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Guardian Unit Increases Disability Limits, Adds CAT Rider

By Staff Writer

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Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America is updating the ProVider Plus individual disability insurance product.

Berkshire, Pittsfield, Mass., a unit of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, says it is adding a catastrophic disability benefit rider and increasing monthly income replacement limits for insureds in more than 30 medical and dental occupations.

Standard disability policies usually discourage malingering by offering to replace only a portion of the insured’s income.

Insureds who buy the new CAT rider may be able to replace 100% of their pre-disability income if they suffer from events that cause cognitive impairment or prevent them from performing 2 or more activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing, without assistance.

The CAT rider comes as a built-in 3% annual compounded inflation adjustment feature, Berkshire says.

The other change, the increase in the income replacement limit, could raise the limit to $15,000 per month for physicians and dentists in designated specialties, Berkshire says.

Berkshire is trying to promote use of the TeleMed telephone-based underwriting service by offering the higher coverage limits only to applicants who submit medical information over the telephone.