Thursday, December 6, 2007

Severance Insurance

Talk about closing the barn door after the horse is out! What about those millions of foreclosures that have already happened? What about those families? And oh by the way, Bush's plan completely locks out those folks who are already screwed and are running more than 30 days late now or have been more than 60 days late over the last year. What about those families? What this plan does is to give help to those who don't need the help (by virtue of their ability to stay on top of their exploding interest rate)? It's kind of like giving tax breaks to the top 10% income earners.

Corporate America and George Bush have a lot in common. The little guy is merely currency to be used and then forgotten. Bush used them when he got re-elected, yet he's turning his back on them now. Corporate America uses workers' skills until they aren't need any longer and then sends them on their way.

It is time for workers to be insured against what is now becoming the liklihood of being fired for no cause. Workers have insisted on having access to disability insurance, and the average worker now has access to group long term disability. And the government has even carved out a tax advantage for those poor souls who find themselves in the position of having to file a claim for and collect disability...no federal income tax on their benefits as long as the worked was W2'd the premium amount. So the precedent is there...corporations and government providing an insured safety net for workers who lose their jobs because of accident or illness (not their fault). So, what's so different about being fired just because the corporation has decided it just doesn't need you any more (not your fault)? Not much as far as I am concerned.

It's time to press hard for severance insurance. Talk to your HR department. E-mail your Congressman and your Senator. E-mail Senator Kennedy at www.kennedy.gov and ask him as the ranking member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions what he thinks.




willy

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Severance Insurance

So, I'm spending my usual too many hours sleuthing out what I think is an intelligent approach to severance, when I come across a Stamford, CT based company called Transition Services, Inc. http://www.tsisolution.com/ . They position themselves as providers of "advanced severance management". Clearly, they are not in playing in the insurance space, but it is clear that they understand that there are ways to save on the costs associated with severance, using the same mechanisms that I have already identified. And oh by the way, their CEO is a guy with insurance background (AIG and CNA) and their COO comes out of the insurance brokerage universe (Marsh, Inc.) This all makes sense, because their parent company is an insurance company called RVI Guaranty Company. So, don't you just think they just might be "aware" of severance insurance...maybe even in bed with the severance insurance guys?


willy