Think Ahead! Group Insurance May Not Be Your Friend!

So many out there assume they are all set because their job offers this great group life insurance plan. Now don’t get me wrong. If it’s inexpensive I think you ought to take advantage of that. What I’m talking about is putting all of your eggs in that basket. There are some serious downsides to that approach.

That inexpensive group life insurance is great unless there is an OCCURRENCE!!!!! No, I’m not talking about your death. Group insurance will pay like any other life insurance if you die. The occurrences I’m talking about are 1. A change in your benefit package or 2. You quit or get fired (or downsized) or 3. You retire.

With any of those occurrences you will be told that you can convert your group policy to a personal policy. What they won’t tell you while you still have time to plan is how outrageously expensive that converted policy will be. It is going to go from some barely noticeable deduction from your paycheck to a very noticeable bill every month. You will not like what is offered. I guarantee it!
So what to do about it? I always advocate carrying some amount of life insurance outside the workplace. Term insurance is inexpensive and guess what? If any of those occurrences take place, your personal term insurance policy will remain just the same. Safe, sane, affordable and guaranteed.

So, no matter what you are offered at work and no matter how good the deal seems, do the prudent thing and contact your independent life insurance agent and get a personal life insurance policy. You will be so glad you have it because, while those occurrences used to be rare when folks worked the same job for 40 years, they are more the norm than the exception now.

This post is somewhat dated. Life insurance underwriting is changing and evolving continually. For more updated information check out some of the key word links. If you have a specific question or topic you need information for do a search. If you don’t find the answers you need contact me and we’ll make sure you get the information that is important to you.