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Why Choose A Fully-Insured CT Paid Leave Private Plan?

As required by the Connecticut Paid Family & Medical Leave (CT PFML) law, employers must provide CT Paid Leave for qualifying reasons through either a private plan (a self-insured or fully insured plan) or participation in the state program for Paid Family & Medical Leave benefits. When the state of Connecticut provided the private plan option, it required several important protections for employees – that the private plan be approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department; it must provide the same rights, protections, and benefits as the State Plan; and be at least as generous or better as the State Plan. So, what are the advantages of a fully-insured private plan?

Male employee looks happy in front of his laptop at home

 


Insurance carriers have built expertise and scalability around administering and paying claims.


This focus may bring other advantages, such as faster claims turnaround times and live, responsive claims service – potentially resulting in a better insurance experience for employees.  

ShelterPoint* provides a fully-insured, compliant, stand-alone private option for your Connecticut Paid Family & Medical needs.  Additionally, groups are competitively underwritten and may be priced below the state plan rate - potentially saving employees money. 

 




How To Apply For A Private Plan In Connecticut

The first step all CT employers must take (regardless of whether or not you apply for a private plan) is to register as an employer on www.ctpaidleave.org.  Registration is open, so you can go do that now.

The CT Paid Leave Authority set up an easy process to apply for a private plan on their website.  However, before you can actually apply, employers are required to inform their employees about the benefits of the private plan and who the private plan carrier will be. Then, a majority of their Connecticut employees must agree to the private plan via a vote.

Applying For A ShelterPoint Fully-Insured Private Plan

While the overall elements of the application process are defined by the CT Paid Leave Authority here we’re here to help by breaking it out into 4 main steps with easy-to-follow tasks for each one. Here is the process and how it works at ShelterPoint:

 

Step 1 – Register on www.ctpaidleave.org

Visit www.ctpaidleave.org to register.

Plus, indicate your interest in applying for a private plan.

Step 2 – Obtain a Quote/Proposal, Sample Policy and Plain Language Guide

2a) After registration on www.ctpaidleave.org, but before you apply:

Employers obtain a quote from their broker
There is some basic information that most carriers will need in order to provide your broker with a quote; and this is what ShelterPoint, specifically, will need:

  • Your company’s full information, including full legal name, address, and SIC code.
  • Census with employees working at your CT location(s)
    • Gender
    • Employment status (full-time, part-time, or 1099ers)
    • Age
    • Total wages
    • Include part-timers who meet the eligibility1 requirements.
  • Desired effective date
If needed, we may require additional information.

 

2b) ShelterPoint provides a proposal

At ShelterPoint, after you have accepted the proposal, we will provide:

  • The Sample Policy (Final Policy to be issued after private plan exemption is approved by the State)
  • The Plain Language Guide, ShelterPoint will work with you to provide a completed, pre-filled Plain Language Guide that you can use for employee voting and the private plan exemption application.

Step 3 – Conduct Employee Voting

Inform your workforce about private plan and upcoming vote

Provide your employees with the following at least two weeks prior to the vote:

  • A copy of the Samle Policy
  • Fully completed Plain Language Guide describing the plan
  • Instructions about the voting process.
Sign up here to get updated if and when new information becomes available about what to provide to your employees.

Hold a 1-question vote on the private plan

At least two weeks after the date of informing your workforce, you must hold a vote, which needs to be independently verifiable after the fact by the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. The Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority provides a full set of guidelines employers must follow when holding this vote, which can be found here. Here are a few highlights:
  • There must be an anonymous majority vote in favor of the private plan, i.e.:
    • 50% +1 vote of ALL employees working in Connecticut (not just of those who voted) on the employer’s payroll as of the date or time period of the vote (FT, PT and Probationary Employees)
    • In other words, not voting is like voting “No”.
    • o The vote must include regular employees who are on a paid or unpaid leave of absence (such as vacation, medical, military, educational, disciplinary, etc.), they must be enabled to vote on the day of the vote.
  • You can ask only one question, worded exactly as follows:

    “Do you approve the company’s private plan to provide benefits required by the CT Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act? Yes or No.”

