Producer Connection

Spring 2010

Thinking Beyond Guarantee Issue (GI) for Individual Disability Insurance

By Brian Leet, Individual Disability Insurance Sales & Marketing Manager, The Standard

These days many people have a deeper appreciation for their job and paycheck. Because of that, you may find it easier to talk to customers about opportunities to protect that income. Your customers gain valuable income protection when you sell them group Long-term Disability Insurance (LTD) from The Standard. And while LTD is a great starting point, it is by no means an ending point. Group LTD can also open doors to valuable additional coverage.

Reality check: how much coverage is enough?

The most commonly purchased LTD plans replace between 50-67 percent of income, but this coverage is often taxable and may not cover bonus and incentive income. The mistake many people make is failing to consider if the coverage provided by LTD will be enough to make ends meet in the face of a disabling event. You and your customers can do much more to protect their income by augmenting existing LTD with Individual Disability Insurance (IDI) from The Standard.

The additional coverage provided by IDI will better position your customers to deal with the reality of a disability. Additionally, IDI coverage can help cover incentive income. In fact, adding IDI coverage to LTD can help replace up to 80 percent or more of pre-disability earnings.

KEY OPTIONS FOR SUPPLEMENTAL IDI

1. Employer-sponsored Guarantee Issue (GI)
   Whether it’s participatory or non-participatory, GI provides a great opportunity to provide solid supplemental IDI coverage with discounted rates and no medical underwriting. Within a given business, you have the option to offer GI to all employees, or to do an executive carve-out.
2. Multi-life sale (fully underwritten)
   With many employer groups, you can secure substantial savings on IDI policies by selling fully underwritten cases to multiple employees. Premiums can be paid by the employer or the employee. Discounts for a multi-life sale begin when three people from the same employer purchase coverage. A fully underwritten multi-life sale may also come into play if individuals want to secure more coverage than is provided by the GI plan (known as a buy-up.)
3. Individual sale (fully underwritten)
   Whether your customers have LTD or not, individual policies appeal to those who recognize the need for comprehensive coverage. In fact, more than one in five IDI policyholders with The Standard has existing LTD. While these policies do not come with the discounts associated with GI or multi-life sales, your customers can be confident they are receiving a solid product at a good value from The Standard.

If you haven’t talked to your customers about supplementing their LTD with IDI, now is a great time. For more information about Individual Disability Insurance, please call 800.992.4446 or email getinfo@standard.com.