Supplemental Term Life Insurance

What Does Supplemental Term Life Insurance Mean?

Supplemental term life insurance is a policy designed to fill the coverage gaps in a primary term life insurance policy. Many people obtain term life insurance through their employers, and in many cases, these policies offer coverage in multiples of the employee’s annual salary. However, this coverage may be insufficient, particularly for individuals with families or multiple financial liabilities. In such cases, supplemental term life insurance provides an additional level of coverage.

Insuranceopedia Explains Supplemental Term Life Insurance

Many employers offer group life insurance policies to their employees. The coverage and benefits provided under these policies are largely influenced by the size of the group. For instance, smaller companies often offer coverage as low as $5,000, which may be due to the small group size and budget constraints.

Given the limited benefits of some policies, many employees choose to purchase supplemental term life insurance. These policies allow the insured to increase their existing coverage by a specific amount, typically in increments of $10,000 or $25,000. Some insurance companies do not require evidence of insurability for these additional policies. Employees who want higher limits or portability outside of their workplace plan sometimes compare offerings from the best life insurance companies before deciding whether to add coverage through work or buy an individual policy. Pricing varies widely based on age, health, and coverage amount, so it helps to look at the average cost of a life insurance policy before choosing how much supplemental coverage to add.