MetLife enhances hospital indemnity insurance policy

MetLife, the largest provider of non-medical employee benefits in the U.S., has enhanced its hospital indemnity insurance policy as part of a greater effort to update its supplemental health employee benefit suite. The hospital indemnity policy, which offers a lump sum to participants for paying out-of-pocket costs related to a hospitalization, now includes child care, transportation, lodging and prescription drugs. “The need just continues to go up [for hospital indemnity insurance],” says Todd Katz, executive vice president of group benefits at MetLife. See also: 5 employee benefits trends to watch in 2018 Even with health insurance, the average consumer will spend about $1,000 out-of-pocket for a hospital stay — a financial difficulty for six in 10 Americans who don’t have $500 in their savings accounts, he says.