Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) Plans

Employees may purchase Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance (AD&D) within 30 days of their hire date, the date they become eligible or during any open enrollment period. The City offers AD&D policies through Securian Financial at competitive group rates for coverage increments of $25,000. 

Coverage

Employees may choose to cover themselves, or themselves and their dependents. The amount of benefits dependents have will be a percentage of the employee's amount of benefit. (In the plan booklets, this is called the "principal sum".)

*As determined on the date of the accident, coverage is in effect 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world. Benefits will be paid in the event of accidental death, subject to some exclusions such as suicide, military service and war. Dismemberment benefits will be paid according to this table of losses:

• Full amount: death; double dismemberment (both hands, both feet, speech and hearing, sight in both eyes, sight in one eye with either speech or hearing,); quadriplegia (movement of all four upper and lower limbs)
• 75 percent of principal: paraplegia (movement of both lower limbs)
• 50 percent of principal: hemiplegia (movement of both upper and lower limbs on one side of body) or single dismemberment (hand, foot, sight in one eye, speech or hearing)
• 25 percent of principal: loss of thumb and index finger on either hand

The AD&D policy also provides these additional benefits, should an unexpected tragedy occur:

• Seatbelt Benefit
• Coma Benefit
• Adaptive Home and Vehicle Benefit
• Therapeutic Counseling Benefit

Family coverage also includes:

• Spouse/ Domestic Partner Education Benefit
• Dependent Child Educational Benefit
• Child Dismemberment Double Benefit
• COBRA Benefit
• Child Care Benefit
• Common Accident Benefit
• Extended Dependents' Insurance Benefit

See the certificate of coverage at the end of this page.  

Premiums

Employees pay 100 percent of the monthly premium through payroll deduction. Premiums are deducted on the first paycheck of every month for that month's coverage. Please notify a payroll representative if the deduction is not made, or is made incorrectly. Employees may purchase family coverage within 30 days of a change in family status if they have already been enrolled for employee only. Otherwise, employees must wait until an open enrollment period.

Beneficiary designation

Employees may designate or change beneficiaries any time during the year through Employee Self-Service. 

Claims

Claimants or beneficiaries will need to contact the Benefits Unit at Benefits.Unit@seattle.gov or (206) 615-1340 to file a claim.

AD&D Documents

• AD&D Certificate of Insurance
• AD&D and Group Term Life Plan Summary
• AD&D Election Form
• Online Beneficiary Instructions

Employees can enroll in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for expenses not covered by insurance. They can enroll in two types of FSAs through Employee Self-Service as a new hire or during Open Enrollment. If there is a qualifying change during the year, employees can contact their department’s benefits representative.

General Information

By setting up a flexible spending account (FSA), employees can set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for expenses not covered by insurance. For example, a Daycare FSA can pay for eligible dependent care (daycare) expenses for a child, disabled spouse, or dependent parent while an employee and their spouse work. A Health Care FSA can help pay for expenses not covered by health plans, such as deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and services such as orthodontia that exceed the plan maximum. The maximum amount employees can contribute to a Health Care FSA is $2,750 per employee; for a Daycare FSA, it's $5,000 per household. Employees can enroll in FSAs as new employees or newly-eligible employees and every year during open enrollment. 

Key features of FSAs:

• FSA contributions are deducted directly from the employees' pay. Employees do not pay federal or social security taxes on funds put into an FSA account. This reduces taxable income and lowers taxes.
• The tradeoff for the lower taxes: Although employees can carry over up to $550 of unused Health FSA funds into the next plan year, they will lose any amount over $550 if they do not use it. Daycare balances cannot be rolled over; if employees do not use them, balances will be forfeited. 
• Employees have to re-enroll in FSAs each year during open enrollment if they want to continue having an FSA account. An FSA account does not roll over from one year to the next.

