Chances are you’ve received an email or two about your company’s open enrollment for benefits. I wanted to share some info about an option you may have that financially could offer a large benefit.

Hospital indemnity insurance? You either know exactly what that is, or you’ve never heard of it.

In a nutshell, it’s supplemental insurance that pay for the costs of a hospital stay. The provider will issue you a check, and honestly you can use the money for anything.

In 2017, our company sent out some info about the policy. Since I was newly pregnant at the time, and knew a hospital stay was in my future, I signed up. Following the birth of my son I submitted an itemized receipt for my stay and was sent a $600 check. Last year, same scenario. Although this time, our company switched providers and the benefit amount changed and received a $1,200 check. If you’ve ever had baby, you know this isn’t exactly ‘free money’ but it definitely helps.

For me, each policy was between $6-10 per paycheck. So financially, it was a smart move.

But beyond this item, make sure you understand what your company is offering so you don’t over-insure or short yourself on coverage.