Guardian Introduces Provider Choice

NEW YORK, N.Y., September 12, 2016 — The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), one of the nation’s largest mutual life insurers and a leading provider of individual disability income (DI) insurance, today introduced Provider Choice, individual DI protection with enhanced flexibility and customization options.

Provider Choice offers three simple policy packages, making it easier for insurance professionals to find the right coverage for their customers, based on their needs and budget. Each package includes a robust base policy with hospice care and provisions for serious illnesses such as cancer, stroke, and heart attack. Every base policy can then be customized with riders, or options, that address customers’ unique needs. Provider Choice offers riders that can cover retirement plan contributions, partial disability, and options to help keep pace with inflation. A Student Loan Benefit rider, which is unique to Guardian policies, will cover repayment of student loan debt, typically a significant financial commitment for highly trained professionals with advanced degrees.

“Guardian listens closely to its customers to ensure that we deeply understand their wants and needs, and the enhanced benefits and riders offered in Provider Choice reflect this,” said Lawrence Hazzard, Vice President of Product Strategy. “You could easily say Provider Choice was designed by our customers since it includes the features and benefits deemed most important to them.”

Professionals such as physicians and dentists can further tailor their DI coverage by selecting the True Own-Occupation option. If disabled, they can choose to work in another capacity, within or outside of their field, sometimes even in their own practice, and not forfeit their disability benefits.

Provider Choice also offers a unique enhancement just for physicians. Guardian has crafted a new path to qualify for benefits based on the physician’s pre-disability source of earnings. If more than 50% of a physician’s earnings are derived from performing surgeries or hands-on patient care, and an illness or injury prevents him or her from doing this work, the physician is considered totally disabled and qualifies for benefits. “Consumers want more clarity around how a disability claim is evaluated,” Hazzard said.  “The addition of this straightforward formula is a game changer, giving physicians not only more clarity, but also more ways to qualify for benefits.”

The policy is non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable, so consumers can lock in the policy’s benefits and cost at the time of purchase.  Customers also can choose to increase protection in the future with no medical underwriting, among many other options and enhancements.

For additional information on Guardian’s Provider Choice, please visit https://www.guardianlife.com/disability-income-insurance/enhanced-disability-income-protection.

About Guardian

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian) is one of the largest mutual life insurers with $7.3 billion in capital and $1.5 billion in operating income (before taxes and dividends to policyholders) in 2015.  Founded in 1860, the company has paid dividends to policyholders every year since 1868.  Its offerings range from life insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, and investments to dental, vision, and 401(k) plans. The company has approximately 8,000 employees and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 70 agencies nationwide. For more information, visit Guardian’s website: www.GuardianLife.com, Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GuardianLife/, and Twitter: @GuardianLife.

Financial information concerning The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America^® as of 12/31/15 on a statutory basis: Admitted Assets = $48.1 Billion; Liabilities = $42 Billion (including $37 Billion of Reserves); and Surplus = $6.1 Billion.

Individual disability Policy Forms 18ID and 18UD underwritten and issued by Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America (BLICOA), Pittsfield, MA. BLICOA is a wholly owned stock subsidiary of and administrator for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. Optional riders are available for an additional premium. Product provisions and availability may vary by state. In New York: These policies provide disability insurance only. They do not provide basic hospital, basic medical or major medical insurance as defined by the New York State Insurance Department. For policy form 18ID, the expected benefit ratio is 50%.. For policy forms 18UD, and 18UD-F, the expected benefit ratio is 60%. The expected benefit ratio is the portion of future premiums that the company expects to return as benefits, when averaged over all people with these policy forms.