Guardian Gives More Small Businesses Access to Critical Illness Insurance

NEW YORK, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) today announced that it will now offer critical illness coverage to companies with as few as two employees. As employers look for ways to control healthcare premiums and high deductible plans continue to grow in popularity, Guardian has responded by combining critical illness insurance with a hospital rider to create a relatively affordable financial protection package that helps employees to overcome medical deductible hurdles.

"Guardian has one of the most flexible product line-ups for both large and small businesses," says Clancy Merrill, Executive Director of Small Group Sales. "We differentiate ourselves by giving smaller companies access to benefits that some of our competitors only make available to their largest clients.  Both our large and small business groups can enjoy not only the ability to mix and match our extensive product line-up to help meet their unique needs and price points, but also our enrollment support service, toll-free hotline, certified enrollment specialists, personalized kits and online enrollment."

Guardian's critical illness insurance provides a lump sum payment up to $50,000 upon diagnosis of a covered illness.  Funds may be used to cover medical expenses like deductibles and experimental treatments, or even non-medical expenses like travel to treatment centers or child care.  Additionally, Guardian offers a hospital rider that pays policyholders up to $500 per-diem for lengthy hospital stays (up to 10 days) for illnesses that are not covered under the critical illness policy.

Higher Survival Rates to Bolster Critical Illness Popularity

Guardian believes that higher survival rates from serious illnesses like cancer, stroke, and heart attacks will make critical illness insurance more attractive in the United States – similar to the popularity the product enjoys in countries with universal healthcare.  In the face of healthcare reform and improvements in medical technology, more Americans will likely have access to care, and survival rates from many of these illnesses are likely to increase.

The company believes that these illnesses often have negative financial consequences, such as substantial out-of-pocket medical and non-medical expenses.  For example, according to a 2007 report from the American Cancer Society, two-thirds of the costs of cancer are non-medical.

"At a time when healthcare costs continue to outpace inflation and business owners are looking for ways to not only reduce expenses, but also increase value, the unique packaging of our critical illness insurance, hospital rider and high deductible health plans provides greater protection at a lower cost when compared to many PPO and HMO plans," said Barry Petruzzi, 2nd Vice President, Group Life & Disability. "Less money for more protection resonates with employers and employees in today's economy, or any economy for that matter. Brokers and employers expect more when they work with Guardian and we are committed to delivering high-quality at a relatively low cost."

Critical Illness Insurance Desired by Consumers

According to a 2009 Guardian survey, two key motivators that would make consumer-driven healthcare more appealing to consumers are employer contributions to health savings accounts (61%) and the inclusion of critical illness insurance coverage (57%).  Responding to this interest, Guardian is one of a few insurance companies offering a consumer-driven medical plan paired with group critical illness supplemental coverage.

"The addition of critical illness as an option helps assure employees that funds will be available in the event they are faced with certain critical illnesses or an unrelated hospital stay, before balances have accumulated in their HSA," says Petruzzi.  "The main obstacle with critical illness insurance is education.  This is still a relatively new product in the United States, but as employees learn more about the next generation of critical illness insurance that offer greater protection than previous versions of the product, I think we will see tremendous growth in employer-based critical illness coverage."

About Guardian

A mutual insurer founded in 1860, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries are committed to protecting individuals, business owners and their employees with life, long-term care, disability income, group medical and dental insurance products, and offer 401(k), annuities and other financial products. Guardian operates one of the largest dental networks in the United States, and protects more than six million employees and their families at 120,000 companies. The company has more than 5,400 employees in the United States and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 80 agencies nationwide.

For more information about Guardian, please visit: www.GuardianLife.com.

SOURCE The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America