Your employer may not offer enough life insurance.
While basic employer-provided life insurance is low-cost or free, and you may be able to buy additional coverage at low rates, your policy’s face value still may not be high enough. If your premature death would be a financial burden to your spouse and/or children, you probably need coverage worth five to eight times your annual salary.
You’ll lose your coverage if your job situation changes.
As with health insurance, you don’t want gaps in your life insurance coverage, because you never know when you might need it. Most workers who get coverage through work don’t know where their life insurance will come from if they change jobs, are laid off, their employer goes out of business, or they switch from full-time to part-time status. You usually won’t be able to keep your policy in these scenarios. Lack of portability can be a problem if you aren’t going directly to another job with similar coverage and aren’t healthy enough to qualify for an individual policy. Some policies do allow you to convert your group policy to an individual one, but it will likely become much more expensive, as you’ll be converting your term policy to a costlier permanent policy. And if you’re losing your coverage because you were laid off, the premiums might be unaffordable.
Coverage gets tricky if your health declines.
Another problem arises if you’re leaving your job because of a health problem. If you relied solely or heavily upon group insurance, and then suffer a medical condition that forces you to leave your job, you may be losing your life insurance coverage just when your family is going to need it the most. At that point it would be too late to purchase your own policy at an affordable rate, if at all, depending on the medical condition.
Your plan doesn’t provide enough coverage for your spouse.
While your employer’s benefits package probably provides health insurance for your spouse, it won’t always provide life insurance for your spouse. Couples often assume that the family will only suffer economic hardship if the primary breadwinner dies.
Employer-provided life insurance may not be your cheapest option.
Even if you can get all the life insurance you need for both you and your spouse through your employer, it’s a good idea to price shop to see if your employer’s supplemental insurance really offers the best value for the money. You’re more likely to find a better rate elsewhere the younger and healthier you are. Also, unlike the guaranteed level-premium term life insurance you can purchase individually, which costs you the same amount every year for as long as you have the policy, the policy provided by your employer tends to get more expensive as you age.
Solution
While there’s no reason not to take advantage of any free or inexpensive insurance your employer offers, it probably shouldn’t be your only source of life insurance, nor should most people rely heavily on the supplemental life insurance they can get through work. The solution to each of the problems described above is to purchase some or all of your life insurance directly through an individual policy.
The most affordable solution is to buy the most insurance you can afford at the youngest age, since, as you age, the chance of acquiring an illness goes up, and with illness comes more expensive premiums, if you can qualify at all.
The Bottom Line
You need enough life insurance to cover all your debts and support your dependents. “Enough” includes paying off your credit cards, car loans and mortgage, paying for your children’s education, and making sure your spouse will have the financial means to take care of him or herself and your children. In a time of grief, the last thing you want is to leave your loved ones with another major life upheaval such as having to change jobs or schools because of financial strain, so take a close look at whether the life insurance you’re getting through work is the best way to provide for your loved ones.
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