Assurant automatically enrolls you and pays for Short-Term Disability Plan coverage. The Plan provides income in the event you cannot work due to illness, injury or pregnancy. Benefits begin after you have been disabled for seven consecutive calendar days and is payable for the duration approved by Lincoln Financial, the short-term disability administrator, up to a maximum of 25 weeks.

1. Refer to the Assurant Health and Welfare Benefit Plan Summary Plan Description (SPD) for the definition of Base Pay and other Plan details.

*Typically, Pregnancy Leave is 6 weeks for the birth of a child, though up to 8 weeks may be approved based on any complications.

Enhanced Pregnancy Leave

After you’re employed with Assurant for 90 days, all benefits-eligible employees will be eligible for up to eight weeks of Pregnancy Leave, paid at 100%. (Applies to Pregnancy Leaves beginning after Jan. 1, 2020; any pregnancy or disability leaves that commence in 2019 will be subject to the 2019 Short-Term Disability plan design, even if the leave carries over into 2020.) Typically, Pregnancy Leave is 6 weeks for the birth of a child, though up to 8 weeks may be approved based on any complications.

Requesting a Leave of Absence

You can request a leave through MyHR, from the link on Connect home page. Your Short-Term Disability premium is fully paid by Assurant. However, you do not pay imputed income on the cost of coverage for STD coverage, though you will be taxed on the benefit when you use it.

Note: If you are enrolled in the Assurant Health Plan, Anthem Blue Care Consultant services provides a team of registered nurses and specialized clinicians to guide you through health programs that may offer additional support for your medical condition.

Assurant automatically enrolls you and pays for your Long-Term Disability Plan (LTD) Core option coverage of 50% of your monthly Plan Pay up to $15,000 per month. The premium is added to your taxable earnings for tax purposes only. This means that, because you are taxed on the premium for this coverage, any future benefits you may receive are exempt from income taxes to the extent allowed by law. You have the opportunity to enroll in the LTD Core + 10% Buy-Up option which covers 60% of your Plan Pay at the time of disability, up to $15,000. If you elect the LTD Core + 10% Buy-Up option, you pay the premium for the Buy-Up option on an after-tax basis each pay period.

Benefits under the LTD Plan can begin after you are continuously disabled for six months and may continue as long as you are disabled under the terms of the Plan. Benefits cover up to 60% of your annual Plan Pay at the time of disability until you recover or, if earlier, you reach your normal retirement age (as defined by the Social Security Administration). Special rules apply if your disability begins at or after age 60 or if your disability is due to a mental or nervous condition, or substance abuse.

Newly eligible employees may elect the Long-term Disability (LTD) Buy-Up option for an additional 10% of coverage without providing evidence of insurability. Enrollment after thirty days of eligibility (late enrollment) or any future enrollment changes require evidence of insurability through MyHR powered by Workday. The LTD Buy-Up option coverage is subject to a Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion. “Pre-Existing Condition” means a condition resulting from an injury or sickness for which the covered person is diagnosed or received treatment within six months prior to the covered person’s effective date of coverage. This policy will not cover any disability or partial disability:

• Which is caused or contributed to by, or results from, a Pre-Existing Condition; and
• Which begins in the first 12 months immediately after the covered person’s effective date of coverage.