ING U.S., which plans to rebrand in the future as Voya Financial, has launched a new hospital indemnity insurance coverage, Compass Hospital Confinement Indemnity Insurance, available through workplace benefits programs. The coverage is a limited benefit policy that provides fixed payments when an individual is admitted to a hospital.
“With the addition of hospital indemnity coverage, we've expanded our Compass product suite to help employers offer affordable and flexible insurance benefits to employees with minimal administrative hassle while providing a well-rounded and affordable benefits package to their employees,” said Heather Lavallee, president of ING U.S. employee benefits distribution. “This development underscores the commitment ING U.S. has to growing its voluntary insurance business, and for delivering innovative, flexible options we know our distribution partners and clients need.”
The Compass voluntary product suite launched in 2012 with accident and critical illness offerings. Designed like group benefit options rather than traditional voluntary products, the company said that the Compass suite offers easier administration for employers with a targeted solution for employees. In addition, employers can mix and match different plan options to meet the needs of their particular workforce.
ING U.S. said that the approach of the Compass suite focuses on making it easier and more flexible for employers and employees to understand and manage their voluntary benefits.
The company said that Compass Hospital Confinement Indemnity Insurance is designed to provide a fixed dollar benefit that can be used to help pay for costs associated with a hospital stay, including co-pays, coinsurance and deductibles, meals, parking for visiting family members, lost time from work, mortgage and utility payments, or anything else the employee chooses. In addition, according to the company, the coverage is portable in most states, like traditional voluntary benefits products, so an employee, spouse and children can continue coverage even if there is a job change, divorce, or employee death.
There are three core elements to the program's basic coverage – hospital, critical care unit, and rehabilitation facility stays. The company said that employers have the flexibility to select a plan design that meets their needs along with different options for the daily benefit amounts and how the coverage is paid – by the employer, employee, or some combination.
Additional options include a wellness benefit to encourage annual health screenings; a critical illness rider to provide a benefit for certain critical illnesses including heart attack, stroke or coma; and an accident rider to provide benefits for common accidents such as dislocations, fractures or burns. The wellness benefit is available on all three of the Compass suite products. All such benefits are paid as a fixed amount provided in the policy upon occurrence of the specified event.
Learn more: http://ing.us.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].