As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the U.S., many of you may wonder how this will impact your company and your third party short term disability insurance (e.g. Guardian, Cigna, Metlife, Unum, etc). These insurance policies, usually paid for by an employer, provide supplemental pay to people who take qualified, extended time out of the office for a medical reason, such as maternity leave or illness.
Here are some questions that we recommend you ask your third party short term disability insurance provider to understand how COVID-19 might impact your benefits.
Questions for employers to ask
- Our employees are important to us and we want to make sure that they are taken care of throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Will claim approval and payment timeframes change for my employees who are affected by COVID-19 or another qualifying reason?
- Does our short term disability policy cover employees who are infected with COVID-19?
- Does our short term disability policy cover quarantined employees or employees who are unable to work due to state or regionally required isolation measures?
- How does our policy integrate with Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)? Do you help manage any of this process?
- What resources are you offering about COVID-19 to employers or employees to help manage stress and other aspects of this pandemic?
Questions for employees to ask
- How does the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) impact me? Does my company policy integrate with the FFRCA?
- I have been out of work due to a local isolation order. Does that qualify me for Short Term Disability?
- Does having flu-like symptoms qualify me to take Short Term Disability?
- My doctor’s office only currently accepts virtual office visits. How do I file a short term disability claim without a physical note?
- Are there any resources that your company has developed to further support me during this time of COVID-19? If so, where can I find them?
How Sparrow helps
By combining incredible customer service and modern technology, Sparrow takes care of the most painful parts of leave management, ensures an exceptional employee experience, and assists with compliance for all types of leave nationwide. To do this, we help HR teams to:
- Develop robust, effective leave policies and work from home policies.
- Work with employees affected by COVID-19 to identify their eligibility for company policies, state benefits, third party insurance benefits, and other resources.
- File the appropriate paperwork, so employees taking leave can focus on their health and family.
- Coordinate with the Payroll team to ensure accurate wage integration is provided to the employees.
To learn more, please watch our free webinar (Information as of Friday March 27, 2020) that discussed more details about various state and federal programs and support services for individuals affected by COVID-19. For more detailed breakdowns on how to keep your team up to date on changing regulations, please follow us on social media.