A Risk Less OrdinaryGoing beyond the basics

Have you considered taking your insurance benefits beyond thebasic health, life and disability policies? One excellent way to doit is with special-risk health and life products-narrowly focusedpolicies with special benefit terms. Available through life andspecialty insurers, the policies go beyond major medical and lifecoverages to provide additional benefits for dread disease (such ascancer), accidental death and dismemberment, long-term care, visionand dental benefits if they're not covered under your medicalpolicy, and more. These extra benefits will improve your insurancepackage, thus helping with employee hiring and retention. But withso many to choose from (and with prices varying widely), how do youdecide which, if any, to add to your benefit mix?

Two primary factors come into play: 1) the demographics andneeds of your employees and 2) the cost of the product and who isgoing to pay for it. Marilyn Conyer, vice president of humanresources with Accord Human Resources Inc. in Oklahoma City, sayswhite-collar, higher-paid workers are likely to be less interestedin supplemental hospitalization policies and more interested inproducts such as long-term care, while blue-collar, lower-wageemployees tend to opt for dread disease and similar coverages.