Descriptive title: Why you still need to buy a separate life insurance policy even if your employer provides Group Life Insurance coverage

The government has made it a requirement for companies to provide a number of benefits to all of their employees the moment that they are hired. One such benefit mandated is insurance coverage. Because of this, many employees actually do not see the need to purchase a separate individual life insurance policy. In reality, getting a separate life insurance policy is still important even if the company you work for is already providing you with group insurance coverage. Here is why:

Limited Coverage

One of the reasons why it is still important to buy your own life insurance policy even if your company is already covering you with group insurance is the limited coverage these group insurance policies provide. Keep in mind that most companies out there merely provide this because it is required by law. Because the lower the insurance coverage is, the lower the premiums will be, companies tend to go for lower insurance coverage. This means the policy may not necessarily be able to cover all of the expenses incurred at the time of your death, much less to provide your surviving family with funds to help them be able to begin their lives without you.

Few Benefits

Another reason why it is important to purchase a separate life insurance policy on top of your group life insurance coverage is that, apart from insuring your life, group life insurance provides very few – if any at all – benefits to you and your family. Individual life insurance policies provide you a load of benefits which you can avail of even while you are still alive. For instance, some individual life insurance policies provides you the ability to take out a partial withdrawal which is basically taking a certain portion of your total coverage prior to your death to help you and your family in times of financial crisis. Others also provide you the opportunity to be covered and invest in mutual funds, bonds or dividends.

Temporary

The group insurance policy that you currently have would only provide you coverage for as long as you stay with the company. In the event that you decide to change companies, or decide to finally retire, you lose all of the coverage provided to you by the group insurance policy. If you wait for this time before you go ahead and buy your own life insurance policy, you may be faced with extremely high premiums to pay the insurance company, or worse, not be eligible to apply for one.