You have several options in regards to offering long-term care insurance to your employees.
1. You can offer a LTC insurance plan to all your employees on a strictly voluntary basis only.
2. You can offer a base plan that only has limited benefits and then if an employee is interested in additional coverage they can purchase more coverage.
3. You can offer an employer paid comprehensive LTC insurance policy to all employees.
4. You can do an executive carve-out and can legally carve out classes within your employees and only purchase LTC insurance for them.
With some carriers when you offer long-term care insurance to your employees they will receive discounted premiums. Often these discounts are available to extended family members (parents, in-laws, grandparents) of the employees.
How do employers set up a plan?
"Employers are in the perfect position to make long-term care insurance available so that their workers can be assured coverage at a reasonable cost", said Med America's Perna. "This fits in so naturally with retirement benefits. In fact, it's protecting those assets." When considering offering a long-term care program, an employer may first want to gauge employee interest. That can be done with a simple e-mail survey or one offered in an employee publication. The information employers gain will tell them who their employees are, where they are in their long-term financial planning,and what types of coverage they might be willing to purchase. Employers probably shouldn't assume that since employees aren't asking for the benefit, they don't want it. "Silence may not be an indicator of what employees are thinking about long-term care", said Tell of the Long Term Care Group. "They may need some education to help them understand how important this product can be for them." Once you determine your workers are interested in the benefit, you should contact an insurance company or benefits consultant to talk about what type of product to offer. With the help of a qualified professional, you can design a benefit that best meets your employees' needs. "We recommend you find someone who specializes in long-term care. Someone fully versed in long-term care issues and products." AEGON's Bob Glowacki Vice president, government relations, long-term care division. When you choose a benefit, you'll want a product that offers choice, but also is priced right and not too complex. In addition, you'll need to decide whether or not to offer it to all employees or just on a limited basis to some staff members. You can offer this coverage without paying any portion of the premium or, as a growing number of employers are doing, make a contribution. Some employers pay for their workers base policy and offer them the option to buy greater benefits. As Perna points out, "There is a broad spectrum with the product that lends itself to variety. It depends entirely on what best suits the needs of the workforce." Education is a key to the success of a long-term care benefits program. Many employees don't fully understand the benefits of this kind of coverage. Sometimes younger people either believe the need is too far in the future to contemplate or they think they cannot afford another expense in the face of mortgages, childcare costs, or other bills. "People deny it will happen to them," said Glowacki. "For some, the real wake up call comes when their parents need care." Your insurance company or benefits consultant can give you tips on how to raise awareness among your employees. Newsletter articles, websites, posters, broadcast e-mails, and forums with senior management all of these can help inform your employees about this critical product.*