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View More Press Releases by American Council of Life Insurers [ACLI]

Press Release

Life Insurers Offer Lawmakers Experience and Partnership for Paid Leave Solutions

Issued by American Council of Life Insurers [ACLI]

June 19, 2020

WASHINGTON – American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President & CEO Susan Neely offered the life insurance industry’s expertise to lawmakers seeking paid family leave solutions for workers. 

“As Congress searches for paid leave solutions that support workers who need a leave of absence, there’s an opportunity for an effective partnership between the private and public sectors,” Neely said in a statement to the Senate Finance Committee.

 

“Helping people care for their loved ones is life insurers’ most critical mission. As lawmakers consider federal solutions, they can look to the sector with a proven record of timely, vital wage replacement at a minimal cost to the employer or employee.”

 

Neely’s full submitted statement is copied below and available here.

 

Statement for the Record Submitted to
The United States Senate Committee on Finance
“Paid Leave Proposals in the COVID Era” Round Table
June 18, 2020
On behalf of
The American Council of Life Insurers 

On behalf of the American Council of Life Insurers, we thank you for the opportunity to submit for the record our views on paid family leave solutions.

As Congress searches for paid leave solutions that support workers who need a leave of absence, there’s an opportunity for a partnership between the private and public sectors. What’s essential is the ability for employers to provide coverage through private short-term disability income insurance or other private market tools.

Whether it’s childbirth, adoption, a family health crisis, or a worker’s own health crisis, workers shouldn’t have to choose between their paycheck and their loved ones. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the gaps in the national framework for wage replacement.

Our federal government responded quickly and appropriately to meet the short-term paid leave needs of workers who were unable to work due to state emergency orders and to support those that were unemployed suddenly and unpredictably due to the pandemic. After the crisis subsides, we’ll need to find a long-term, sustainable solution. 

Helping people care for their loved ones is life insurers’ most critical mission. As lawmakers consider federal solutions, they can look to the sector with a proven record of timely, vital wage replacement at a minimal cost to the employer or employee.

Private disability income insurance offered by life insurers is the most common form of income protection for workers—allowing millions of American workers to maintain their income when a medical condition or the birth of a child keeps them out of the workplace.

In fact, about 47 percent of all full-time civilian workers are provided paid medical leave under their employer’s short-term disability plan and half of civilian workers in a union have access to short-term disability benefits.[1] Short-term disability plans provide paid leave for employees’ inability to work due to a medical condition. In 2018, the private employer-based system paid American workers approximately $5.2 billion in short-term benefits as they recovered from conditions that kept them from working.[2]

Life insurers have advanced suggestions that would both expand the scope of available private insured paid leave options for employers as well as incentives to enable more employers to offer paid family and medical leave benefits to their employees.  As is reflected above, while many employees are currently protected, more workers need meaningful income replacement benefits to cover paid family and medical leave.

Attached to this statement are additional details on suggestions advanced by the life insurance industry to expand the options available to employers and employees and for specific incentives to enable more employers to provide paid leave for their employees.  We are committed to working with Congressional leaders to advance these and additional options to expand private solutions that meet employers’ and employees’ needs.

For decades, life insurers have assisted states in the administration of unpaid and protected family leave. Life insurers have the expertise, systems, and staff to provide and assist administration of PFML benefits in programs – expertise that could help effectively manage any new programs rather than government creating new government-run mandated programs.

Workers shouldn’t be penalized for taking time off to care for their families when needed. We stand ready to work together towards solutions that enable Americans to secure financial security throughout their life. Let’s continue the dialogue and work to find viable solutions that meet this fundamental need across America.

View More Press Releases by American Council of Life Insurers [ACLI]


Editor's note: This press release has been issued by the company named above, not BenefitsLink. Reliance on information in this press release might be prudent only after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy, and timeliness. Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by BenefitsLink.