Renewability provisions:

There are many policies available in the industry today and it is important to understand the structure and guarantees of such policies. ProVider Plus is both noncancellable and guaranteed renewable to age 65, after which it is conditionally renewable for life as long as you are at work full time. After 65, premiums can change. What that means is the noncancellable portion insures that you that the policy can not be changed or taken away as long as the premiums are paid in a timely manner. Many policies are only guaranteed renewable. This means that the company cannot take away the policy but they can discriminate on an entire class of individuals such as all males between the age of 30 and 40 or a specific occupation class or in a specific territory or area. This means a guaranteed renewable policy can have the premium increased, and this can occur on numerous occasions. Virtually all group long term disability policies are designed in this way. With noncancellable and guaranteed renewable together it should give consumers peace of mind to know that the policy provisions cannot be changed nor can premiums increase as long as the premiums are paid on a timely basis, assuming all underwriting information is truthful and accurate.

The first feature that most consumers tend to focus on is the definition of total disability. ProVider Plus states that your occupation means the regular occupation or occupations if you have more than one in which you are engaged in at the time you become disabled. The policy also states you will be totally disabled even if you are at work in some other capacity as long as you are not able to work in your occupation. This is significant because there are about a dozen varieties of definitions of total disability available in today's marketplace from other carriers. Some of those range from very specific definitions such as that of the ProVider Plus policy that says if you can't work in your job they will pay you even if you are at work in some other capacity. Compare this to less favorable policy language that says if you can't perform your occupation and you are not working they will pay you. There are still other policies that are even less favorable that state if you are unable to do your job or any gainful occupation they will pay you. It makes sense that each policy will be priced very differently according to these definitions as well as other features that will be discussed. A common variation of own occupation is one that states you will be totally disabled as long as you are not able to work in your occupation and you are not working. We believe this is significant because if you lose the ability to work in your occupation the only way you may be able to collect full benefits from policies that include the phrase "and you are not working" is to never go back to work. In some disabilities (meaning very severe ones) this is not a problem. However, there have been many instances where an individual can no longer work in his or her own occupation or specialty but does not wish to sit at home for the rest of his or her life. If you would like to view ProVider Plus' actual definition of total disability then just click on the left navigation bar of Disability-Insurance.com's web site where it says specimen policy. The definition is on page 4 of the specimen policy. Note that the definition of total disability varies by occupation class.