Life Insurance 101
Who, what, why, and how?
September 14, 2011
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, so we'd provide a quick overview of the product and some things you might want to consider.
Many of your employees rely on your company for all or most of their insurance coverage. Because of this, you may want to consider offering life insurance. Whether group-sponsored or voluntary, this coverage offers protection and security for your employees’ families.
The Statistics
- According to LIMRA, one-third of adults in the United States carry no life insurance.
- Many more have less coverage than experts recommend, and in the event of their death, the coverage may not adequately provide a secure financial future for their families.
- 95 million adult Americans have no life insurance, and most of those who do have far less coverage than most financial experts recommend.[1]
- Both men and women are less likely to own life insurance today than they were in 2004—only 61 percent of men and 57 percent of women have some sort of life insurance coverage.[1]
- Today, more insured adults depend solely on group life insurance for their only life insurance coverage than in the past.[1]
Who needs life insurance?
Life insurance is for anyone who has dependents who rely on them for financial security. Dependents can include children, spouses, parents or other relatives for whom the insured individual is a caretaker.
Why offer life insurance?
Life insurance protects surviving family members and dependents from unexpected financial strain.
Because terminal illnesses and death are unplanned—and therefore unbudgeted—events, life insurance is designed to help cover immediate and future costs that would have been funded through future earned income. This can include funeral expenses, housing, income that maintains the family’s standard of living, and children’s tuition bills.
Without life insurance, families are often forced to dip into their savings, work additional hours, obtain additional loans, and downgrade their lifestyle.
Lastly, the perceived value of this benefit to employees often greatly outweighs the costs, which are usually nominal or nonexistent for you, the employer. A more secure employee is a more productive one.
Find out more
Employers can easily offer the benefits of life insurance to their employees. RJF’s Benefits representatives would be happy to discuss the many options and types of plans available.
[1] LIMRA's LIAM Fact Sheet, 2011
Contact the RJF Benefits team at 763-746-8000.
