help reduce the risk of illness. In many cases, comprehensive health and disability coverage might be enough protection. It’s a good idea to educate employees about their options regarding traditional health and disability insurance to ensure they make an in¬formed decision about the need for supplemental benefits.

Critical illness insurance might hold special appeal for employees who are caring for children or aging parents. By lessening the financial blow of a serious illness, the employee can focus on recovery, rather than the added stress of staggering medical expenses. Supplemental benefits work to boost morale and foster loyalty—both of which enhance productivity. For more information about the right critical illness or other supplemental benefit policies for your employees, please contact us.

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Articles are provided for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be reproduced in any form. Articles are based upon analysis of information sources, necessarily condensed and, therefore, not applicable to all situations. Though we believe them to be accurate, facts and conclusions are not guaranteed. Articles are provided with the understanding that they do not constitute legal, accounting or other professional advice, which should be sought from professionals in those fields. © 2006 Thoits Insurance. All rights reserved.

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