The program, known as TrueChoices, is offered by TrueNorth', a collaborative insurance and financial strategies firm that provides a full menu of health care and other insurance products. It marks the first time that Con-way Truckload has made available a health care benefits package to owner-operators leasing their trucks to the company.
'As an independent small business, today's owner-operator often has difficulty finding affordable health care insurance,' said Bert Johnson, Con-way Truckload's senior director of human resources, who noted that owner-operators typically are not eligible for the same health care plans as those offered to company employees.
'This program provided by TrueNorth is tailored for owner-operators, offering a selection of affordable plans which provide important health care coverage at a competitive cost,' Johnson noted. 'Our contract owner-operators are a key part of our resource mix, and providing them access to this benefit program helps ensure they enjoy a positive working relationship with Con-way Truckload.'
Under the TrueChoices program, owner-operators leasing with Con-way Truckload may select from an array of stand-alone insurance benefits. These products include four medical and two dental insurance options, as well as vision, short-term and long-term disability, life, accident and critical illness policies. The application process is paperless and completed during a recorded conversation that is voice stamped and stored for future reference, if needed.
The TrueChoices program is available through membership in the non-profit Truckers Service Association (TSA), an industry association which provides motor carriers and independent owner-operators with insurance solutions. Con-way Truckload owner-operators can join TSA for a $9 per month membership fee, which then provides access to the TrueChoices program and its menu of full-service health insurance and personal protection benefits programs.
'Because they lack an employer/employee relationship, owner-operators are often left without health care benefits they can afford because they cannot legally access group health care,' said Mike Vogel, vice president, TrueChoices. 'Programs like this one provide owner-operators with only those benefits they need and nothing they don't, which makes it much more affordable and unique in the industry. Rates are the same from state to state and, because we understand the driver community, the enrollment process can be completed quickly right over the phone.'
