Faculty and staff who want to enroll in the university’s Optional Life Insurance plan or increase their coverage level can do so during this year’s Open Enrollment  — Oct. 26-Nov. 6 — without having to provide a health statement of insurability for limited coverage increases.

Life insurance is usually not included in Open Enrollment and eligible faculty and staff can enroll at any time after completion of a health statement and subject to approval by the plan. Because of enhancements to plan coverage, the university is offering this one-time opportunity.

Under the current optional life plan, an employee can choose coverage in flat amounts of $5,000 or $50,000, or choose salary-based coverage by selecting a multiple of one to six times the employee’s annual salary for coverage up to the plan maximum of $1 million. For 2016, the coverage options based on salary will expand up to eight times salary and the new plan maximum will be $1.5 million.

Special allowances for Optional Life Insurance elections during Open Enrollment

During Open Enrollment, eligible employees will not need to provide a health statement to:

• Newly enroll in the plan at their current salary.

• Increase their existing coverage by up to twice their current salary.

Coverage may not exceed eight times an employee’s salary, and cannot exceed $1.5 million. Changes will take effect Jan. 1. Other life insurance coverage increases and those made outside of Open Enrollment will require a health statement and approval by the plan.

The employee pays the cost for optional life insurance coverage, and the rate depends on the coverage selected and the employee’s age, smoking status and salary. Plan information and the 2016 optional life rates are available at hr.umich.edu/open-enrollment.

Additional benefits plan changes effective Jan. 1

Dependent Life Insurance

The Dependent Life Insurance plan currently provides coverage for a spouse or other qualified adult in amounts of $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000. A new $100,000 coverage option will be added. Coverage increases for a spouse or other qualified adult require a health statement, and are subject to approval by the plan.

Legal Services Plan

The university’s Legal Services Plan will add identity protection services to provide assistance for emerging identity threats including medical identity theft, company data breaches, lost documents, and other identity theft issues. Additional services for plan members will include identity management services, resolution services for help in recovering from identity theft, and credit monitoring services. Eligible faculty, staff and retirees may enroll in the Legal Services Plan during Open Enrollment for coverage effective Jan. 1.

Flexible Spending Accounts

The annual amount faculty and staff can contribute to a Health Care Flexible Spending Account will increase from $2,500 to $2,550.

For more information

Open Enrollment information is available at hr.umich.edu/open-enrollment. The Benefits Office will send details to eligible faculty and staff by email. Retirees will receive an Open Enrollment book mailed to their home addresses in early October.

For questions about benefits or Open Enrollment, call the Shared Services Center HR Contact Center at 734-615-2000, or toll-free at 866-647-7657, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Tags:

• Open Enrollment