PULLMAN, Wash. – Effective Jan. 1, the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) redesigned the structure of the life insurance policies offered to benefit-eligible Washington State University employees. Information and details about how the plan was restructured and the new reduced premium rates, as well as FAQs, can be found on the WSU Human Resource Services (HRS) 2012 Life Insurance Special Re-Enrollment Web page at http://hrs.wsu.edu/Life+ReEnrollment+2012.
As part of the redesign, during February and March 2012, certain employees may have the opportunity to obtain up to an additional $50,000 of life insurance coverage on themselves and/or $25,000 on their spouse/registered domestic partner (RDP) without going through the underwriting process.
Any benefit-eligible employee also has the ability to increase the total amount of life insurance on themselves to a new maximum of $750,000 (underwriting would be required to pursue this level of coverage). Previously, the cap on insurance coverage had been the total of the annual salary plus $350,000.
If an employee elects to increase coverage, he or she also may be able to apply for higher amounts of insurance for a spouse/RDP – up to half the employee’s amount which also would require underwriting.
Who can increase coverage without underwriting:
Employees are eligible to automatically increase their life insurance coverage if:
+ They were hired before Jan. 1, 2012
+ They had employee supplemental and/or spouse/RDP supplemental coverage as of Dec. 31, 2011
+ They and/or their spouse/RDP have had no previous underwriting denials with WSU or any state of Washington insurance plan*
+ The employee supplemental coverage is less than the guaranteed issue limit of $250,000 for employees under 60 and $100,000 for employees over 60
+ The spouse/RDP supplemental coverage is less than $50,000. (To have this level of coverage, the employee would have to be carrying at least $100,000 worth of coverage. A spouse/RDP’s coverage can be no more than half of the employee supplemental coverage.)
+ They were hired before Jan. 1, 2012
+ They had employee supplemental and/or spouse/RDP supplemental coverage as of Dec. 31, 2011
+ They and/or their spouse/RDP have had no previous underwriting denials with WSU or any state of Washington insurance plan*
+ The employee supplemental coverage is less than the guaranteed issue limit of $250,000 for employees under 60 and $100,000 for employees over 60
+ The spouse/RDP supplemental coverage is less than $50,000. (To have this level of coverage, the employee would have to be carrying at least $100,000 worth of coverage. A spouse/RDP’s coverage can be no more than half of the employee supplemental coverage.)
* Please note that previous denials may result in underwriting. For example, if a spouse/RDP had a prior denial, and the employee did not, the employee may not need to go through underwriting but the spouse/RDP would. This may also be the case if the employee received a denial and the spouse/RDP did not. HRS will review all requests and notify individuals who need to pursue underwriting.
How to increase coverage if you don’t meet eligibility criteria:
If employees do not meet the criteria to be eligible for the automatic guaranteed increase, or if they are eligible but would like to purchase more coverage than can automatically be granted, they may request additional life insurance by participating in the insurance underwriting process.
An employee may pursue this option at any time, not just during the February/March 2012 special re-enrollment period.
How to determine your current life insurance coverage:
Employees can view their life insurance coverage through zzusis at http://zzusis.wsu.edu/. Under the “Payroll” section, click on the “Employee Benefits” link. Life insurance coverage is listed on the bottom half of the page.
If the coverage listed in zzusis is different than what an employee thought he or she was carrying, please send an email to hrs@wsu.edu and request a correction. The email should identify what coverage employees believe they have. HRS will investigate the possible discrepancy.
Also in that zzusis section, there is a “Smoker” indicator. If an employee only has the basic life insurance coverage WSU picks up on all benefit-eligible employees, the field to the right of “Smoker” may be blank. This field has no impact on your insurance coverage.
The “Smoker” field should reflect either a “Y” or “N” if the employee is carrying coverage under the supplemental portions of the plan. A “Y” indicates that a smoker premium rate is being applied, whereas an “N” reflects non-smoker rates. If an employee did not complete this portion of the application form, the default is “Y.” If either the employee or the spouse/RDP uses tobacco products, this field should indicate “Y.”
If the zzusis “Smoker” indicator is incorrect, fill out a non-smoker certification form and send it to HRS Benefits in Pullman. The form can be found on the HRS website at http://hrs.wsu.edu/Benefit+Forms.
Learn more about your options with online training
HRS held several special re-enrollment information sessions in February to provide an overview of the 2012 life insurance changes and redesign and to assist employees in making changes to their coverage.
Visit http://hrs.wsu.edu/Life+ReEnrollment+2012 and click on the ExperienceWSU link under “Informational Sessions” to watch the training online.
New forms will be available for the re-enrollment process. Please note that if you completed and submitted the previous version of the form, that submission will be honored and no further action is needed.
If you do not want to make any changes to your coverage, you need do nothing.
If you have questions, please send an email to hrs@wsu.edu.