When designing Symetra’s newest voluntary policy, AVP & Director of Product Management Todd Dzen and Associate Product Manager Melissa McCoy wanted to prioritize customer needs and redefine critical illness insurance. To do this, they took an innovative approach to design coverage that could be valuable to all individuals, regardless of their age or stage of life.
“We really started with the customer,” Dzen said. “What do they need? What are their challenges? How can we help ensure financial freedom for them? That really helped us make sure we had benefits that were relevant throughout one’s entire life.”
Symetra’s Todd Dzen and Melissa McCoy explain how our new leading-edge policy redefines critical illness coverage.
Customers can now choose from hundreds of covered conditions that impact employees from starting a family through late adulthood. Starting with a core or enhanced core set of covered conditions, customers can enhance the plan by adding one or more of our pre-set modules—such as family planning, mental illness or autoimmune diseases—or create a customized plan that meets the unique needs of their group.
The definitions for these critical events and medical conditions are intentionally broad to make it easy for claimants to use their benefits. “We were very focused on building the provisions in such a way that we’re going to pay claims,” Dzen said. “That’s central to our strategy and our values here at Symetra.”
In addition to module design, clients can decide benefit payment amounts and whether to offer optional recurrence and/or health screening benefits. “Flexibility and customization are going to be the wave of the future with critical illness,” McCoy says. “And we’re on the leading edge of that.”
Want to learn more about this new critical illness insurance? Watch the full interview, then contact your Symetra representative today.
