Page 126 - Group Insurance and Retirement Benefit IC 83 E- Book

for non-occupational disability. If you plan to do business in any of these States-

California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island-you must determine
whether a commercial DI plan may be used. Some states require a state-operated plan to

provide these benefits while others allow employers to use commercial policies.

Another name for STD benefits that you will encounter in some jurisdictions is weekly
indemnity insurance. In some locales, the term used for STD benefits is accident and

sickness insurance. This can be misleading since the accident and sickness terminology

more often refers to medical expense insurance.

Probationary Period

For group STD policies, the probationary period following employment and during
which the employee establishes eligibility extends for three months or less. A few STD

plans eliminate the probationary period completely, but these are rare. On the eligibility

date, the employee must be actively at work in order to enroll in the plan.

Elimination and Benefit Periods

STD policies have a very short elimination period for sickness-either seven or 14 days.
There is usually no elimination period for accidents, so benefits begin on the first day of

disability.

By definition, STD benefit periods are short, generally six months or less. Some STD
policies pay for as long as 52 weeks, but overall, periods of 13 and 26 weeks are the most

common. Some insurers identify their short-term disability plans by numbers that
describe the elimination periods for accidents and for sickness as well as the benefit

period. For example, an STD plan referred to as a "1-8-13" plan is one that pays accident

benefits beginning on the first day of disability, sickness benefits beginning on the eighth
day of disability and, in both cases, for a 13-week benefit period.

Figure 6-1 illustrates how the probationary, elimination and benefit periods might apply.

In this example, the probationary period is three months, there is no elimination period

for disability from accidental injury and the benefit period is 13 weeks.