Because of the pretax benefit, FSAs are governed by the Internal Revenue Service Code. For details on current rules, see the following documents posted on www.irs.gov:

• Publication 502: Medical and Dental Expenses
• Publication 503: Child and Dependent Care Expenses
• Publication 969: Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans

Request Reimbursement

As an employee incurs eligible expenses, they send the Claim Reimbursement Form to Navia Benefit Solutions, the plan administrator. Include a copy of the itemized bill(s) or receipt(s) with the completed reimbursement form. Employees may send completed requests for reimbursement by mail or fax, or by uploading them at www.NaviaBenefits.com. Employees might also want to consider downloading the app: MyNavia App, a free tool for smartphones. Requests for reimbursement will be processed as they are received by Navia Benefit Solutions. To request that reimbursements be deposited directly into a bank account, submit the Benefits Card/Direct Deposit Request Form to Navia Benefit Solutions with the requested information. All employee requests for reimbursement MUST be received by Navia Benefit Solutions no later than March 31 of the following year.

Set up an online account

View an FSA balance after setting up an online account through the Navia Benefit Solutions website:

• Call Navia Benefit Solutions to provide the email address used for identification and communication
• Go to www.naviabenefits.com
• Select "Register"
• Select "I'm a Participant"
• Enter the Company Code: CS1
• Enter first initial, last name
• Enter date of birth
• Enter email address
• Choose a username

Remember to review and accept the Terms and Conditions. Shortly after registering for online access, the employee will receive an email confirmation with a temporary password.

Kinside

Kinside connects parents with concierge child care support assistance as well as open spots and discounts at daycares, preschools, camps, and after-school programs. Search using the criteria most important to you, like current or future availability, Covid precautions, budget, location, teaching style, and more. You can also view full safety and inspection reports for any daycare or preschool in the U.S. and pay your provider online using your Daycare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) dollars, ACH, or a blend of both. No more clunky claims process. You can sign up for Kinside in one of two ways.

1. If you have a Flexible Spending Account, log in through your online account at naviabenefits.com.      
2.  If you are not enrolled in the daycare FSA, you can sign up at join.kinside.com/city-of-seattle with your City of Seattle employee email address.

The Benefits Card

The FSA debit card, or "Benefits Card," enables employees to pay for eligible health expenses directly from the FSA account, so the employee doesn't have to wait for reimbursement. Employees must still retain receipts in case Navia Benefit Solutions requires the employee to prove the card was used for an eligible expense. Navia Benefit Solutions will notify employees if a receipt is required. Employees can also check claims on the online account (see above) to see if a receipt is needed. Employees can request a debit card by completing the Benefits Card/Direct Deposit Request Form. See Navia Benefits contact info on the right-hand side of this page. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive the card(s) in the mail. Once an employee has received the card, they can access the Benefits Card account online at www.naviabenefits.com/.

• a health care FSA to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for out-of-pocket health expenses such as deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and services
• a daycare FSA to pay for eligible dependent care (daycare) expenses for children, a disabled spouse, or a dependent parent

Documents and Forms

• 2023 FSA Plan Guide
• FSA Claim Reimbursement Form
• Benefits Card and Direct Deposit Request Form
• Flexible Benefits Plan Document
• Flexible Benefits Plan Summary Plan Description

Employees can buy Basic or Limited Basic Life Insurance. If an employee buys Basic life insurance, then they can also buy Supplemental Life Insurance for themselves and eligible family members.

Basic Group Term Life Insurance

Employees can buy Basic Group Term Life Insurance equal to one and one-half times their annual salary, or they can buy Limited Basic Life Insurance. The Limited Basic Life limits coverage amount to $50,000, regardless of salary. It provides some coverage, without creating taxable income. (See Calculating the Cost of Group Life Insurance, below.) The City pays 40 percent of the premium cost; the employees pay 60 percent through payroll deduction, via the second paycheck of each month for the subsequent month's coverage.

