A monthly cash benefit that replaces part of an employee's income while they cannot work. It covers what happens away from the job — which, on the carrier's own figures, is where nine out of ten injuries happen.
Worksite benefits are issued to a business, not to a person, and an eligible employee has to be actively at work — seasonal, temporary and part-time staff are not eligible. The accident and critical illness contracts require a minimum of five enrolled employees; the disability contract's documents state no minimum but rule out several kinds of group outright, and each page sets out its own carrier's rules. If you are shopping for yourself rather than for a workforce, this is the wrong section: our individual supplemental coverage is a different product with different rules, and it is linked at the foot of this page.
This is a group short-term disability policy issued to an employer. It replaces part of an income for a limited number of months. It is not health insurance, not minimum essential coverage, not a substitute for major medical coverage, and it cannot be bought by an individual.
No minimum group size is stated in any of the documents we hold for this policy. The other two contracts in this section require a minimum of five enrolled employees; we are not going to assume the same of this one, so ask us and we will get the carrier's answer in writing. What the carrier does rule out is set out on this page: groups less than a year old, 1099 workers, non-employer/employee groups, and a list of industries.
It is not workers' compensation and does not replace it. It pays only for a disability arising away from work.
Everything else in this section pays on an event: an accident, a diagnosis, a night in hospital. This pays a monthly amount for as long as the employee is totally disabled, up to the benefit period the employer chose. For most employees the ability to earn is the largest asset they have, and it is the one thing a medical plan does nothing about.
The disability has to arise away from work. What happens at work is workers' compensation, which the employer already carries — so the policy does not duplicate it, and costs accordingly. This is not workers' compensation and does not replace it; an employer who is a non-subscriber should read the carrier's disclosure on this page carefully.
Each design is one elimination period paired with one benefit period, defined as a class on the group application, each with its own maximum monthly benefit and employer contribution. It can be offered under a Section 125 cafeteria plan.
A meaningful monthly benefit is guaranteed issue. Above that level the carrier may rely on the health questions on the employee's application. Both figures and both sets of questions are set out below, from the carrier's own documents.
Every figure below is transcribed from ManhattanLife Central Care Disability brochure GDI-BR 0720, and from the group application AP-DIMSTR-03 and the employee application AP-DI-03, the industry classification list DICLASS0505. Benefits, riders and amounts vary by state, and the certificate issued to your group governs.
The monthly benefit is payable for a total disability resulting from a covered accident or sickness that happens OFF THE JOB. A disability arising at work is not covered by this policy; that is what workers' compensation is for, and this is not workers' compensation and does not replace it.
It is the reason the cover is affordable, and the carrier's own National Safety Council figures below are the argument for it. An employer without workers' compensation should be looking at a different conversation first.
The employer sets a maximum monthly benefit. It cannot exceed 65% of salary, excluding bonuses and overtime — and the employee's application asks whether disability cover from ALL sources would exceed 65% of their monthly earnings, so other policies count toward the same ceiling.
Guaranteed issue reaches $2,000 a month. Benefits above that are available to a maximum of $6,000 a month, subject to the health questions.
The brochure offers two elimination periods — 14 days for accident and 14 for sickness, or 30 and 30 — and four benefit periods: 3, 6, 12 or 24 months. For a monthly benefit of $3,100 or more the 24-month benefit period is not available.
The employee application prints boxes for shorter waits than the brochure shows — 0/7 and 7/7 as well as 14/14 and 30/30, plus an “other” box. If a shorter elimination period matters to your workforce, ask rather than assume the brochure's two are all there is.
An employer may make up to four plan designs available, each one a single elimination period paired with a single benefit period. The group application defines them as Class 1 to Class 4, each with its own maximum monthly benefit, elimination period, benefit duration and employer contribution.
Eligibility is set by the employer as all active full-time employees working a stated number of hours a week, and benefits can be offered under a Section 125 cafeteria plan.
