Protect your financial future with the right benefits

When most people think about open enrollment, they may focus on saving money by choosing the right health plan for their family. While that should always be top of mind, it's also a good time to think about how the unexpected may affect your finances.

What would happen if you were hospitalized? Diagnosed with a serious illness? Supplemental health insurance can provide additional benefits to help with out-of-pocket expenses for some of the “what ifs” that might come your way.

Depending on what's offered through your employer, you may want to consider options, such as:

• Hospital indemnity protection plan insurance
• Critical illness protection plan insurance
• Accident protection plan insurance
• Supplemental life insurance
• Disability insurance

Health insurance can play an important role in helping cover the cost of medical care. But when a serious illness, injury or hospital stay occurs, there may be other expenses to consider as well.

Things like deductibles, coinsurance, transportation, childcare, household bills and lost income during a recovery period can all create financial strain.

Financial protection benefits are designed to work alongside your medical coverage by providing cash benefits or income replacement that can help offset some of those costs and ease financial burden, so you can focus on recovering.

Let’s take a look at some of the options you may be offered during open enrollment.

Hospital indemnity protection plans are designed to help with managing expenses when you're admitted to the hospital. These plans pay a fixed benefit for covered medical expenses and include a range of options designed to help you prepare your budget for unexpected costs related to a hospital stay.

• This type of coverage may be worth considering if you have an active lifestyle, are aging into a time of life where hospitalization is more likely or simply want additional protection against the financial impact of a hospital stay.

Critical illness protection plans are designed to provide a lump-sum cash benefit to help cover expenses related to a qualifying serious illness. That may include things like:

• Stroke
• Advanced invasive cancer
• Sudden cardiac arrest
• Skin cancer
• Some neurological conditions

Critical conditions covered may vary by plan — and plans can vary by state. With a critical illness protection plan, the money can be used however you choose. Some people use it to help cover out-of-pocket medical costs, while others use it for rent or mortgage payments, childcare expenses or everyday household bills during treatment and recovery.

Accident protection plans are designed to provide a cash benefit for covered injuries and accident-related medical services. Depending on your plan, benefits may be available for expenses related to emergency room visits, ambulance transportation, fractures, dislocations, hospitalization and more.

Cash benefits are paid directly to you and can be used to help cover things like out-of-pocket medical costs, unpaid bills or lost wages from missing work.

If you live an active life, have children who participate in sports or if you have a limited budget for unexpected medical expenses, an accident protection plan may be worth considering during open enrollment.

Supplemental life insurance is just that – additional group term life insurance coverage that you purchase for yourself or your dependents. This coverage goes beyond the basic life insurance that your employer may provide through their employer-sponsored benefits package.

For individuals with a spouse, children, a mortgage or other financial obligations, additional coverage may help provide financial security by helping ensure loved ones could have support if the unexpected were to occur.

Disability insurance is designed to provide partial income replacement if an injury or illness prevents you from working.

About 1 in 4 of today’s 20-year-olds will miss work because of a disabling health condition before they reach retirement age.¹ Protecting your income with a short- or long-term disability plan can help you cover your everyday expenses while recovering. It’s sometimes referred to as paycheck protection.

Short-term disability benefits are typically available for 13 to 26 weeks, while long-term disability coverage is designed for illnesses or injuries that take you away from work for a longer period of time.

Benefits such as accident protection, hospital indemnity protection, critical illness protection, supplemental term life insurance or disability insurance may not be top of mind when you're healthy. But when life's unexpected moments happen, they can help provide a valuable financial safety net for you — or your family.

Talk to your employer about what specialty benefits are available to you. It may be helpful to take a few extra minutes to review these options during open enrollment. It could make a meaningful difference for you and your family in the future.