Dental

Covers the cost of annual visits to the dentist as well as fillings, dentures and such. These plans are offered as a discount program, Indemnity or PPO program. Life Insurance - Group Term or payroll deduction Permanent Life is available. Amounts up to $50,000 of group term are treated as a tax free benefit by the IRS. The cost over $50,000 is considered taxable income to the employee. Simplified issue is the real benefit to these plans.

Long Term Care

Covers the expense of care when you are unable to perform a certain number of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), usually two. Can pay for the cost of home health care and nursing home care.

Disability Income

You and your employees work in order to purchase the necessities of life. You insure your house, car and other items you purchase, why not insure the one thing that makes it all possible, your ability to make an income. Benefits can start in as little as 7 days or as long as 6 months. Some plans are specific i.e.: accident, while some pay for any event that prevents you from working.

Short Term Disability

Benefits can start from the first day for accident and 7^th day for sickness and can last anywhere from 13 weeks to two years. Benefits are paid based on your income at the time of disability and amount of insurance purchased. In order to collect benefits your doctor must declare you unable to work. Available as a group policy, usually from your employer or individual coverage. Some policies are for accident only while some are available to cover the cost of loans, however these are generally expensive compared to the standard policy. Rates are determined by your health, age and occupation.

Long Term Disability

Benefits can start from 30 days to as long as 1 year and continue from 5 years to age 65, depending on your occupation. Some policies define disability as the ability to perform any work while some define disability as your "Own Occupation". "Own Occupation" disability policies are usually available to professional workers with "Own Occupation" being defined anywhere from 2 years to lifetime, depending on the issuing company and your occupation. Available as a group or individual policy, most policies have a rehabilitation/retraining benefit so you can return to work. Premiums are determined by your health, occupation and age at time of application with some policies locking in your premium rate while others increase at certain ages.

Business Overhead Expense

A disability income policy that pays for the expense of keeping your business up and running while you recover from illness or injury. It allows you to "keep the doors open" without using the benefits from your personal disability policy or depleting your assets. If your disability is long term this allows you to market your business as a going concern and possibly avoid a fire sale.

Vision

Covers the cost of visits to the eye doctor and glasses, either with co-pays or discounts. Some plans require you to stay in network while others do not.