Before any industry is considered, five kinds of group are ruled out: groups not covered under the Social Security program unless covered by some other guaranteed disability income program such as a state programme; groups that do not comply with the statutes of the jurisdiction where the policy would issue; non-employer/employee groups; any group in business less than one year; and 1099 workers.
That last pair rules out a great many small businesses. If your company is under a year old, or your people are contractors rather than employees, this is not placeable and we will say so before you spend time on it.
Industries are graded Preferred, Standard or Unacceptable by SIC code. Among those the carrier will not write: agriculture, forestry, fishing, farming and veterinary; mining; logging, sawmills and millwork; asbestos products; fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural chemicals; police, fire and corrections; bars, lounges and nightclubs; liquor stores; amusement and recreation services; automobile parking and carwashes; private households; professional entertainers and athletes; long-haul trucking; railroads; taxi companies and local passenger transit; and water transportation and marinas.
That is a sample and not the list. The full table runs to more than a hundred rows by SIC code, and some industries sit in a fourth category needing an underwriter's review. Tell us what your business does and we will look it up rather than guess.
Offered on both the group and the employee application as an optional coverage.
Neither document we hold sets out what it pays. Ask for that in writing before including it in a plan design.
None of the figures below is a policy benefit and none of them is ours. They are third-party research quoted in the company's brochure, and each one is shown with who produced it and when, because a statistic is only true of the year it was measured in.
| What | Share | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Medically consulted injuries in the United States that happened away from the workplace This is the number the whole product turns on. An employer already carries workers' compensation for the other tenth. | 90% | Injury Facts, National Safety Council, 2018 edition, quoted in the 2020 brochure |
| Of those injuries, the share that happened at home | 54% | Injury Facts, National Safety Council, 2018 edition, quoted in the 2020 brochure |
| In public places, or places used in a public way | 27% | Injury Facts, National Safety Council, 2018 edition, quoted in the 2020 brochure |
| At work | 10% | Injury Facts, National Safety Council, 2018 edition, quoted in the 2020 brochure |
| In a motor vehicle | 9% | Injury Facts, National Safety Council, 2018 edition, quoted in the 2020 brochure |
This is not a policy of workers’ compensation insurance. The employer does not become a subscriber to the Workers’ Compensation System by purchasing this policy, and if the employer is a non-subscriber, the employer loses those benefits that would otherwise accrue under the Workers’ Compensation Laws. The employer must comply with the Workers’ Compensation Law as it pertains to the non-subscribers and the required notifications that must be filed and posted.
The benefits described in the brochure do not cover all non-medical expenses. However, the benefit payment you receive can be used to pay any of your medical or non-medical costs not paid by any other insurance
This is not a complete disclosure of plan qualifications and limitations. Please access our website to obtain a completed list for the Central Care Disability product at disclosure.manhattanlife.com. Please review this information before applying for coverage. The amounts of benefits provided depend on the plan selected. Premiums will vary according to the selection made.
No. The carrier's own classification list rules out 1099 workers and non-employer/employee groups outright, before any industry is looked at. It also rules out any group in business less than one year. Those three lines decide a lot of small-business enquiries in one go, which is why they are on this page rather than discovered at application.
Maybe. Industries are graded Preferred, Standard or Unacceptable by SIC code, with a fourth group needing an underwriter's review. A sample of the unacceptable ones is listed below and it is a sample, not the list — the full table runs past a hundred rows. Tell us what the business does and we will look it up rather than guess.
The monthly benefit cannot exceed 65% of salary, excluding bonuses and overtime — and the employee's application asks whether disability cover from every source would exceed 65% of their monthly earnings, so an individual policy they already hold counts toward the same ceiling. Somebody already well covered elsewhere may not be able to take the full amount.
For this contract we do not know, and we are not going to guess. The accident and critical illness contracts in this section require five enrolled employees; nothing in the disability brochure, either application or the classification list states a minimum. Ask us and we will get the carrier's answer in writing.
Tell us roughly how many employees you have and what you are trying to add. We will tell you straight away whether the group qualifies, before either of us spends any more time on it.