Members and families: Protection for Life’s Essentials
Understand your benefits and discover how supplemental coverage can provide an extra layer of financial protection.
Watch this video to learn more about EssentialCare
What is BCS EssentialCare? Essential Care Life, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability,
Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance can help provide financial protection from serious medical events. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, facing a serious illness, experiencing a hospitalization, or unable to work due to a covered disability, BCS EssentialCare can help support you and your family. These products can help provide financial protection by paying benefits directly to you or your designated beneficiary following a covered event.
Depending on the coverage, benefits may help with medical expenses, replace a portion of lost income, or provide financial support for your loved ones. Here are a few examples of how EssentialCare Insurance products could help.
Life Insurance. It provides a death benefit that is paid directly to your designated beneficiaries after your passing. The benefit can help your loved ones cover such as funeral and burial expenses, mortgage payments, child care costs, other everyday living expenses.
Short Term Disability Insurance. If you’re unable to work due to a covered illness, injury, or pregnancy, Short Term Disability Insurance can help replace a portion of your income while you recover. Some common reasons employees may qualify for benefits include pregnancy and recovery from childbirth, surgery and post-operative recovery, injuries, joint and back disorders, non-work related illnesses.
Long Term Disability Insurance. If you’re unable to work for an extended period due to a covered illness or injury, Long Term Disability Insurance can help replace a portion of your income and provide ongoing financial support. Some common reasons employees may qualify for benefits include cancer, musculoskeletal and joint disorders, cardiovascular and circulatory conditions, nervous system disorders, serious injuries, accident insurance. In the event of an accident, accident insurance may pay a predetermined cash benefit for initial doctor’s visit, urgent care visits, diagnostics, surgery, follow-up doctor’s visits.
Critical illness. If you are diagnosed with a covered illness such as cancer or have a heart attack or stroke, you could receive a lump sum payout to help cover costs of treatment and to help pay for extra needs like transportation, hotel stays, help at home, and more.
Hospital indemnity. If you are hospitalized, hospital indemnity insurance may pay a predetermined cash benefit for your hospital admission and each day of your hospital stay. Approved benefits will be paid directly to you or your designated beneficiary.
EssentialCare products are not designed to take the place of your traditional health insurance plans, but they can be an important component to help protect your wallet in a serious medical event. Review the specific benefits in your employer’s plan to learn more about essential care products and consider signing up during your next open enrollment.
Claims, forms, and resources
Find claim information, forms, and support based on your coverage type.
For Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Insurance
Submit claims, download forms, and access resources through BCS Gateway.
For Life and Disability Insurance
For claim assistance, forms, or other resources, contact your employer or Customer Support at 1-877-836-5833.
Frequently Asked Questions
Accident Insurance is a supplemental health insurance product that helps you pay for out-of-pocket medical and non-medical costs from an accident or injury. This insurance product is separate from your primary health plan and will provide lump-sum cash benefits that are paid directly to you, not doctors or hospitals.
Critical Illness Insurance is supplemental to your primary health plan and helps you pay for out-of-pocket medical and non-medical costs resulting from a critical illness diagnosis. Your plan provides lump-sum cash benefits that are paid directly to you, and not the doctors and hospitals.
Hospital Insurance pays you benefits when you are confined to a hospital, whether for planned or unplanned reasons, or for other medical services, depending on the policy. The plan provides payment for each day spent in the hospital, and for some other qualified expenses as well. That’s money you can use however you choose whether for hospital bills or those other costs that come up while you’re recovering.
Life Insurance provides income replacement and financial security for your beneficiaries after your death.
Basic Life Insurance: Employer-paid coverage that offers a financial safety net for your beneficiaries if you pass away. While it’s not meant to replace long-term income, it can help cover immediate expenses and ease financial stress during a difficult time. Coverage is often provided as a lump sum or as a multiple of your salary.
Supplementary Life Insurance: Additional life insurance coverage that provides a financial benefit on top of your employer-sponsored Basic Life Insurance. It helps increase the financial protection available to your designated beneficiaries in the event of your death. Through this coverage, you can help replace a portion of lost income for your beneficiaries and may elect life insurance coverage for your spouse and children.
Voluntary Life Insurance: Additional life insurance coverage that provides a financial benefit to your designated beneficiaries in the event of your death. It helps increase the financial protection available to your beneficiaries and can help cover immediate expenses or replace a portion of lost income. Coverage is elected and paid for through convenient payroll deductions and may include guaranteed issue amounts with no underwriting requirements up to certain thresholds
Disability Insurance provides income replacement and financial security if you are unable to work due to a covered illness or injury.
Short-Term Disability Insurance helps replace a portion of your income while you are unable to work due to a covered illness, injury, or even recovering from childbirth.
Long-Term Disability Insurance helps replace a portion of your income when you are unable to work due to a covered illness or injury for an extended period of time.
Insurance Term Glossary
Open Enrollment: The yearly period during which individuals can enroll in a health insurance plan, make changes to their current plan, or renew coverage for the upcoming year.
Premium: The fixed amount you pay to an insurance company to maintain your health coverage.
Deductible: The amount of money an insured person must pay before an insurance company begins to pay for the covered claim.
Explanation of Benefits (EOB): Statement detailing how your insurance claim was processed for services covered under their policies.