Insurance companies take the larger part of the brunt by paying huge sums of money to either hospitals or insurers due to unavoidable circumstances that happen to them such as death, long and short term disability, health problems, unemployment, accidents etc. and what do we pay in return for this; a small premium.

So basically insurance policies give us a sense of security in this uncertain world. Not only are insurance policies beneficial for individuals but have proven to be beneficial for small and large businesses as well. No business would be able to function if they are unable to transfer their risk possibilities on to the shoulders of an insurance company because any form of risk can block their capital which if invested in other investment plans and strategies can reap benefits.  Companies would rather invest and get minimal returns than invest and also pay more if losses occur.

Like life savings insurance policies also provide for a rainy day. The type of insurance policies referred here are life and disability insurance.  The good thing about these savings unlike the actual life savings are you would not be able to break into them nor will you be able to stop putting in a fixed amount monthly like you would into your life savings account. These policy premiums must be paid regularly and without any delay or reason.

Policies like group life insurance, retirement plans, AEB employer paid benefits, social security coverage etc. build a bond in between an employer and his/her employees.

Another important factor why insurance policies are beneficial is they help families in time of need when their loved one is hurt, sick or dead. A person who is insured cares about his family’s needs and worries about their well-being in time of an eventful situation.

The income that people earn is the foundation of their financial strength as it is necessary to make everything and anything change from impossible to possible. Personally a sudden disability in my family had affected my family’s financial well-being but thankfully we were prepared for the unexpected and were saved from further damages like huge medical and medicinal bills.

There is peace in mind when we know there are insurance policies that help us bridge the gap between the income we earn and what we spend when someone we knows falls sick or injured and is unable to work.

In an event of an accident or an illness if a person is disabled for a short or long period of time and if they have a disability policy they can be rest assured of receiving a check every month to meet their daily expenses such as medical bills, home mortgages, credit card payments, utility bills, food and other essentials.

Mostly all disability policies have five key points to them, which are:

Æ       Benefit Period: The benefit period is the span of time the disability check will be paid. There are many benefit periods. Some people choose two years, some choose five years, and there are some employees who choose a benefit till they are 65 years old. Just remember, the longer the benefit period the more expensive the policy gets.

Æ       Benefit Amount: The benefit amount is the amount the insured person will receive every month after they are disabled due to an illness or injury. The benefit amount depends on the individual’s income, occupation, and other disability coverage.

Æ       Elimination Period: The elimination period is the time an insured person must wait after an injury or illness has occurred before they receive their monthly disability check. The elimination period usually ranges from 3 to 6 months. Just remember, the shorter the waiting period the more expense the policy is.

Æ       Benefit Qualification: A person qualifies for the disability policy after they meet the disability definition set by AEB. There are three kinds of disabilities an insurance company will pay for; total disability, residual disability, and catastrophic disability.

Æ       Policy Cost: The annual average cost of a policy is 1 to 3 percent of the total income a person earns annually.

This is just an overview of what to expect or look for when applying for a disability policy which is very important in an event of a disability occurrence.

The employee paid benefit plan is 100% covered by employees only and employers just pay bare minimum towards administration costs. This benefit coverage is paid through deductions made from employee pay packages. This is a voluntary benefit plan that employees opt for.

The list of employee paid benefits is:

• Vision
• Critical Illness
• Life and Accidental Death and Disabilities (AD&D)
• Cancer
• Hospital Confinement Insurance
• Accident
• Short term disabilities (STD)
• Long term disabilities (LTD)
• Dental
• Educator benefits (individuals in a teaching profession).

Similar to the disability benefit plan which is the most important benefit option in the employer paid benefit plan so is it amongst in the employee paid benefits. Reason being no healthy person expects to be ill or injured and be disabled for a short or long time particularly when they have been healthy all their life. A disability policy is as important as a life insurance policy as no one can tell when death can arrive.

Only when someone falls really sick or is badly injured do people wake up and realize they are in a state of panic as most of them do not know what to do next, especially family members of the sick and injured.

