Aetna Expands Early Access To Life Insurance Financial Benefit To Help Seriously Ill Members Meet Their Living Needs

Enhancement may ease financial burden resulting from medical costs

HARTFORD, Conn.— In an effort to assist life insurance members who are seriously, but not terminally ill, Aetna (NYSE: ΑET) now allows their Accelerated Death Benefit (ADB) to become effective upon diagnosis of a specific medical condition. Before this change, the ADB, which gives policy holders access to a percentage of their life insurance funding while they are living, became effective only after a doctor determined a member had 24 months or less to live.

The enhancement is part of Aetna’s commitment to helping members take advantage of their policies at different life stages. Expanding access to the ADB can assist members with medical costs they incur as a result of their illness and apply to any of the following medical conditions*:

* Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease);
* End stage heart, kidney, liver and/or pancreatic organ failure and the person is not a transplant candidate;
* A medical condition requiring artificial life support, without which the person would die;
* A permanent neurological deficit resulting from a cerebral vascular accident (stroke) or a traumatic brain injury, which are both expected to result in life-long confinement in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.


“We want policy holders to be able to take advantage of benefits and access services while they’re living,” said Dana Benbow, Head of Life Products and Services for Aetna. “Members with a serious illness are very often burdened with growing medical bills, so we believe that broadening access to the Accelerated Death Benefit is a way to provide financial assistance to them and their families.”

Eligibility is based on a statement from a member’s physician that he or she is suffering from any of these specific medical conditions. All members with life insurance qualify for ADB, and, in most cases, can receive 75 percent of their total life insurance policy.