Group Life Insurance

Life insurance offered through an employer or association, usually term coverage of one or two times salary.

Overview

Basic group amounts often require no medical evidence, which makes them valuable for workers with health issues. Supplemental amounts can be bought through payroll deduction, sometimes with simplified underwriting. Coverage usually ends at retirement or job change, though portability and conversion to an individual policy are commonly offered at higher cost. Because the coverage is not owned by the individual and can vanish with the job, planners treat it as a supplement rather than the core of family protection. Premiums paid by the employer for coverage above 50,000 dollars are taxable income to the employee, a detail many discover only at tax time.