Employees are guaranteed coverage with basic life insurance if they enroll within 30 days of their hire date or the date they become eligible. If an employee waits to enroll (or increase coverage) themselves or dependents until open enrollment, they'll each have to complete an Evidence of Insurability (medical history statement) that can be denied or approved, for any coverage amount. Employees may complete Evidence of Insurability and submit online here. 

Supplemental Group Term Life Insurance

If employees are enrolled in Basic Term Life Insurance, employees can buy Supplemental Insurance for themselves and eligible dependents. Employees must enroll in Basic GTL before covering family members. Employees can buy up to four times their base salary. If that exceeds $1,000,000 when added to the amount of  Basic Life Insurance, the employee must complete and submit a Medical History Statement.

The employee can then buy 100 percent of the amount of coverage they purchase for themselves for their spouse/partner, up to a maximum of $500,000. If employees want to purchase more than $50,000 of coverage on their spouse/domestic partner, they must submit a Medical History Statement. Employees can buy coverage for their children in the amounts of $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000. One premium amount covers all children.

Family Status Change: Life Insurance Options

If employees experiences a Family Status change, such as marriage, establishment of a domestic partnership or there is a new child dependent, they may elect an increment up to $50,000 supplemental Life Insurance for themselves without a Medical History Statement. They may also elect one increment of $5,000 for spouse/domestic partner life insurance and elect or increase child life insurance coverage without a Medical History Statement.

Employees may enroll or increase their coverage within 30 days of the Family Status change up to the Guaranteed Issue amount. Employees may contact the Benefits Unit at Benefits.Unit@seattle.gov for enrollment instructions. 

Calculating the Cost of Group Life Insurance

Use the Employee Benefits Guide tables to calculate the cost of basic and supplemental life insurance. The City pays 40 percent of the Basic Group Term Life Insurance premium. The Limited Basic Group Term Life, which has a $50,000 benefit limit, avoids IRS taxation. Employees pay the full premium for Supplemental Group Term Life Insurance.

Beneficiary Designation

Employees can designate or change beneficiaries any time during the year through Employee Self-Service.

Claim Process

Beneficiaries will need to contact the Benefits Unit at Benefits.Unit@seattle.gov or (206) 615-1340 to initiate the claim process. 

Retirement System Death Benefit

Active employees are automatic members of the Death Benefit Program. Retirees can choose whether to keep the policy; it has no cash value for a retiree. The benefit is $2,000, payable to the employee's beneficiary. The premium is $12 per year, deducted annually in February. For more information, contact the Retirement Office at (206) 386-1292.

Key Resources

• GTL Certificate of Insurance
• GTL and AD&D Plan Summary
• GTL Evidence of Insurability Online Form
• GTL Evidence of Insurability Submittal Instructions Form
• GTL Coverage Continuation Flyer
• GTL Coverage Continuation Request Form and Rates
• GTL Beneficiary Change Form
• GTL Online Beneficiary Instructions
• GTL Travel Assist Program Flyer
• GTL Legacy Planning Flyer
• GTL Legal, Financial, and Grief Support Flyer

Long Term Care Insurance (Legacy Plans)

Individual Long-Term Care Coverage

The City of Seattle offered one-time access to individual long-term care coverage to City employees in 2021. The plan is through Chubb. If an employee currently has a long-term care policy with Chubb, coverage will continue as long as the employee pays their premiums. For questions about coverage, claims, or premium payment, policyholders should contact the carrier directly at (855) 241-9891 or csmail@gotoservice.chubb.com.

Group Long-Term Care Coverage

The City of Seattle can no longer provide a group long-term care insurance plan to City employees because there aren't any insurance companies that offer these plans in Washington state. If this changes, the City may be able to offer coverage again.

If an employee currently has a long-term care insurance policy with John Hancock or Prudential, coverage will continue as long as the employee pays their premiums. For questions about coverage, claims, or premium payments, policyholders should contact the applicable carrier directly.

Prudential: (800) 732-0416
John Hancock: (800) 842-0022