Glossary

Most contributions are made to a retirement plan before taxes are calculated. Your taxable pay is reduced by the amount contributed to a retirement plan. Taxes will be due upon distribution.

An insurance plan in which member hospitals and/or doctors contract with a third party payer to deliver services for negotiated fees, usually at a reduced rate.

The financial cost of obtaining an insurance policy. The payment or a series of payments paid to the Insurer to put an insurance policy in force and to keep it in force.

The original amount of money invested or loaned

Built into some policies, available as an option with others, this benefit pays the insured a portion of the total disability benefit after a return to work based on the percentage of income lost due to the disability

Uncertainty regarding the expected rate of return and/or principal value or loss of an investment.

The geographical area covered by a network of health care providers.

Short-term disability (STD) insurance pays a percentage of your salary if you become temporarily disabled, meaning that you are not able to work for a short period of time (typically three, six, nine or twelve months) due to sickness or injury (excluding on-the-job injuries, which are covered by workers compensation insurance).

Providers whose practices are limited to treating a specific disease (e.g., oncologists), specific parts of the body (e.g., ear, nose and throat), or specific procedures (e.g., oral surgery).

Life insurance under which the benefit is paid if the insured person dies during a specified period of time. Benefits are not payable if the insured person survives to the end of the term.

An organization that provides administrative services including claims processing and underwriting for employers or insurance companies. TPAs are organizations with expertise and capability to administer all or a portion of the claims process. Self-insured employers will often contract with TPAs to handle their insurance functions.

Insured people are considered totally disabled if they are unable to perform the important duties of their regular occupation because of injury or sickness, they aren't working in another gainful occupation and they are under a physician's care.

A form of life insurance-first marketed in the early 1980s-that combines the economical protection of term life insurance with a cash value portion. Premiums are invested in a tax-deferred account earning interest. The policy is flexible; that is, as age and income change, a policyholder can increase or decrease premium payments and coverage, or shift a certain portion of premiums into the account, without additional sales charges.

Variable universal life provides a death benefit where the cash value varies with performance of an underlying portfolio of investments.

A provision in an insurance policy that allows payment of insurance premiums to be permanently or temporarily stopped in the event the policyholder becomes disabled or seriously ill. If you have a waiver of premium provision in your long-term care or disability insurance policy, you may qualify to stop paying premiums once you've begun collecting benefits. A waiver of premium provision may slightly increase the cost of your insurance.

Life insurance under which coverage remains in force during the policyholder's entire lifetime, provided premiums are paid as specified in the policy.