When an employer that was switching to a high-deductible health plan asked The Farmington Company, a voluntary benefits communication and administration firm, to do a benefit meeting to boost employee participation, Farmington recommended they include voluntary critical illness as a benefit. Adding CI “to help allay some of the fears for those worried about the big stuff” resulted in a nearly 300% increase in participation rates, says Doug Mantz, vice president of sales.
With cancer, heart attack and stroke making up the top three critical illnesses, it used to be that CI plans only covered these conditions. They also got a bad rap, says Rob Shestack, senior vice president, voluntary benefits and national practice leader, AmWINS Group Benefits, because many thought such insurance was unnecessary. “But that was when … medical insurance was basically $2 copays. No out of pocket. It was fairly reasonable,” he says.
