Watjen testifies before Senate committee last week

CEO Tom Watjen spoke at a Senate committee meeting last week, stressing the importance of income protection benefits and the need for the private disability insurance industry and the government to work together to expand coverage.

The hearing, entitled “Stay-at-work and return-to-work: Lessons from the private sector,” focused on how the private sector supports employees through disability insurance, employment modifications, and workplace accommodations, among other services. Click here to view a taped broadcast of the hearing.

“The ability to earn a living is the most important asset people have, and protecting that asset benefits individuals, families, businesses and taxpayers,” Watjen told the committee at a hearing March 22.

“Our experience is that the lack of awareness of the risk of disability and the affordable ways to insure against the risk are the biggest impediments to more Americans being protected,” he added. “That is why this hearing is so important.”

A worker is three times more likely to become disabled than to die before retirement, yet is much more likely to have life insurance than income protection insurance. About 70 percent of private sector employees lack long term disability coverage, Watjen said.

Disability benefits can provide the support and resources needed when an employee is sidelined by injury or illness, he said, adding that the benefits extend to taxpayers and the government as well, by relieving the burden on public assistance programs.

Last year, Unum commissioned a study by Charles River Associates to assess the value of employee benefits with a specific focus on disability protection provided in the workplace. The study found that private, employer-sponsored disability insurance saves taxpayers up to $4.5 billion dollars per year and helps as many as 575,000 families avoid impoverishment and the need to rely on public assistance programs.

In fact, the Charles River report suggests that poverty among working adults who become disabled during their careers could be virtually eliminated if all workers had some form of standard employer-sponsored disability insurance.

For that reason, the private income protection insurance industry and the government should work together on the shared objective of making financial protection more accessible and affordable to workers, Watjen told committee members.

“Government can play an important role by helping to raise awareness with consumers, employers, and others about the risks and consequences of disability.”