Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
Group Insurance
The GeoCare Insurance Benefits Program continues to be one of the most important services provided to the AAPG membership. The committee members representing the program continue to evaluate existing insurance plans and continually search for other services for the benefit of the AAPG membership.
Including AAPG, the following societies are also members of the Group Plan: Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Association of Professional Landmen, Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, American Institute of Professional Geologists, Council of Petroleum Accounts Societies, Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society, Geological Society of Washington, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Society for Sedimentary Geology, and the Society of Economic Geologists.
Association Group Insurance Administrators of Carpinteria, California, and Allied Benefit Systems are the program administrators through which all claims are filed and processed. Creekmore Livingston Inc. of Punta Gorda, Florida, is the broker of record for the GeoCare Program. New York Life Insurance Co., Monumental Life Insurance Co., Aetna Insurance Co., Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Coverdell & Company, Rutherford International, FSD Insurance Services, and Worldwide Benefits Services are the underwriters for the Group Insurance plans and other benefits programs.
The GeoCare Program now offers 14 different plans for the benefit of our membership: 10-Year Level Term Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance, First-To-Die Term Life Insurance, High-Limit Accident Insurance, Disability Income, Comprehensive HealthCare, Health Savings Account Qualified Insurance, Dental Insurance, Catastrophic Major Medical, In-Hospital Insurance, Cancer Insurance, Personal Lines Insurance, Fixed Annuities, and ID Theft Assistance.
The Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2010, “healthcare reform legislation,” was passed by Congress in March of 2010 and has had a significant impact on the Comprehensive HealthCare and Health Savings Account Qualified Plans. Creekmore Livingston Inc. and New York Life continue to work together to determine how best to implement the future changes required by this legislation. The Insurance Committee approved the recommended change in PPO network to Aetna Signature Administrators (ASA) in January 2010. This change was to hold down the claims experienced for the medical plans through ASA’s larger provider network and increased provider discounts. As of now, the claims experience costs have shown a significant decrease and the change in the provider network appears to be successful.
The Term Life Plan includes the issuance of $30,000 of coverage to new members who are under the age of 50 and residents of the United States at no cost to them for one year. There is also an Inflation Guard Benefit to those members under the age of 50, who have been insured for one year, and are not disabled. Similar to the Term Life Plan, the Disability Insurance Program now has a new member benefit of $600 for new members under the age of 50. New members are automatically covered at no cost to them for the first six months of membership.
The GeoCare International Program was developed to meet the needs of expatriate members who are living or working overseas. Members who are eligible include U.S. members working and/or residing overseas, those residing outside the country in which they have citizenship or a passport, and key local nationals living in countries other than the United States or Canada.
One program that continues to be very successful is the Personal Lines Plans, which include insurance for a member’s automobile, home, motorcycle, and/or condominium. This plan also includes personal liability umbrella coverage, providing protection for members in the event of a claim for damages exceeding the limits of the policy against which the claim is being made. This plan is underwritten by the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
Two new programs are now being offered as benefits to the members. They are the Fixed Annuities and the ID Theft Assist Programs. FSD Insurance Services, as a wholesaler of fixed annuity products, provides a buying and consulting service to members. Working with over twenty of the top-rated insurance carriers, they have the flexibility to provide a product to meet each member’s personal needs. These include a guaranteed interest-deferred, an indexed-deferred, and immediate income annuities. The ID Theft Assist program is provided by Worldwide Benefits Services as a supplemental product to the members. The ID Theft Assist is a partnership between a leading credit bureau and 24/7 response team, which provides proactive monitoring services and a comprehensive identity recovery service to victims of identity theft.
As of June 30, 2011, GeoCare member plan Certificates in Force total 10,566 with a Total Annual Premium of $13,205,890. With the addition of SPE, the total Certificates in Force are 15,825 with a Total Annual Premium of $19,110,480. Through the first six months of 2011, over $4,348,000 was paid to the members enrolled in the medical group programs and $1,036,990 was paid to member benefactors of the various Life Insurance Programs.
New federal legislative actions are presenting new challenges to the medical programs for the Program’s managers and underwriters. While future changes must be taken into consideration, the overriding premise of the GeoCare Insurance Program is to provide the best benefits possible for the members. Complete information on all of the insurance plans provided can be found on the AAPG website under Services/GeoCare Insurance or at www.geocarebenefits.com.
Terry L. Hollrah, Chair
Committee members:
James Eugene Brown, Nancy Carter, Robert Loren Countryman, Jane R. Crouch, Terry L. Hollrah (chair), Randi Susan Martinsen, W. Burt Nelson, and Ronald E. Young