For Eligible Officers: Supplement Your Income with Individual Disability Insurance

Beginning November 1, 2021, if eligible, you have the opportunity to purchase individual disability insurance to supplement your Columbia Optional Long-Term Disability (LTD) coverage. 

Protect more of your income if you become disabled. In partnership with Unum, a leading disability insurance provider, now you can purchase an individual disability insurance (IDI) policy to supplement your current LTD plan and protect your earnings over $300,000 up to a maximum of $428,571.

Watch this 10-minute presentation of the plan for details: Columbia University Individual Disability Insurance presentation. 

The deadline to enroll in Supplemental Individual Disability Insurance has been extended through November 24, 2021.

During this special enrollment period, you have the opportunity to take advantage of several unique features including:

• Discounted Premiums – Premiums are lower than what you would pay if you purchased this coverage on your own.
• Tax-free Benefits – Any benefits you receive from this supplemental coverage are tax-free.
• Guaranteed Issue – If you’ve been actively at work for the past six months, no medical or financial underwriting is required.  Your benefit offer may be impacted by the amount of individual disability insurance you already have in place, if any.
• Guaranteed Coverage and Premiums – Unum cannot change your coverage or increase your cost before you reach age 67 as long as you pay your premium on time.
• Portable Coverage – You can take this coverage with you, at the same benefit amount and cost, if you leave Columbia.
   

What You Need to Know

The Columbia LTD plan provides income protection through a basic or optional long-term disability insurance policy that covers 60% of your total pay to a maximum benefit of $15,000 per month. Coverage under the Columbia LTD plan is capped at $300,000 of income.

Enrolling in the IDI program protects more of your income in the event of a disability by covering 70% of earnings up to the plan’s maximum.  This is an additional 10% of coverage on earnings up to $300,000, plus 70% on earnings over $300,000 (up to the plan’s maximum benefit of $10,000 per month). And if a catastrophic disability leaves you unable to work, an additional benefit of up to $10,000 per month is available. Note that age restrictions apply to the catastrophic benefit feature.

During this unique enrollment period, you can purchase a policy on a guaranteed acceptance basis as long as you have been actively at work for the past six months.

To confirm your current LTD coverage available to you from the University, go to humanresources.columbia.edu; click CUBES to access Columbia University’s Benefits Enrollment System, then log in with your UNI and password to confirm your access; click the Benefits icon; select ‘View My 2021 Benefits Details’. 

You may also contact the Columbia Benefits Service Center by phone: 212-851-7000, or email: [email protected] to review your current Long Term Disability coverage.

How to Enroll

Go to getidi.com/Employer/CU, or call 866-203-5386 to reach a Unum enroller who can assist you. Note - Premiums will be deducted through a monthly automatic bank draft. Please have your bank information available when you enroll.

• Online – getidi.com/Employer/CU
• Telephone – Call 866-203-5386 to reach a Unum enroller who can assist you

Want to learn more?

• Go to the Unum website for a full description of the IDI program and your specific offer: getidi.com/Employer/CU.
• Review the enrollment materials being mailed to your home address.
• Contact the plan administrator, The Baker Benefit Group, by phone: 877-321-4427 or email: [email protected]. 
• Watch a short presentation of the program.