Critically important coverage during the pandemic

What keeps your clients (and you) up at night?

I’m willing to bet that these days, it’s something related to the pandemic. And to be sure, the economic downturn, closed schools and businesses, a stressed and struggling workforce and still-rising COVID-19 case numbers are serious concerns.

Related: How the pandemic may change work-life balance forever

You can’t solve all these problems for your clients, but you can bring them stronger benefits solutions to help their employees survive the financial storm the coronavirus has stirred up. One of those solutions is the newer, improved versions of critical illness insurance now entering the market.

Here are three enhancements to look for as you help your clients create the best possible benefits package during challenging times:

1. New infectious disease coverage

Despite the current focus on the pandemic, heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for decades. And more than 600,000 will die from cancer this year—far more people than the coronavirus is likely to claim at the current rate.

But COVID-19 is still spreading at an alarming pace. While the vast majority of patients survive, treatment can be costly. Public health experts estimate 15% to 20% of people who get COVID-19 and seek treatment may need a hospital stay—at a cost of more than $73,000 for those without health insurance. Even for those with private insurance using in-network providers, the tab is close to $40,000.

One way the benefits industry is responding is by adding infectious disease coverage to critical illness insurance plans. The coverage may be offered as a rider that provides a lump-sum benefit employees can use to help pay health care expenses, non-medical costs, or even day-to-day bills. The benefits typically are payable for hospital stays of a set number of days, such as seven or 14. Covered conditions can include COVID-19, as well as a wide range of other infectious diseases, such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Legionnaires’ disease, meningitis, Lyme disease, sepsis and more.

2. Expanded coverage for broader protection

Another way the latest critical illness plans are upping their impact is by expanding the conditions they cover. Some plans cover 50 or more different serious conditions and treatment procedures such as heart attack, stroke, cancer, organ failure or coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Look for those that cover all breast cancer—invasive and noninvasive—at 100% of the original benefit amount.

Some plans pay benefits for multiple different critical illnesses, as well as reoccurrence of the same illness, including cancer. Additional conditions covered for children include Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and cleft lip or palate, often at no additional cost.

Your clients and their employees also may not realize they can get value from their critical illness protection even if they’re never diagnosed with an illness. The well-being assistance benefit on some plans pays a benefit for one of many different health screening tests, such as a colonoscopy, mammogram or BRCA genetic test that identifies breast cancer risk.

3. Customization to meet individual needs

A one-size-fits-all benefits package is unlikely to meet the needs of a diverse employee population—and neither will a single-option critical illness plan. The newer critical illness plans provide many options so your clients and their employees can tailor coverage to their unique needs.

Your clients should expect a choice of several different plan designs with different features. For example, they may want a plan that includes more cancer coverage to offer a combined benefit to employees. On the other hand, if they already offer a cancer plan, they may prefer a critical illness design with less emphasis on cancer benefits.

Employees should be able to choose from different levels of coverage to meet their financial situations. They also may want to further personalize their coverage with riders that pay additional benefits for infectious diseases, cancer, first diagnosis, heart procedures or progressive diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Medical advances mean many more people are surviving serious illnesses; but surviving the financial burden they create is a different matter. Educate your clients on the importance of critical illness insurance as an affordable option that can help employees better protect themselves and their families from the unexpected.

Your clients (and you) just might sleep a little better at night.

Pam Jenkins is assistant vice president of product development at Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company.

Read more: 

• Critical illness insurance: Preparing for the unthinkable
• Critical illness insurance is about more than medical plan gaps
• Mistaken identity: How critical illness could lose its head start