Group Term Life Insurance Plan

What It Is

The NYSUT Member Benefits Trust-endorsed Group Term Life Insurance Plan is only available for purchase by local associations, their benefit funds, and employers. The Group Plan offers a variety of life insurance schedules that can be customized to meet the needs and financial resources of your group. Benefits may be determined by a flat dollar amount or based on participants’ earnings.

Since 1992, First Unum Life Insurance Company has been the provider of the NYSUT Member Benefits-endorsed Group Term Life Insurance Plan. First Unum Life Insurance Company is a significant member of the S&P 500. Innovative product development is a feature of this company. Enhancements to the program include Worldwide Emergency Travel Services and SurvivorSupport®.

The First Unum Life Insurance Company’s Group Term Life Plan is a NYSUT Member Benefits Trust (Member Benefits)-endorsed program. Member Benefits has an expense reimbursement/endorsement arrangement of 5% of earned premiums for this program. All such payments to Member Benefits are used solely to defray the costs of administering its various programs and, where appropriate, to enhance them. The Insurer pools the premiums of Member Benefits participants who are insured for the purposes of determining premium rates and accounting. Coverage outside of this plan may have rates and terms that are not the same as those obtainable through Member Benefits. The Insurer or Member Benefits may hold premium reserves that may be used to offset rate increases and/or fund such other expenses related to the plan as determined appropriate by Member Benefits. Member Benefits acts as your advocate; please contact Member Benefits at (800) 626-8101 if you experience a problem with any endorsed program.

Agency fee payers to NYSUT are eligible to participate in NYSUT Member Benefits Trust-endorsed programs.

Eligibility

The NYSUT Member Benefits Trust-endorsed Group Term Life Insurance Plan is only available for purchase by local associations, their benefit funds, and employers.

All participants of your group may participate in the plan, both in-service and retirees. Plan purchaser decides if group term life insurance is provided to only in-service participants, or to in-service and retiree participants. Spouse/domestic partner and dependent children coverage can also be purchased by your group.

Features

• If a participant becomes totally disabled before age 60 and remains so for at least 9 months, life insurance will be continued while the disability lasts. Once proof of total disability is approved, no further premiums will be required.
• Accelerated death benefits are available up to one year prior to death for participants diagnosed as terminally ill.
• Participants may assign their life insurance ownership rights to someone else.
• The plan is portable for participants and their families at Unum's group rates.
• The life insurance benefit will be paid to the participant’s named beneficiary when the participant dies from any cause.
• SurvivorSupport® Financial Counseling Service is available to all in-service group life participants. This service provides objective financial planning to the terminally ill or beneficiaries of the deceased.
• Worldwide Emergency Travel Services is a worldwide medical and travel emergency service for participants traveling more than 100 miles from home or outside the U.S.

Plan Options

For a minimal additional cost, Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance can be added to your group plan. The loss must occur within 90 days of the accident. Death benefits are paid to the participant’s named beneficiary; dismemberment benefits are paid to the participant.

Obtain A Quote

Depending on the average age of your participants, the cost of group term life insurance for in-service members generally costs from $.14 and up per $1,000 of coverage per month. Accidental death and dismemberment insurance can be added for approximately $.02 per $1,000 of coverage per month.

To obtain a Group Term Life Insurance quote, you must provide information on who you want covered (in-service only or in-service and retirees), census data including the sex and date of birth, salary of all participants if benefit is a multiple of salary, the plan features you desire, and who is paying for coverage (employer, benefit fund, participants).

In addition, if you already have a group term life plan, you must provide a copy of the plan booklet/description. If more than 200 people are insured, experience data is also required, including premium and claims paid over the past 1 to 3 years.

For more information, please contact Member Benefits toll-free at (800) 626-8101, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

NYSUT Member Benefits Trust-endorsed Group Term Life Insurance Plan is provided and administered by First Unum Life Insurance Company.

Implement A Plan

Once the decision has been made to purchase the NYSUT Member Benefits Trust-endorsed Term Life Insurance Plan on a group basis, here’s what needs to be done to implement this plan:

• Complete policy application.
• Provide contact name/address/phone number.
• List of all participants (Participant name, Social Security number, Date Of Birth, home address. If group is covering dependents, dependent name(s) & DOB also required.).
• If benefit is a multiple of salary, include salary information.
• Certificates of coverage and other plan materials mailed to group contact for distribution.