Iowa is now the second state in the nation — behind Wisconsin — to offer lay-off insurance to workers. The plans pay out a lump-sum if a person is laid-off or becomes unable to work. Mark Greene is director of Safety Net, the company that created this type of insurance. Greene says too many people don’t have enough savings to deal with a sudden disruption in their income.
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Greene says interest has been high, though he declined to say how many policyholders there are. He added most states have no specific regulations for lay-off insurance. Greene says even when a job includes disability insurance, that’s often tied to the amount a worker was earning.
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Greene says people choose a policy based on how much they want to receive in a lump sum if they ever have a claim. He says the company saw a need to offer workers an alternative to traditional saving. Greene says many people aren’t able to accumulate enough savings to keep them afloat if they are suddenly laid off or injured.