News Release

CIGNA Enables Consumers To Better Plan For The Future Through New Will Preparation Offering From ARAG

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – More than 55 percent of all adult Americans do not have a will¹ specifying how their assets should be distributed upon their death, leaving their loved ones potentially at-risk financially and emotionally. To help address this need, CIGNA Group Insurance announced today that will preparation services are now available to life insurance members and their spouses, at no additional charge. Through this online offering, CIGNA members are able to easily create and maintain customized life and health legal documents.

“As part of our commitment to provide employers with comprehensive benefit solutions for their employees, CIGNA offers programs and services that go beyond just life insurance,” said Jim Jacobsen, vice president of product for CIGNA Group Insurance. “Our life insurance customers can directly benefit from having access to will preparation services – an example of another value-added program we offer.”

While nearly one in four (24 percent) American adults say their biggest reason for not having a will is a lack of sufficient assets,² such as money or property, this legal document can also be used to direct funeral arrangements or assign guardianship for children.

Another type of will is a living will, or advance medical directive, which allows individuals to determine the kind of medical treatment they would or would not want in the event they are in a terminal situation and unable to communicate for themselves. “Currently, two in five American adults (41 percent) have living wills in place,”³ said Jacobsen. “A living will not only ensures your wishes are carried out, it helps to take the emotional burden off family members.”

Through a new affiliation with ARAG^®, a leading online provider of legal documentation services and comprehensive voluntary legal plans, CIGNA's will preparation offering gives members the ability to create specific life and health legal documents, such as:

• Last Will and Testament – specifies what is to be done with a member’s property at death, names the estate executor and names a guardian for minor children.
• Living Will – contains a member’s wishes regarding the use of extraordinary medical measures, such as life support or other life-sustaining medical treatment, when there’s no hope of recovery.
• Healthcare Power of Attorney – allows a member to grant someone permission to make medical decisions on his or her behalf in the event the employee is unable to do so.
• Financial Power of Attorney – allows a member to grant someone permission to make financial decisions on his or her behalf in the event the employee is unable to do so.
  

Members also have access to information on estate planning, identity theft, and CIGNA's life and disability planning kits, including insurance calculators to determine whether they and their families have sufficient coverage for their future.   

“We believe it is important for all individuals to protect their rights and assets, and we welcome the opportunity to enable CIGNA’s policyholders to help secure their employees’ futures,” said Cam Sutton, president and CEO of ARAG^®.

Once members register, they will have direct access to a personal estate planning web page, where they can create and maintain personalized legal documents; follow an intuitive, interactive question and answer process to create state-specific legal documents tailored to individual situations; and preview, edit, download and print legal documents for execution. In addition, phone representatives are available to members via a toll-free number to explain concepts and the will preparation tool⁴.

“Because we know life is full of change, the individual's registration and customized documents are maintained for two years, which allows members to easily make revisions to meet their personal situations,” says Jacobsen.  

For more information, CIGNA members can visit www.cigna.com/willprep.

About ARAG^®
ARAG (www.ARAGgroup.com) is a global provider of legal insurance. The company has an international premium base of more than $1.75 billion and protects 15 million individuals and their families – worldwide. ARAG offers comprehensive legal plans that provide a smart and trusted path for resolving legal issues. This enables people to protect their families, finances and futures.

About CIGNA Group Insurance
"CIGNA," the "Tree of Life" logo and "CIGNA Group Insurance" are registered service marks of CIGNA Intellectual Property, Inc., licensed for use by CIGNA Corporation and its operating subsidiaries. Products and services are provided by such operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation. Such operating subsidiaries include Life Insurance Company of North America and CIGNA Life Insurance Company of New York.  CIGNA Group Insurance is one of the top five providers in disability management and insurance with solutions that focus on helping employees return to a productive work life as quickly and safely as possible.

^{1 , 2, 3} lawyers.com^SM 2007 Estate Planning Survey

⁴ No legal advice is provided.