Why employer-provided life insurance isn't enough

If you've worked your way up to a job that includes a life insurance benefit, congratulations-but never consider employer-provided life insurance as iron-clad protection for your family. The most obvious risk of employer-provided life insurance is that most of us will work for several employers during our working lives. When you switch employers for one reason or another, the coverage probably won't go with you. Here's why: most life insurance purchased by companies for employees is a group term policy. That is, it is one policy that covers every employee who chooses to participate, rather than individual policies that cover each participant. This can be an advantage. The group rate allows most employers who provide the coverage to do so with no contribution from employees. Also, you can qualify for the coverage without needing a medical exam. Really, the only thing wrong with free or inexpensive life insurance is the false sense of security that too often comes with it. In a nutshell, here are three reasons not to trust your family's financial security to employer-provided life insurance: 1. You could lose your job, and any life insurance that comes with it, tommorow. If you lost your job, would you be in a position to start paying for life insurance? Learn more about your employer's life insurance benefit plan. For example, under what conditions, if any, would you be eligible to convert your group life insurance coverage to an individual policy when you leave? If so, would you be allowed to do so without evidence of insurability, or could you be rejected because of your age or health? 2.Even if you change employers voluntarily, your next employer may not offer group life insurance coverage. 3.The life insurance you recieve through work may be inadequate to protect your family. And the very fact that you have life insurance through work may tempt you not to take a close look at how much insurance you really need. In effect, you're delegating to your employer-perhaps to someone you've never met- the reponsibility of calculating the amount and type of coverage you should have. Think of all employer-provided life insurance as exactly what it is: an extra, a perk, a bonus. If instead you consider it the foundation of your family's financial security, you risk finding yourself suddenly needing to secure life insurance at a time when your age and health issues may have pushed out the cost out of reach. Get the details about your employer-provided life insurance coverage, and let's sit down to discuss them. Adding the solid protection of Knights of Columbus top-rated life insurance coverage will make your family's protection iron-clad.