If you
decide to offer group life
insurance to employees in the state of Wisconsin, shop around for the best
rates and packages through several insurance companies/agents first. You may
want to purchase all of your group packages (health insurance, disability insurance, etc.) through one
company/agent after you have assessed all your options in order to make it easier
to track policies and make payments.
A simple
comparison of the premiums, a cash payment that’s required to fund your policy,
is not enough. There are other things to consider.
- Do premiums or
benefits vary from year to year?
- How much do the
benefits build up in the policy?
- What part of the
premiums or benefits is not guaranteed?
- What is the effect
of interest on money paid and received at different times on the policy?
Review
your group plans regularly as your business grows. Examine how your group life insurance needs and premiums may
change as a result of added employees or new capabilities your company offers.
If you're
going to provide workers with voluntary group life insurance, check whether the
policy you're offering allows them to carry the plan over to a new company
should they decide to change jobs. Also see if there are additional conditions
in the policy that can make it more flexible for the employee, such as a waiver
of premiums when a worker is on disability leave and may not have the funds to
pay for the policy during that time.
Some small businesses offer group life insurance to employees. Group
life insurance can be part of an employee benefit plan that is paid for
by the employer or a voluntary offering, whereby the employee pays for
the coverage.
When you buy life insurance, you want coverage that fits your needs.
You should decide how much you need, for how long, and what you can
afford to pay. Keep in mind the major reason you buy life insurance is
to cover the financial effects of unexpected or untimely death. Life
insurance also can be one of many ways you plan for the future.
To decide how much life insurance you need, figure out what your
dependents would have if you were to die now, and what they would
actually need. Your policy should come as close to making up the
difference as you can afford.
In figuring this out, think of the income your dependents will need
for family living expenses, educational costs, and any other future
expenses. Think also of cash needs-for the expenses of a final illness,
for paying taxes, mortgages, or other debts.
There are two basic kinds of life insurance: term insurance and cash
value insurance. Term insurance generally has lower premiums in the
early years, but does not buildup cash values that you can use in the
future. You may combine cash value life insurance with term insurance
for the period of your greatest need for life insurance to replace
income.