PRODUCT: BenExtend
COMPANY: Aflac
BEST RATING: A+ (Superior)
AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available through agents and brokers appointed by Aflac.
FOCUS: According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 84% of employers now offer consumer-directed health plans. In 2017, a high-deductible health plan ranged from $1,300 to $6,550 in out-of-pocket costs for an individual policyholder and $2,600 to $13,000 for a family.
With these trends driving the health care market, Aflac started fielding more questions from agents, brokers and clients about supplemental medical products to help ease the financial impact of health care costs.
“From employers, we would hear things like, ‘How do I think about these product lines?’” says Stephanie Shields, vice president of Premier Broker Solutions at Aflac. “‘Which do I offer in year one when I’m shifting to a high deductible? What do I offer in years two, three, and beyond? How do I advise my employees on which to choose?’”
Shields says the concept for the BenExtend product was born out of those questions. “We created an innovative alternative to the way these three products—accident, hospital indemnity and critical illness—were offered historically and designed a product that combines the best aspects of all three,” she explains. “This is really a way to think about leveraging supplemental medical in a new way. These product lines have been gaining in popularity, and they are becoming core to the medical conversation.”
Shields notes that BenExtend could be an easy entry point for property-casualty agents to think about how to offer benefits because the product is easy to understand: “We didn’t want to create too many bells, whistles, and complexities—not just for our agents and employers, but for the employee who’s ultimately going to need to use these benefits.”
COVERAGE DETAILS: The product covers unforeseen events: diagnosis, a hospitalization or an accident. “You can’t plan for these events,” Shields says. “Rather than having to make the choice between three product lines, with BenExtend you’re getting the best of all three worlds. You’re covered for the unexpected.”
The plan includes the following highlights:
- Health advocacy and bill negotiation services are included at no additional charge to brokers, employers or employees.
- High, middle and low options are available to accommodate a variety of client benefits budgets and scenarios. Each level features core coverages, with premiums and benefit amounts differing based on the level selected.
- Employers have the option to choose employee-only or full-family coverage.
- Benefits are paid directly to the insured, unless otherwise assigned, and are paid regardless of any major medical insurance.
- No waiting period applies to payment of benefits.
- No reduction in benefits applies as insureds get older.
- The plan is designed with health savings account compatibility in mind.
UNDERWRITING: Aflac’s initial BenExtend is available on an employer-paid basis for businesses with 100 or more benefits-eligible employees. Employers can offer the product to the whole employee population or just those who choose to enroll in a high-deductible health plan. Coverage is guaranteed issue, so insureds can enroll in coverage regardless of their health status with no underwriting questions.
MIMINUM PREMIUM: N/A.
TARGET: Shields says all employers are potential targets for this product. “These days you’d be hard-pressed to find employers who are not sitting down talking about their medical decisions and evaluating ways to offer broader coverage without increasing the out-of-pocket costs to their employees,” she says. “This is a strategy to really continue to elevate the conversation around the role supplemental medical products can play in that medical conversation. In many ways, it’s part of the full landscape of all of the different financial protection vehicles that exist in the market.”
A standalone, employee-paid version of the product will be available later this year.
COVERAGE TERRITORY: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI and WY.
CONTACT: Kristen Fraser, 706-580-3813.
Katie Butler is IA editor in chief.
