Are You Paying For Someone Else's Life Insurance Policy?
By Michelle Deininger, InsWeb
A strange concept, but actually pretty common if you think about it. Employees pay premiums for employer-sponsored health coverage based on risk profiles that take into account factors such as the age and health of the entire group.
That system can extend to life insurance as well. If you have a job, is your employer's life insurance program the best deal around? Not necessarily!
The convenience factor of having a company benefits representative do the footwork and choose a policy, then enroll you for automatic deductions is appealing. But it may come at a price: Especially in larger companies, employees are paying a premium based on the risk profile of the entire employee base. That means if you're a healthy 30-something, you could be paying a premium that factors in employees twice your age, some of whom may have health problems. Not necessarily a good deal for you.
The time is ripe for examining the policy you bought at work. How much is coming out of your paycheck each period to pay it? In difficult economic times, employees are often asked to foot greater portions of their benefits, whether they be medical, dental, vision, or life insurance. With more financial responsibility, employees really ought to scrutinize their options more closely than they might have in years past. In such circumstances, value - along with price - becomes much more important.
The upshot: You may do significantly better to buy your own Life insurance policy. And you won't know until you take a quick look at the benefits of your Life policy: the payout amount, the cost to you each month and any other major features.
In a time when your dollar is getting stretched thinner, you don't want to cancel coverage that would protect your loved ones against financial distress. But you also don't want to spend more than you have to just because you signed up for a policy at work.
