International Employee Benefits - HELP

Deb-Northants

Need some advice on pro's and con's of of being insured on a US policy.

I work for a UK Ltd company who are a subsidiary of a US company. There are 3 staff in the UK office, all UK citizens.

Until recently we have been insured by Unum UK for Life Cover (3 x salary) and Long Term Disability cover. It is part of our UK staff contract that this insurance is provided as an employee benefit. This year and without proper discussion , the US office has decided our cover is too expensive and have taken the decision to add us onto the US Unum policies. We are very aware that this is a breach of contract but would also like to know if there are other reasons why we should dispute this decision.

The US Life cover is for only 1.5 x salary and we have already been told by Unum US that we (UK employees) will not be entitled to the spouse and dependent compensation and package. Any other issues we need to be aware of? Needless to say we are definately not happy with the level of Life cover.

Regarding the Disability insurance, would a US insurance company be able to access UK medical records? Are there any reasons, logistically, this insurance wouldn't work? I can see that any rehabilitation program could be problematic. We have been told that a UK vendor would be sourced to provide the rehab program.

Whilst we understand the need to cut costs, we are not entirely comfortable with this type of insurance being handled by a US based company, but need a good written argument why the US policy may not work before we have to handle the breach of contract.

Any advice?

dacouch

Try posting this on the employment forum on MSE as that is where the employment law specialist hang out.