Insurance Updates

State Sponsored Life Insurance Gets a Facelift

ON JANUARY 1, 2018, NGAT changed insurance companies from American Equity to Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA)/5Star Insurance Company. However, we continued to use the American Equity antiquated database called the Automated Billing System (ABS) to manage our State Sponsored Life Insurance (SSLI) program.

On November 16, 2021, we moved away from ABS that we had used for several years. It served us well! ABS was a database driven system where the members data resided on the computer it was installed on until a file transfer could be completed. Usually this was a monthly routine, so the data was 30 days old at the Insurance Carriers Office. With the new system we welcome a cloud based National Guard Platform (NGP) which on most data elements is current when input! This intuitive user interface has been designed specifically to allow us to self-administer group insurance programs for our members. By combining a powerful, customized, cloud-based Salesforce user interface (UI) with the processing and insurance data capabilities of the LifePRO insurance platform, this system automates many tasks and processes for the end user. More importantly, it provides industry standard security for our members’ personal and insurance related data and your own financial results. It will remain compliant with the insurance industry’s increasingly complex regulatory requirements.

Most features of the new system will be transparent to the members, same 24-hour payment of death claims. The biggest notice will be for members who use the direct bill option to pay their premiums will notice their billing statement will have a different look. Rest assured that all the same options for payment are available, even if your statement does not reflect how many months you normally pay. H

Life Insurance is Not “Set It and Forget It”

BUYING LIFE INSURANCE gives you the peace of mind knowing that your family will be financially protected if something happened to you. But your policy isn’t a set it and forget it product and it’s important to give your life insurance policy a annual review. After all it’s not something you are thinking about on a regular basis, so it can be easy to forget. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

One great reason to review your life insurance annually is to explore changes that have recently occurred and consider whether additional coverage or updates are needed. The following life events may require a change or update to your policy.

• The birth or adoption of a child into your family • Getting married or divorced • Death or change of a Beneficiary • Moved since you last reviewed your policy • Changed your name • Unable to locate a copy of your policy

If you have any questions concerning your policy, please contact Terri Marshall at 512-454-7300 or email her at tmarshall@ngat.org. H