EMPLOYERS
Contact: Gary Griffin
Phone: 860.676.2300 x131
gary.griffin@adamsknight.com
Aetna Joins Effort to Increase Disability Awareness, Planning and Prevention
PORTLAND, Maine – July 27, 2011 – The Council for Disability Awareness (CDA) announced that Aetna (NYSE: AET) has joined the CDA in its mission to help raise awareness about the importance of disability planning and prevention.
As a CDA member company, Aetna joins 16 leading disability insurance providers in a collaborative industry effort to educate the American workforce about the risks of disability and how wage earners can protect themselves and their families should the unexpected occur.
“Aetna fully supports CDA’s work to raise disability awareness, prevent disabilities, and to educate consumers, employers and benefit advisors about the importance of income protection,” said Katharine Begley, Aetna’s vice president of sales for dental, disability, life and vision. “Our collaboration with the CDA will provide people with the tools and information they need to protect themselves and their families.”
As part of if its work with CDA, Aetna will leverage its member engagement tools to expand education and awareness activities.
Barry Lundquist, president of the CDA, is pleased that Aetna has committed to helping the CDA in its mission to inform and educate the American public.
“More leading companies are recognizing the critical importance of educating wage earners, employers and advisors about the risk and consequence of disability and the steps people can take to protect their financial health and way of life,” said Lundquist. “By joining CDA, Aetna has displayed industry leadership, good corporate citizenship and demonstrated a commitment to helping America’s wage earners make sound choices to secure their financial futures.”
Begley will join other top disability insurance industry leaders on the CDA board of directors.
Aetna will disseminate CDA messages and tools, and help position CDA as the leading resource for information relating to the need for proper disability planning, according to Begley.
CDA member companies include Aetna, Assurant Employee Benefits, Guardian, The Hartford, Illinois Mutual, Lincoln Financial Group, MassMutual, MetLife, OneAmerica, Principal, Prudential, The Standard, Sun Life Financial, Union Central, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits and Unum.
While income loss due to disabling illness or injury is a growing problem, many workers are unaware of their risk. The CDA offers tools on its website, www.disabilitycanhappen.org, to help employees assess their risk of disability and protect themselves from the possible outcomes.
About the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA)
The Council for Disability Awareness (CDA) is a nonprofit group dedicated to helping the American workforce become aware of the growing likelihood of disability and its financial consequences. The CDA engages in communications, research and educational activities that provide information and helpful resources to wage earners, their families, employers, members of the media and others who are concerned about disability and the impact it can have on wage earners and their families.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 33.8 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, visit www.aetna.com.
