The New York State Insurance Fund will start offering enriched disability benefits, providing up to five times the statutory coverage, April 1.

NYSIF, a nonprofit state agency that also offers workers’ compensation benefits, began selling statutory disability benefits insurance in 1950 at the outset of the mandatory disability benefits law in the state. Qualified employers may now opt for the enriched disability benefits insurance.

Francine James

Effective Jan. 1, disability benefits insurance premium for New York State statutory coverage were lowered to 14 cents per $100 of payroll for male and female employees. The enhanced benefits will be offered at the same rates.

“NYSIF lowered disability benefit premiums to make this mandatory coverage more affordable for New York employers,” NYSIF Chief Deputy Executive Director Francine James said in a statement. “Now we are applying the same affordable rates to enriched disability benefits coverage so that employers may select increased claim benefits for their valued employees.”

Disability benefits insurance offers partial wage replacement for employees for off-the-job injury or illness. NYSIF statutory disability benefits provides claim benefits equal to one-half of the employee’s average weekly wage, up to a maximum weekly benefit of $170 for 26 weeks.

Beginning April 1, standard-risk policyholders can opt for incremental enriched coverage beginning at 1.5 times the statutory weekly benefit for an annual maximum premium as low as $37.13 per employee with a minimum annual policy of $90.

Standard-risk policyholders can opt for as much as five times statutory coverage for a maximum annual premium of just $123.76 per person with a minimum annual policy of only $300, the fund said.

Employers may also select enriched disability benefits coverage options that equal two, 2.5, three or four times the statutory weekly benefit.

For annual policies of $1,000 or more, the program has a payment plan, which requires an initial 25% premium deposit, then spreads the balance of premium into nine equal monthly installments.

NYSIF enriched maximum weekly claim benefits pays $255 at 1.5 times the statutory benefit, increasing to $340 (2 times benefits), $425 (2.5 times), $510 (3 times), $680 (4 times) and $850 (5 times).

NYSIF bases standard rates upon an applicant’s claims history and other underwriting conditions.

NYSIF was created as part of Workers’ Compensation Law of 1914, selling workers’ compensation and disability benefits insurance to any employer doing business in New York State. About 180,000 employers hold NYSIF workers compensation insurance policies, while 61,000 have active disability benefits policies.