(248) 349-8680 info@hiainc.org

Choosing coverage

It’s important to us that you understand what types of insurance coverage is right for you, as your individual or family situation can be very different than a co-workers.

  1. Before signing up for your employer’s benefit plan, take a look at your current financial and health status.
  2. Next, browse the following coverage types below to learn how you and your family can be protected from possible unknown risks.
  3. Look at the options you have available to you from your employer and choose coverage that makes the most logical sense. If your employer doesn’t offer the coverage you need, our agents can help guide you to the right carriers and products unique to your needs–and remember, we are licensed with all the insurance companies in the state of Michigan and more, so finding a carrier and plan that best suits your needs would be open-minded and calculated.
  • Do you have a need for coverage? Would you or your family be in financial turmoil if something happened to you or them?
  • Does your spouse’s employer offer him or her benefits that are better or worse?
  • We can help you compare these options that are unique to your individual situation so you’re alone in the decision making.

If you have any questions when deciding what plans and types of insurance coverage is right for you, call us.

Always remember, we work for you–not the insurance company. 

Health insurance

MedtipsterElect coverage on a needs basis if you’re offered different plan options; but do make sure to elect.  It sounds dire, but it’s essential that you have health insurance for you and your family. More than 60 percent of bankruptcies in the United States are the result of medical bills. Sadly, if you’re self-employed, you could be one major illness away from bankruptcy or losing your business. In addition, over a recent six-year period, an estimated 137,000 Americans died due to a lack of health insurance. They either received too little care or received that care too late. What can you do? Learn how to manage your risk. (healthinsurance.org)

 

Critical Illness

Critical illness/cancer voluntary coverages pay lump-sum benefits Why do I need critical illness and cancer coverages? These plans can assist you with a variety of expenses so you can focus on getting better. You can spend the benefits however you want, on direct or indirect costs associated with the illness:

  • Make your mortgage payments
  • Hire extra help for around the house, such as in-home caregivers
  • Help cover medical bills as well as therapy and training
  • Pay for travel to treatment facilities away from home – and for family visits

In addition to the physical and emotional effects, people who are diagnosed with a serious condition may see a costly impact on their expenses. You may need additional help to absorb the expense of paying for drugs and other direct and indirect costs associated with these diseases.

Disability Insurance

Are you disabled? What are your chances? Probably higher than you think. You can ignore the problem, but it’s hard to ignore the facts: Just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled before they retire. Accidents are NOT usually the culprit. Back injuries, cancer, heart disease and other illnesses cause the majority of long-term absences.

Are you prepared if it happens to you? Probably not. If you’re like most Americans, you don’t have disability insurance. Or enough emergency savings to last 31.2 months. Yes, that’s the duration of the average long-term disability claim.

If you become disabled, will you be ready? Or will you and your loved ones face serious financial hardship, possibly foreclosure and even bankruptcy? Good news. We can help you prepare for disability the same way you plan for other emergencies.. A disability plan will help with day-to-day expenses – housing, food, car payments, even additional medical costs – if an illness or accidents disables you away from the workplace. You won’t have to worry about using your savings or incurring additional debt to cover these costs and care for your family.

Why do I need disability coverage? Most people can’t afford to be disabled, even for a short time. Almost 90 percent of disabling accidents and illnesses are not work related, so you can’t count on Workers Compensation to be there for you and your loved ones (National Safety Council, Injury Facts 2008 Ed.). READ MORE ABOUT OUR DISABILITY INSURANCE HERE

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life coverage gives you and your loved ones a solid foundation to build a long-term financial plan. It helps ensure that your family is financially protected. Why do I need whole life coverage? Whole life offers a cash value and death benefit. So when you pay your premium, part of it goes into a cash reserve that you can typically access at any time, for any purpose. It can be used for things like education expenses, retirement income, and many other needs.

  • Half of U.S. households say they need more life insurance.
  • Most people don’t realize the average cost of a funeral in 2009 was almost $8,000.
  • Today more than ever single people are caring for aging parents or siblings. Life insurance can provide financial stability to those who depend on you.

A whole life policy helps take care of your loved one’s immediate and future financial needs after a loss, and that’s a good feeling knowing you’ve done all you can to help protect their way of life and secure their future.

 

Term Life/CriticaLife Insurance

Term life coverage gives you and your loved ones financial protection for a specific period of time (term). As a short-term financial plan it provides a death benefit, and helps ensure that your family is financially protected if the unexpected happens. In addition with Humana’s CriticaLife® if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness you can receive a living benefit. Why do I need term life coverage? If your family were to suddenly lose your income due to your death, it might be difficult for them to repay debts. A term life plan is a good safeguard to ensure financial commitments, such as college tuition or paying off a mortgage will be taken care of.

  • 95 Million U.S. adults have no life insurance at all.
  • Top five leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke, lower respiratory illnesses and accidents.
  • Most people don’t realize the average cost of a funeral in 2009 was almost $8,000.

A term life policy helps take care of your loved one’s immediate and future financial needs after a loss, and that’s a good feeling knowing you’ve done all you can to help protect their way of life and secure their future.

Cafeteria Plans (Flexible Spending Account)

If your employer offers a Flexible Spending Account and you and/or your family go through medical expenses, you might want to consider this your raise. The purpose of this plan is to provide a tax-savings in which you can increase your take-home pay by using pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible FSA expenses for you, your spouse, and qualifying children or relatives. FSA savings can really add up. A Flexible Spending Account, or FSA, lets employees set aside pre-tax money from their paychecks to spend on healthcare expenses not covered by their insurance policy. Money that goes into an FSA is pre-tax, so employees can save as much as 40% of each dollar they put into the account, as long as they spend the money in the account on qualified health costs. FSAStore.com has an inventory of thousands of qualified health products. You can use our Find a Doctor feature to find doctors, dentists, acupuncturists and other healthcare providers. It also lists health services that you can pay for out of an FSA.

Vision

Annual eye health exams not only help prevent vision loss, but can detect more serious diseases in the body such as diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, and brain tumors. Why do I need vision coverage? Eye examinations are an important part of routine preventive healthcare. Because many eye and vision conditions have no obvious symptoms, you may be unaware of problems.

  • An estimated 11 million Americans have uncorrected vision problems ranging from refractive errors to sight-threatening diseases such as glaucoma. (The Eye Disease Prevalence Research Group, 2010)
  • People with diabetes are also twice as likely to get cataract or develop glaucoma. (National Women’s Health Report, 2010)
  • Early detection of children’s vision problems is essential to make sure your kids have the visual skills they need to do well in school, sports and other activities. (All About Vision, 2010)

Early diagnosis and treatment are important for maintaining good vision and preventing permanent vision loss.

Dental

Good health starts with a healthy mouth. Regular dental cleanings may prevent complications with serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and premature and underweight babies. Why do I need dental coverage? Healthy gums help prevent bacteria in your mouth from entering your bloodstream, keeping you healthier.

  • In a poll by the American Dental Association, 33 percent say they are unaware that periodontal disease needs to be treated and cannot be left alone.
  • Nearly 1 in 3 adults in the US aged 30-54 has periodontal (gum) disease. (Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, June 2007)
  • Dental disease is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism for children (Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, June 2007)

Dental care is always important, and with regular dental care, a dentist may be able to recognize early problems that you can’t see, and provide simple treatment to stop a serious condition from progressing.

American Payroll Association, “Getting Paid in America” Survey, 2008
Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy,” Health Affairs, Feb. 2, 2005
LIMRA, Life Insurance Ownership Study, 2010
National Funeral Directors Association
(CDC: National Vital Statistics Reports), Vol. 58, No.19 – 2010