Employee Benefits Can Provide a Lifeline

awilliams

Our nation is still reeling from the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and is stoically gearing up for the events certain to follow. We hope that our readers have not been affected by this tragedy, but know that you all probably have suffered some, and others have suffered unbearably. We at HR Hero extend our heartfelt condolences to all of you.

There has been a thread going on the employment law section of this forum regarding steps that employers can take to help employees at this terrible time. I would like to initiate a discussion where you can share your experiences and insights regarding how your employee benefits plans and programs have been put into place during this tragedy. How has your benefits department handled the aftermath of the attacks? How have you answered employee questions about the stability of their 401(k) plans? How have your EAP's assisted employees in the healing process? What are employees' biggest benefits concerns now? Post your remarks and let us know.


Anne H. Williams
Attorney Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers, LLC

gab

Most of our employees are concerned with the 401k plan. However, they have been concerned with that even before the events that took place. We try to make them understand that the 401K is money to invest for the long run - not just one or two years, but for 20 or 30 years.

I also had a person ask about if the health insurance would cover if you got injured during the attack. And most insurance policies, including ours, exclude acts of war. So I would assume it wouldn't. However, nothing like this has happened so I don't know if they would or would not. But I thought that was interesting....

Terry

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-20-01 AT 08:23AM (CST)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-20-01 AT 08:23 AM (CST)[/font]

I recently posed the question of the "act of war" exclusion to some insurance carriers (health, life, etc.) Some companies were coming out with statments regarding this but one carrier specifically said that while we may consider this provocation for an act of war, in and of itself, it is an act of terrorism and that carrier's policies did not exclude terrorism. Some carriers may have exclusions for terrorism.

I work for an insurance broker in New Jersey and several carriers are waiving waiting periods for disability and the usual red tape for life. Some of them have been greatly impacted by this tragedy financially but my personal opinion is that they are acting in an empathic and humane manner.