Coverage and Eligibility
The Standard will provide continuity of coverage for all Life, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Dental, Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness, and Accident insurance policies for all effective dates through April 1, 2021.
The Standard will allow an individual who experienced a furlough, temporary layoff, reduction in hours or salary to become insured under The Standard’s group insurance policy with the following conditions:
- The employee was insured on the date before the effective date of The Standard’s group policy.
- Coverage was continued with premium payment under the prior carrier’s accommodation.
The Standard will extend coverage until the earlier of the date on which the prior carrier’s accommodation would have expired or 90 days after the effective date of the policy.
Group Life, Disability, Supplemental (including Accident, Critical Illness and Hospital Indemnity), Dental and Vision coverage normally ends when an employee loses eligibility because the employee is no longer working the required minimum number of hours or they are on an unpaid leave of absence.
However, as an accommodation to our policyholders during this time of uncertainty, subject to continued payment of premium, while employees are not working due to a partial or full furlough or temporary layoff occurring between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020, these coverages can be continued for 90 days or through June 30, 2020 whichever is longer.
If insurance ends for an employee as of June 30, 2020 or earlier, an employee may regain coverage if they return to work before March 1, 2021 and otherwise satisfy all eligibility requirements under the applicable group policy.
If an employee cancels their contributory coverage and then returns to work and enrolls for coverage again within 30 days of returning, any coverage that was in effect when the employee ceased to be insured can be reinstated subject to the group policy’s reinstatement provisions. Any coverage requirements (e.g., preexisting condition for Long Term Disability, two-year suicide exclusion for Life, etc.) that were not fully met when the employee’s work hours were reduced will continue to apply until the balance of the requirement period is served.
Employees who return to work after March 1, 2021, and employees who were not insured prior to the reduction in the employee’s work hours, may become insured as a new employee. All coverage requirements apply. Evidence of Insurability requirements for late enrollments will also apply.
If insurance ends for an employee after June 30, 2020, an employee may regain coverage if they return to work within 90 days, or the longer of the applicable policy provisions and otherwise satisfy all eligibility requirements under the applicable group policy.
When coverage terminates, the continuation, conversion and portability provisions contained in the applicable Group Insurance policy will be available according to the terms of the policy.
When Dental or Vision coverage stops, members may have the option to elect COBRA. Upon notification within 30 days of their return to work, coverage will resume as normal.
Our group insurance policies require the employee to be Actively At Work at least a specified number of hours each week. Our language specifies Actively At Work includes regularly scheduled days off, holidays, or vacation days, so long as the employee is capable of Active Work on those days. An employee who is on furlough does not meet the Active Work requirement of the group policy. However, as an accommodation to our policyholders during this time of uncertainty:
- For employees who experience a furlough, temporary layoff, reduction in hours or salary prior to June 30, 2020, if they return to work and satisfy Actively At Work requirements prior to March 1, 2021, credit towards the eligibility waiting period will be given for Actively at Work time prior to June 30, 2020.
- For employees who experience a furlough, temporary layoff, reduction in hours or salary between July 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020, if they return to work and satisfy Actively At Work requirements within 90 days, credit towards the eligibility waiting period will be given for Actively at Work time prior to furlough, temporary layoff, reduction in hours or salary.
Yes. Travel Assistance for employers with that benefit will remain available to your covered employees. If an individual has tested positive for COVID-19, their request would be treated like a standard medical case. If the individual is eligible for transport benefits, those benefits would be arranged in accordance with the departing and receiving country’s government clearance on flying.
All individuals should ensure they have the latest travel advisories regarding the coronavirus and their intended destination. This information can be accessed here: travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html.
Life and Disability Benefits
There are a wide variety of scenarios under which an individual may be quarantined, ranging from a voluntary self-quarantine without a COVID-19 diagnosis to a mandated quarantine with a diagnosis.
If an individual is quarantined as directed by a licensed health care professional or government agency, we will assess a claim for benefits as follows:
- If the individual has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is unable to work from home, they will remain insured and eligible under the group STD policy.
- If the individual has not been diagnosed and is unable to work from home, they will retain coverage and eligibility under the STD policy should they eventually become disabled.
It is important to remember that under most STD policies a covered individual must be unable to work, either at their place of employment or from home, and must experience a loss of income to be eligible for STD benefits in all cases.
For 90 days, or through June 30, 2020, whichever is longer, Pre-Disability Earnings are based on the employee’s last day of active work prior to the furlough, temporary layoff, reduction in hours or salary. Premium remitted to The Standard should be based on the amount of coverage prior to the furlough, temporary layoffs, reduction in hours or salary.
After 90 days of accommodation, or through June 30, 2020 whichever is longer, normal policy provisions apply.
For 90 days, or through June 30, 2020, whichever is longer, the amount of Life insurance, dependent Life insurance and spousal Life insurance during a furlough, temporary layoff or reduction in hours shall be the amount in force on the employee’s last day of active work prior to the furlough, temporary layoff or reduction in hours or salary. Premium remitted to The Standard should be based on the amount of coverage prior to the furlough, temporary layoffs, reduction in hours or salary.
After 90 days of accommodation, or through June 30, 2020 whichever is longer, normal policy provisions apply.
The Standard will administer tracking the FMLA leave under the FFCRA. However, we do not have the capabilities to administer the paid sick leave or the pay aspects of the FMLA.
Details about the FFCRA can be found at dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions.
If employees receive paid sick leave due to their own medical condition, The Standard will determine if that benefit is offset, or in any way reduced, by the facts of their claim and the applicable policy provisions. If sick leave or family leave is paid to employees under FFCRA that is unrelated to their own medical condition, that benefit would not be offset under our group STD and LTD policies.
Details about the FFCRA can be found at dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions.
Dental
Billing and Payment
In order to help those who may need additional time to collect and remit premiums during the COVID-19 crisis The Standard extended the premium payment grace period to 90 days through June 2020 payments for all customers.
Starting with July payments we will honor existing policy grace periods and align the grace period for a longer duration in accordance with any applicable State insurance directive.
Enrollment
Rates and Renewals
As we face the challenges surrounding COVID-19 together, The Standard recognizes that this may be taking a particular toll on our small business customers. To help with that, we are holding rates on all groups up to 500 employees with renewal dates of May, June and July 2020.
We are providing rate holds for all Dental and Vision renewals from July through December 31, 2020.