Employee Concerns About Contracting Serious Illnesses Spark Interest in Personal Insuranc...( COLUMBIA S.C. Oct. 28 /- A large ...),Health

COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- A large majority of working Americans covered by insurance are concerned about themselves or someone in their family being diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or another serious illness. In addition, a majority of working Americans covered by insurance are interested in buying a personal insurance policy to help with the medical expenses resulting from a serious illness. According to a recent nationwide survey of 1,067 full-time employees covered by health insurance conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company*:

-- 84 percent of employees surveyed say they're concerned that they or someone in their family will be diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or another serious illness in the future.

-- 71 percent of employees surveyed say they're interested in buying personal insurance products at work, in addition to their current health insurance policy, to help cover expenses for cancer or other serious illnesses.

"It's clear that employees don't think health insurance alone is enough to cover the costs of medical treatment for serious illnesses," says Tom Gilligan, senior vice president of marketing and branding at Colonial Life. "Rising health care costs are forcing employers to cut back on benefits, increase major medical deductibles and pass more costs on to employees. As a result, employees have more financial risks for medical expenses, and they're ready to consider additional coverage to fill the gaps."

Employees are concerned that they or someone in their family will be diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or another serious illness in the future. The survey breaks employee results down by gender, region of the country and age groups:

-- Gender. Women (89 percent) are more concerned about contracting a serious illness than men (79 percent). However, among employees age 55 and older, the gender difference narrows with 91 percent of me
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