Page 123 - Group Insurance and Retirement Benefit IC 83 E- Book

Eligibility

Employees must meet eligibility requirements for group DI coverage just as they do for

other group benefits and the details may vary somewhat among employers and among
particular group plans. A basic requirement for group DI is full-time employment, which

is usually defined as 30 or more hours per week.

Workers must be continuously employed for a probationary or waiting period before

becoming eligible for the plan. A 90-day period is most common. When that period
expires, employees who are still actively employed full time may sign up for the

coverage during the enrollment period, which typically extends for 30 or 31 days.

You'll recall that little or no medical or financial underwriting is usually required when
eligible employees enroll promptly, unlike individual DI coverages that always require

medical and financial information. Employees who fail to enroll during this period may

still be eligible for the coverage at a later date, but generally would be required to
undergo a medical exam at that time and take the chance of being rejected for coverage

based on the results of the exam.

Policies and Premiums

Like all group insurance plans, group DI is written with the employer or other sponsor as

the master policy owner. The employer holds a master policy and each enrolled
individual receives a certificate of insurance detailing his or her particular coverage.

While these plans must be nondiscriminatory, the certificates differ somewhat because of
salary levels.

For example, a maximum monthly dollar benefit must be specified in the certificate and
that maximum will often be quite different for clerical workers than for highly-paid

executives.
Because of group underwriting principles, premiums for group DI are typically less than

for a comparable individual policy. However, because of the wide variations in benefits,

direct comparisons are not easy to make. Employers may pay all or part of the premiums