The Company Employee with Family Group Benefits

A number of our clients are in this category.  An employer is required, by law, to pay at least 50% of the premium for the employee only.  While that can be a great deal for an employee, it’s not such a great deal for spouses and children – it can be very expensive

The Education Industry - A Very Common Example:
The school district employee pays a very reasonable premium for comprehensive major medical coverage. His/her spouse (not an employee of the school district) pays over $450 a month for him alone and more for their children. Many people don’t realize how their premiums break down for individual members of the family and how much money can be saved.  Working with school district employees, Longhorn has been able to routinely save our clients hundreds of dollars per month by insuring the spouse and children and letting the employee stay on the school district plan.

When you understand Group health insurance, it makes sense. These plans are “guarantee issue,” meaning that you don’t have to “qualify” for coverage by being healthy.  Group plans want all of the healthy spouses they can get in their plan because a healthy spouse’s premium pays for another person’s diabetes or cancer treatment.  Because of this economic fact of life, many of these Group plans blur (or even intentionally omit) the actual cost of including (or omitting) the spouse.  Why should your family be taken advantage of to “fund” the Group plan to the insurance company’s satisfaction?

There sometimes are good reasons for that spouse to be on a Group plan.  If that spouse has an “uninsurable” condition such as cancer or diabetes, no conventional individual major medical plan will accept him/her for major medical coverage.  For some, the maternity benefit in a group plan might be a cost-effective reason to be on a Group plan as well.  However, the fact remains that healthy spouses make the Group insurance world go around and many families could save hundreds of dollars per month by putting a healthy spouse and/or children on private major medical health insurance, giving you the same coverage for significantly less cost.  

Longhorn Insurance Group has both experience and expertise in the analysis of Group plans.  We can help a client analyze his cost-per-person on a current Group plan and recommend a course of action to save money while carrying sufficient coverage for the entire family.

Life Insurance through a Group Plan - RISKY
Carrying one’s Life Insurance policy through a company Group plan can be risky for a family.  While the company plan may offer a Life Insurance benefit at a relatively affordable rate, this policy will stop if you leave that employment. This is referred to as the “portability” concept.

Statistics show that most of us change employers - and even careers - multiple times during our working lives.  Relying on Life Insurance through your employer can potentially be disastrous; particularly once you get older and, for some reason, can’t be medically underwritten.  Diabetes, for example, can make a person extremely difficult and expensive to underwrite for Life Insurance. If you’re diagnosed with diabetes while employed, and then you leave the company for some reason, you could have a real problem getting Life Insurance again.

Longhorn strongly recommends that a family carry their major portion of Life Insurance coverage through individual (portable) policies.  A level Term policy of 20 or 30 years will generally provide plenty of protection at a very affordable rate, and it’s “portable” – you’ll continue to be covered even if you leave Group employment or if you change to another company with Group benefits.

Longhorn Insurance Group promises to help you by providing unbiased analysis and advice based on your individual situation.