ALPA LOL insurance

[COOPERVANE]

Just wondering how many here pay for ALPA loss of liscense insurance. If so, did you choose monthly benefit or lump sum?

Which seems to be the better choice in your opinion?

Was an exam required?

If I have a pre-existing issue will that be excluded?

Thanks for your response

 

[Lear70]

Always seemed like a lot of money for not a lot of payoff.

Never known anyone who had it and had to use it...

 

[beagle pilot]

Agreed. I checked into it and couldn't afford it. I took my own airline's long-term disability insurance, but if I simply lose my medical I'm SOL.

 

[IAHERJ]

I have it and have set it to the new max on monthly payout. I know it is expensive and I do participate in our LTD plan at the airline as well. I hope I never need it but am glad I have it just in case. Can't remember the premiums right now as I pay on a yearly basis.

 

[dually]

Depends on your position. If you're young, low pay & little savings, lots of debit, get LOL. If your on the other end of the equation, cancel it.

 

[Bringupthebird]

Agreed. I checked into it and couldn't afford it. I took my own airline's long-term disability insurance, but if I simply lose my medical I'm SOL.

So your LTD only pays if you are unable to work at ANY OCCUPATION as opposed to unable to work as a pilot (own occupation)?

 

[Lear70]

Almost EVERY LTD plan requires you to be disabled to the point where you can't hold ANY job. It's designed to be a stop-gap measure so that if you're DISABLED, you and your family don't lose your house, etc.

Read the fine print on those things; that's why most financial professionals will tell you that it's a sucker bet, wasting money you could otherwise be investing.

 

[lumax]

I have the LOL insurance and unfortunately I am using it right now. I am so glad I bought it.
FYI, there is a one year waiting period from the time you loose your medical to the time payments begin.
Payments will continue for 4 years.
Payments are tax free, at least in my case.
no medical exam.
I recommend it, it makes a tough medical situation a little less stressful.

 

[taxicabdriver]

Almost EVERY LTD plan requires you to be disabled to the point where you can't hold ANY job. It's designed to be a stop-gap measure so that if you're DISABLED, you and your family don't lose your house, etc.

Read the fine print on those things; that's why most financial professionals will tell you that it's a sucker bet, wasting money you could otherwise be investing.

Not sure where you work, I imagine most LOL policies are different. They may also be different per the contract they were signed under. I flew (CAL) with a CA whose wife was out under the company LOL insurance and she is getting paid until age 60 (went out under old contract) She wanted to come back but couldn't fly with the meds she is on so pretty sure she could have done another job within the company. My wife went out on company LOL and they will only pay for 2 years. So I totally agree with you, definately have to read the fine print. Every company/policy is probably different. I don't pay for it at CAL, think its way too expensive for a benefit I couldn't support a family on.

 

[Lear70]

The LOL policies at different carriers are different than LTD (Long Term Disability).

The way it's SUPPOSED to work is that your sick time covers you for the first full month.

Then Short Term Disability is supposed to pick up after 30 days up to 3 or 6 months, depending on how the policy works.

Then Long Term Disability is supposed to pick up from there, for 2-3 years on average.

I've worked at 5 different airlines, they all pretty much worked the same, excluded pilots from the STD coverage, made LTD almost impossible to get unless you couldn't work ANY job, thereby covering all but the worst case scenarios.

Most carriers are self-insured these days except for catastrophic stuff like Cancer, etc, then the insurance company who is underwriting the policy has to pay up. Don't ask me how I know, it's a LONG story...

 

[lumax]

At the airline I was at, STD was, like you said, 6 months. However, LTD (medical retirement) continues until age 60. At that point it will be recalculated as a normal retirement. This is per ALPA contract.
Under LTD you can't work at the company without giving up your LTD. However, you can work anywhere else doing anything, except as a commercial pilot, and still receive your LTD. This is basically insurance covering LOL not your ability to work.

 

[BOOZENEWS]

Almost EVERY LTD plan requires you to be disabled to the point where you can't hold ANY job. It's designed to be a stop-gap measure so that if you're DISABLED, you and your family don't lose your house, etc.

Read the fine print on those things; that's why most financial professionals will tell you that it's a sucker bet, wasting money you could otherwise be investing.

What if you lost your medical and then found a non-flying job that payed a lot less? Would LTD then pay you the difference then?

 

[Lear70]

Again, it really depends on what your LTD plan is through your employer and what the union contract says. Sometimes they're different coverages, sometimes not.

My experience has mostly been with plans that are set up to where your MEDICAL and your company LTD are two COMPLETELY separate things. The LTD doesn't recognize that just because you lost your license to fly that you are "disabled". To draw Long Term Disability at a company you have to basically be unable to WORK doing ANYTHING. Even being a Walmart greeter.

Short Term Disability usually is being "temporarily unable to perform your primary job functions", which means flying an airplane in our case.

You are MUCH better off having this discussion with your individual union's Insurance Committee Chair; they will know what your company does and doesn't do and whether Loss Of License will help or hurt. In our case at AirTran, having ALPA LOL is actually a bad thing.

If we had that option at Kalitta, it would be a great thing to have, I actually opted into AFLAC's STD and LTD plans after I got here because of what happened to my shoulder. Better coverage than most ALPA products for about half the price.