Please be sure to read this Policy & Procedures document directly from the Connecticut Paid Family & Medical Leave Authority for full details and additional requirements regarding the employee vote.

Step 4 – Apply for Private Plan Exemption

When you apply
Apply for the private plan with the CT Paid Leave Authority if you obtained a majority vote


  • You must already be registered with the CT Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority. Otherwise, register now at www.ctpaidleave.org.
  • You will need to provide:
    • Sample Policy
    • Fully completed Plain Language Guide
    • Data about the employee vote
  • During the process, you will be asked to confirm certain attestations, for example that employees were not threatened or coerced in connection with the voting process, and that the voting process was completed in compliance with the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority’s requirements.

The CT Paid Leave Authority will notify you upon private plan approval.

 

 

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CT PFML Expert Tip:


It’s important to remember that you will need to renew your Private Plan every 3 years!

 

1Eligibility Requirements: Any employee who is working in Connecticut and has earned at least $2,325 in the highest earning quarter in the first 4 of the past 5 quarters is eligible to receive income replacement benefits from the State or private plan. This includes former employees who were employed within the past 12 weeks.

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If you are an employer, please contact your broker to get the ball rolling. Brokers are welcome to reach out to us directly with any questions they may have at sales@shelterpoint.com. We look forward to working with you!

Why Choose ShelterPoint* For CT Paid Leave?

Our decades of experience in similar state-mandated coverages – like State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave^ – have made us a specialist in these products.

As an approved Private Plan carrier in Connecticut, we welcome the opportunity to help CT employers based on our deep understanding of related, state-required insurance.

More than 184,000 NY employers with 1.9 million^^ employees trust us to help them strike the right balance between compliance, coverage, and cost to complete their benefit equation.

We excel at navigating uncharted waters and are able to quickly and successfully adapt to new market conditions, so you can trust that ShelterPoint will bring you a thoughtful and efficient stand-alone Private Option for your Paid Family & Medical Leave needs.

 

^ Applies to ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company only.

^^ Based upon ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company policyholder and certificate holder count as of 02/26/20.


CT Paid Leave
Frequently Asked Questions About Private Plans

How does it work if the Private Plan rate quoted is less than the State Plan contribution rate?

As mentioned before, private plans can cost less than the State Plan. But if the private plans cost less than the State Fund, the employee contribution would be capped at the private plan rate. For example, if the private plan rate comes in at 0.4% versus the State Plan contribution rate, which is currently capped at 0.5% of total wages up to the Social Security wage base, then the employee contribution would be calculated using the 0.4% rate.

How do employees pay for Paid Family & Medical Leave if they choose a private plan?

You would still deduct the contributions from your employees’ payroll, whether you choose the State Plan or a private plan. If you choose a private plan, you, the employer, would pay your insurance carrier directly instead of to the State with your employees’ payroll deductions. And don’t forget, if you have an approved private plan – it is up to you if and how much to deduct as long as you are not deducting more than what the State would be collecting from the employees for the same year or your private plan rate if it lower than the State rate.



Learn More About CT Paid Leave

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At ShelterPoint, we stay on top of all the latest news, updates, and information about Paid Family & Medical Leave,
 so we can pass it on to you. Sign-up for updates now to stay in the know!

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*The ShelterPoint family of companies operates under the “ShelterPoint” name strictly as a marketing name, and no legal significance is expressed or implied. The ShelterPoint family of companies consists of ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company, a NY-domiciled carrier, and its wholly-owned subsidiary ShelterPoint Insurance Company, a FL-domiciled carrier, depending on the state. ShelterPoint is a registered service mark.

Connecticut Paid Leave is available in CT only and will be underwritten by: ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company (a New York - domiciled carrier; principal office in Garden City, NY): CT (SPL PFMLP 0122 CT).

This page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal counsel. Please consult with an appropriate professional for legal and compliance advice. Any CT PFML information is as of the page’s date stamp; it is based on the applicable statutes and regulations, and may change as regulations are released  or the CT Paid Leave Authority issues guidance and/or policies and procedures regarding Paid Family & Medical Leave.

 

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