Allianz, AXA, MetLife, Voya, Nab Perfect LGBT Equality Scores
June 29, 2017 by Warren S. Hersch
Thirty-six insurers, most of them life insurance and annuity manufacturers, are represented in a list of more than 500 employers deemed to offer LGBT-friendly workplaces, according to new research.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation highlights this finding in its Corporate Equality Index 2017. Now in its 15th iteration, the annual report rates workplaces on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, including “soft benefits” encompassing life insurance and annuities.
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Life and annuity companies receiving “perfect” 100 scores based on 10 criteria (each allotting 10 points) include AIG, Allianz Life, AXA, CUNA Mutual, Genworth Financial, Guardian Life, Hartford Financial, John Hancock, Mass Mutual and MetLife. Also represented in the list are Mutual of Omaha, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, Principal Financial, Sun Life and Voya Financial.
“These businesses know that LGBT equality isn’t just the right thing to do; it makes them stronger in our global economy,” writes HRC President Chad Griffin in the report’s introduction. “Ensuring fairness in the workplace is a value and increasingly a policy norm, and not just in the U.S. Now, more than 90% of CEI [corporate equality index] -rated businesses have embraced both sexual orientation and gender identity employment protections for their U.S. and global operations.”
Collectively, a record-breaking 515 employers garnered a perfect 100 score in the survey, which endeavors to gauge parity among employees (irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity) regarding corporate practices and benefits. Among other steps, the foundation encourages employers to insert “LGBT-specific language” into documents prescribing company policy. Example: a policy stipulating that transgender individuals enjoy health care benefits, including access to routine and chronic care.
The web-based survey measures companies on such criteria as equal employment opportunities, organizational competency (in respect to training resources and accountability), public commitment to the LGBT community, transgender-inclusive health coverage and employee benefits. Included in the last: soft benefits (including supplemental life insurance, and qualified joint and survivor annuities) available on an equal basis for same-sex and opposite-sex couples.
Among life and annuity carriers, most of those securing 100 scores in 2017 had perfect scores last year. Those that moved up in the rankings from 2016 include Allianz Life (which had a score of 85 in 2016), CUNA Mutual (up from 90) Guardian Life (75) and The Standard (90).
Carriers receiving less than perfect scores in this year’s report include Liberty Mutual (95, up from 85 in 2016), Transamerica (90 this year and last), Thrivent Financial (85 in 2017 and 2016), Unum (80 versus 60), and Aflac (75 in both years).
Among carriers touting its top-ranking in the CEI report is AXA. In a press statement, the French insurer, which operates through AXA Equitable in the U.S., discloses that it’s an official “gold sponsor” of NYC Pride 2017, a national event that promotes equal rights for the LGBT community.
Read the full Corporate Equality Index here.
