Protect Yourself With Critical Illness Insurance

Critical illness insurance in today's world is very necessary. People who are surviving from major health concerns, in that same process need funds for recovery. With that, lets discuss how a Michigan critical illness policy works.

The critical illness policy that we offer gives a Michigan consumer protection in regards to heart attacks, life threatening cancer, kidney failure, strokes, and organ transfers.

* I am sure we all know someone who has had a heart attack. According to Americanheart.org, 425 thousand people have died from a heart attack since since 2006. However, what is more important is people are surviving after heart attacks. From "1996 to 2006 the death rate from coronary heart disease declined 34 percent." With this stat, people should understand the need for critical illness protection.

* Cancer.org recently brought out their stats from 2009. Cancer has been the number two killer since 06, only behind heart attacks. What is most important? "Compared to the peak rate of 215.1 per 100,000 in 1991, the cancer death rate decreased 16% to 180.7 in 2006. Rates for other major chronic diseases decreased substantially during this period."

By reading this posting, you should understand my point. Consumers are surviving from heart attacks, cancer, strokes, kidney failures, and even organs transfers. So how does a critical illness policy work?

The consumer picks and benefit ($10,000 - $100,000) and if he/she suffers one of the five illnesses that I have named, then the benefit is paid out. You also receive 25% of your benefit if you need angioplasty or artery bypass. It is that simple in a nutshell. That payment can be used to pay off your health insurance deductible, traveling bills, etc.

When it comes to pricing, it is beyond affordable.

Age 35 male, $10,000 benefit, non tobacco $15.42 $25,000 benefit, $31.88

Age 35 female, $10,000 benefit, non tobacco $11.59 $25,000 benefit, $22.23

Age 50 male, $10,000 benefit, non tobacco $34.32 $25,000 benefit, $79.04

Age 50 female, $10,000 benefit, non tobacco $24.02 $25,000 benefit, $53.30

The one question I get with regards to our critical illness is what happens if I die without using the policy? I pay and what do I get? With our policy, if you pass without using your policy, your beneficiary will receive all the premium you have put in. Your money does not go to waste.

Another perk with this policy, is if we combine it (husband + wife), the premiums actually become cheaper.

This policy is underwritten, so be prepared to answer health related questions.

When you sit back and actually think about who you know, it has to be concerning if you know of someone who has suffered one of the illnesses mentioned. They probably had to pay their health insurance deductible, medications, and possibly even bills if they were out of work for a substantial amount of time. With critical illness protection, all those worries could be taken away. You do not need those headaches mentioned above if you are recovering from a serious illness.

Maternity Leave Benefits - At No Direct Cost to Employers

Creating viable maternity leave benefits is a vexing problem for many small businesses. Helping female workers fund their maternity leave is a noble goal. But funding maternity leave is very costly, and creates a favored employee class: working women in the growing family life stage. Voluntary employee benefit programs help employers create maternity leave benefits that fund maternity leave, treat all employee classes equally, and come at no direct cost to the employer.

Maternity Leave Benefits

Women in the growing family life-stage will gravitate to employers offering maternity leave benefits. Having and raising children is quite expensive, and to begin the journey with six to eight weeks of unpaid leave is a burden to many couples. Plus, there is also the chance that mom may miss additional time from work prior to delivery due to complications, after work because of postpartum problems, or to take care of a sick or prematurely delivered baby. Any employer offering solutions to this wage gap problem has a leg up on recruiting and retaining workers in this category.

But how can a small employer offer maternity benefits without driving up costs, or unfairly favoring one employee segment over another? Providing six to eight week of paid leave is an option many small employers can not afford. When you add on the need to replace income for complications and/or care of a sick infant the costs can quickly spin out of control. Plus, employers need to consider how male employees and older female employees may feel about the extra benefits provided to one small segment of the employee population. Many employees will never use maternity benefits, and may seek an alternative form of compensation - raising the stakes yet again.

Voluntary Employee Benefits are the Answer

Voluntary employees benefits provide answers to these employer dilemmas. Voluntary benefits allow working women to create maternity leave income for their normal labor and delivery, plus provide protection in case of pregnancy complications, delivery complications, and premature birth. Employees pay for the programs themselves by payroll deduction, so there is no direct cost to the employer. Make the options available to all employees, and no special favors are being done for any single employee segment. Women in the growing family life stage will have their maternity benefits, and the remaining employees will have expanded options to protect themselves and their families in case of unexpected accidents and illnesses.

The most common forms of voluntary benefits are flexible spending accounts, and supplemental health insurance. Flexible spending accounts use pre-tax dollars to help lower a variety of maternity related expenses. A healthcare flex accounts can lower the costs of infertility treatments, pregnancy expenses, and left over medical bills associated with a long NICU stay for a sick infant. Dependent care flex accounts help lower the costs of child care, making it easier for women to return to work. Supplemental health insurance helps women create maternity leave pay for their normal delivery, plus it provides additional protection in case of pregnancy complications, delivery disorders, premature birth, accidents and illnesses.