A Letter To The Editor On Life Insurance

County Life Insurance Ploy

Term Life Insurance is one of the very cheapest benefits an employer can offer. It is bought and sold on a group basis thus spreading the risks over a pool of employees (the potential dead folks). Generally it’s provided at 1x salary/wage, with the option for the employee to purchase added coverage from their pocket if they need/desire. In most instances, it is convertible so if the employee leaves or retires they can continue the coverage by assuming the premium and paying the insurer directly.

For many employees’ families, as noted by an earlier comment, this can be a blessing if the wage earner should pass away; it provides some cash with which to pay final bills and perhaps a bit to transition the survivors. Under the Pollit/Shea/Thompson/Fineran plan, once an employee retired or left the county, they would have to purchase term life insurance on an individual basis – almost certainly a much more expensive proposition.

Insurance companies have more rigorous accounting standards to comply with to ensure the funds are there to meet their obligations. Slick Ricky and his crew promised a lot and have delivered little. I’m convinced that his personal talents extend only as far as mopping his plate. Without his expensive and expansive crew of courtiers to do his bidding he’d be like a tricycle at a mud hop; not much pedaling and sinking past the hubs.

As noted previously, Creamer begat Shea who begat Thompson; Pollit begat Fineran.

Self-funding for healthcare insurance is practiced by many employers once they get beyond a certain size; it is not controversial at all but there are standards to meet; in almost all instances the employer will purchase re-insurance against unexpected large losses (i.e. with 100 employees, 2 have open heart operations and 1 has major cancer in a single year) to keep the plan from going bust and failing to pay on its coverage promises.

Self-funding for term life insurance is much less common; it’s an iffy deal at best for the employer and a very poor deal in comparison for the employee (unable to convert the policy and probably unable to increase the amount of coverage beyond 1x wage). For Ricky’s bunch it will just provide another obscure source of revenue to dip into when they wish….kinda like Uncle Sam’s been living off of Social Security’s income stream!

IF, and it is a big IF, they do have the sinking fund you mentioned, it is unlikely they will continue to fund it in an actuarially sound fashion since they are cutting corners and making rosy assumptions about all of the other fiscal matters that have come to light. The management style of the Pollitburu no longer inspires a shred of trust; he/they have established themselves as unwilling to level with the Council, the employees or the citizens.

Ricky & his sneaky, mean-spirited crew need to be replaced.

'An Interested Reader'