About Group Life insurance

What is group life insurance?
Group life insurance is typically offered to you as a benefit through your employer or membership in an association. It can be an important supplement to other insurance policies you own, at a reasonable cost.

Factors that distinguish group life insurance from individual insurance policies include:

• Guaranteed coverage amounts. Usually group life policies offer a certain amount of guaranteed coverage, either a multiple of your salary or a fixed amount. This means you won't have to answer questions about your health to receive the coverage. For amounts of coverage beyond the guaranteed amount, you may need to answer a few health questions and provide details as requested. Even if the amount of coverage you're requesting requires a medical exam, it's typically a much simpler process than the full physical usually required for an individual insurance policy.
  
  Insurance underwriters use what is known as an experience approach when assessing the risks involved with a group life insurance policy. That means that rather than depending on your individual lifestyle habits and health factors, they group people together, by occupation or avocation, and set rates based on the risk of the group as a whole.
• Administration and billing systems are designed for groups which means less paperwork for your employer or association and better service for members. The insuring company typically handles the details of who in the company or group is covered and for what amount. It may also handle complete administration of the policy, simply providing reports to the employer or association about enrollees and claims. The company issues a life insurance policy to the employer or association – the indivduals insured under the policy typically receive certificates of insurance, which outline their rights under the policy.
• Payment is often through electronic funds transfer or payroll deduction. Convenient billing makes paying premiums painless. You won't have to worry about writing out a check every month.
• Coverage is often portable or convertible. When you leave the group for whatever reason, you can often keep your coverage. You always have the option to convert your policy to an individual policy with the issuing company.

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» Variable Group Universal Life insurance

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