Advances in medical technology and the high quality of medical care mean that more people are surviving illnesses like heart attack, stroke and cancer. The result: Today's employees are much more likely to suffer a critical illness than they are to die.

Enter coverage for the "big three" critical illnesses: heart attack, stroke and cancer. When provided as a supplemental voluntary benefit in the worksite market, critical illness insurance has proven to be a financial lifesaver for countless employees.

"Carriers have been focusing on expanding critical illness coverage," notes Fred Wiechmann, manager of voluntary products at Unum. "Today most carriers have made the transition to CI, which covers a more comprehensive list of conditions. In our market, most carriers offer a CI product that covers between six and 12 conditions."

Unum entered the market in the 1990s with cancer-only coverage, and added heart attack and stroke, along with a few other conditions, in their next product launch. In the early 2000s, Unum launched individual-based products covering about six conditions, but heart attack, stroke and cancer continued to be the drivers in the market - which remains true today, even as the products have grown broader. Unum's newest CI product covers 12 illnesses: heart attack; major organ failure; occupational HIV; benign brain tumor; blindness; kidney failure; coronary bypass surgery; stroke; coma; permanent paralysis; cancer; and carcinoma. It also includes coverage for specific childhood conditions.

The supplemental CI product developed by Trustmark covers 10 illnesses and has a modular structure. Customers can choose coverage for all 10 conditions, cancer-only, or everything but cancer. Trustmark "wants as many people as possible to have access to critical illness insurance and to make sure that we deliver CI solutions with the flexibility needed to align and fit with each client's total benefit package," says Janet Buzil, the firm's 2nd VP of marketing. People who have had a heart attack are no more likely to get cancer than anyone else, she points out. "So if you have heart disease, you can still get lump-sum coverage for cancer. This doesn't work the other way, however - if you've had cancer, you are more likely to get one of those other diseases."

The modular approach also creates a selling opportunity. "With the everything-but-cancer module, we can go into those groups and build coverage around their cancer plan, instead of covering the same disease twice and making policyholders pay for benefits they already have," Buzil notes.

In Trustmark's products, coverage is available in $5,000 increments, up to $100,000. This allows clients to base their choice on either a coverage amount or on what they think they can afford.

At Alpha Benefits Group in Plymouth Meeting, Penn., the typical election "falls between $5,000 and $20,000 for individual voluntary coverage and between $10,000 and $30,000 for group coverage," according to Michael Kapustin, a senior VP at Alpha.

To educate employees on the potential need for CI, Unum's Wiechmann recommends having workers evaluate their medical plan and financial situation: Who's the primary wage earner? What are their long-term financial goals? What's their out-of-pocket and deductible? What people don't necessarily realize, he says, is that a critical illness entails so much more than a $500 deductible or a $1,500 out-of-pocket maximum - it's all about the additional costs that arise.

"Once they understand the financial toll of a critical illness event, not only for them but for the entire family, CI makes sense," he says.

Expenses for travel to distant medical facilities, college tuition, retirement plan contributions and mortgage payments are also cited as important factors by Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Critical Illness Insurance. One major obstacle holding back the growth of CI insurance: a good foundation of awareness among consumers.

"Once consumers become more educated, sales will follow," says Slome.

Brokers and carriers alike see a continuing demand for CI insurance with or without health care reform. "There will still be deductibles and coinsurance that employees will be vulnerable to, and expenses are still going to be incurred that aren't picked up by health and disability insurance," says Kapustin.

Slome agrees: "The advent of 'ObamaCare' will drive an increase in supplemental insurance, as people look to fill in the gaps that will be created," he believes. "We saw this happen in Canada. CI is perfectly positioned for this."

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