Principal Social Insurance Substitute

[dgoldenz]

Ok hold on time out. No I didn't read all of the back and forth over ONL, so I might be missing something, but please give me an example where a web designer goes out on claim where pure own occ is going to be a real life saver to him.

I love Berkshire, I used to whole sale the product, but even I wouldn't have attempted to convince someone like this that a company like Guardian/Berkshire would be critical.

If it's price competitive maybe. If you can save several 100/year elsewhere on a modified own occ definition, a 20% loss of income residual, and a 3% COLA I say do it.

I did, read above. Everyone always assumes someone will never change jobs...big mistake, seeing how common that is these days.

 

[VolAgent]

I doubt most people qualifying for DI benefits would just want to sit on the couch and become a vegetable instead of working.

His claim is that the numbers show the opposite. People on DI claim will just collect the benefit and find something else to fill the time.

 

[dgoldenz]

His claim is that the numbers show the opposite. People on DI claim will just collect the benefit and find something else to fill the time.

I don't believe that coming from a biased source. If that was true, companies wouldn't even bother offering true own-occ definitions in the first place. Wonder what his stance would be if he was a consultant for Guardian...

 

[VolAgent]

I don't believe that coming from a biased source. If that was true, companies wouldn't even bother offering true own-occ definitions in the first place. Wonder what his stance would be if he was a consultant for Guardian...

Sure they would. But does that mean it would be more honest?

It is quite possible Guardian knows the same numbers, but chooses to do pure own-occ at a premium and reap the profits.

 

[BNTRS]

Sure they would. But does that mean it would be more honest?

It is quite possible Guardian knows the same numbers, but chooses to do pure own-occ at a premium and reap the profits.

Bingo!

Again, I really like Berkshire, and I agree that it's the best DI contract on the market. But they know the probabilities of paying claim for some of these benefits and they know they get away with charging a lot for them.

I'd certainly put Guardian on the table for the client to see. But if he asked why bother paying so much extra, my personal conviction isn't about to convince him it's worth the money, because realistically from an expected value point of view, it's simply not.

Now, if he were highly trained to perform medical procedures that would be different. There's a lot more that could take him out.

We also know this money doesn't come from the fields in the back of the Berkshire HO. If they are going to agree to shoulder the risk of someone's deciding to go into low skill/highly physical labor where claim likelihood is much higher and than continue to pay benefits if they return to a different job (i.e. be on claim indefinitely) that money has to come from somewhere. And Berkshire manages their product really really well. There's no free lunch. You (the client) pay for it.

 

[dgoldenz]

Most of the Guardian quotes I run are in the same ballpark, often cheaper than Principal and Standard. The new Limited policy from Guardian is very comparable to what other companies offer and priced 20-30% below the regular policy.

DI is not a product to cheap out on premiums with. You are paying for the quality of the contract. Anyone can be penny-wise and pound foolish. As I stated earlier in this thread, the difference in premiums between companies at such a low benefit level is probably a few dollars a month, if that.