Shortly after putting out the group’s first pamphlet on how
disability insurance can protect your family, Stephen Brobeck, executive
director of the Consumer Federation of America, started offering it as a
benefit to his employees. “That work [15 years ago] made me aware that I
was being an irresponsible employer because we weren’t offering
disability insurance,” he says, adding, “We feel pretty strongly that
this is an important type of program.”
Brobeck is still trying to get the message out to other employers,
and to employees, many of whom don’t even know whether or not they’re
offered this benefit at work. Add it to your checklist for this fall’s
open enrollment season when you sort through the benefits you’ll sign up
for for next calendar year.This week the Consumer Federation of America and Unum, the leading
long-term disability insurance player by market share (16.2%), released a
report
based on interviews with 407 individuals who put in claims based on
their employer group policies through Unum and have been on long-term
disability for at least six months—or used to be. “The beneficiaries
told us that disability insurance payments played an essential role in
protecting their financial and emotional lives,” Brobeck says.