Getting in and getting out of an hospital is easy but staying in there till the person is cured or healed is difficult as medical bills can be huge to pay and without the right disability policy paying for medical bills, mortgage bills, regular bills, and in addition paying for extras like specialty treatment, drugs, and physiotherapy (for back injury) is next to impossible. In fact there are many families who do have policies but not the right one like the disability policy end up selling their homes and declaring bankruptcy due to the high medical bills they have to cover.

Hence a disability policy from Assurant Employee Benefits can do wonders when you see a check coming in every month to keep your family going, especially when the sole bread earner is disabled due to a sickness or an accident.

The objective behind a good employee benefit plan is to ensure all employees and their families are protected from harsh realities such as layoffs, illnesses, accidents at work that may result in short or long term disabilities, or death etc. Hence employee benefits are considered an integral part of the total pay package an employee receives.

Employers offer employee benefits for various reasons such as to keep up with market standards, or to attract qualified and hardworking employees, or to control employee attrition rate but these days most employees demand for benefits although many of them like the health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, retirement plan etc. are optional and are offered only because employers choose to offer them and not because it is mandatory.

However, to meet up with employee demands and to keep up with market standards employers are seeking affordable benefits to offer to their employees. Therefore, employers make contact with Assurant Employee Benefits with their requirement and AEB in return will study the size of the company and its financial standing and then develop employee benefit plans that best suits the employer’s needs.

The employer paid benefits by AEB are:

• Dental
• Vision (Eyes)
• Short term disabilities (STD)
• Long term disabilities (LTD)
• Serious disabilities
• Life and Accidental Death and Disabilities (AD&D)

Amongst the above benefit options the disability benefit is the most important plan of all, although few companies do offer short term disabilities benefits; there are few who do not offer that as well.

As per a survey conducted through a major disability insurance company in the U.S, it was found that employees between the ages of 25 – 60 at some point of their careers have stayed out of work for at least 90 days or more due to an illness or an accident. The ratio is 3 out of 10 employees. Surprisingly 60% of these illnesses and accidents happen off work limits.

When an employer opts for a long term disability plan for his/her employees they can choose what percentage of coverage an employee should receive. Most plans cover 50 – 70 % of the monthly salary. The LTD benefit will take affect only between 90-180 days.

However, this is not as simple as it seems as some employers out there put terms and conditions in front of the LTD benefits for their employees, such as employees must work for a period of time before the benefit takes affect or they must work full time for so many hours set by the employer.

Assurant Employee Benefits  is a company that belongs to the group Assurant, Inc. which is the largest company in America to provide employees and employers with inclusive range of benefits through their specialized insurance products and services.
Assurant Employee Benefits’s main business focus is to provide services and insurance products to small and mid-sized businesses. The company has about 1700 employees in all the offices across the U.S including the head office in Kansas City, Missouri.

Furthermore, Assurant Employee Benefits is just one of the four companies under Assurant Inc. The others are; Assurant Health, Assurant Solutions, and Assurant Specialty Property. Its presence is felt from 1910 under different names.

The world out there has become very competitive and difficult for employees to sustain themselves when they are struck with illnesses, or short-term or long-term disabilities, or unemployment and most companies want employees who are healthy and satisfied. Hence having assurantemployeebenefits.net in place benefits both the employee through the employer-paid benefits and an employer through the employee-paid benefits.

There have been few surveys conducted to check the performance levels and product range of Assurant Employee Benefits and the results have been very positive through customer testimonials and feedbacks. Some customers have stated that Assurant’s customer service is the best amongst other employee benefit companies due to the quick and effective response they receive to all their queries and problems.

Apart from offering employee benefits, Assurant also offers employees the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). In this program employees are counseled on the effects family and personal problems can have on their productivity and what they should do maintain mental health and stability to ensure high productivity, they are also counseled on going to work regularly to avoid being fired and how to maintain a healthy life style to avoid permanent illnesses and disabilities, which in turn will lower medical, disability and unemployment claims.