Supplemental Life Insurance Sometimes Necessary

If you are one of the millions of Americans with a life insurance policy through your employer you may be wondering if this coverage is enough to keep your family safe?  What is life insurance and are supplements necessary?  Why would someone need them if they already have a policy?  These are some questions you should have the answers to before you start looking for additional life insurance.  Whether or not you need to supplement your existing life insurance policy is up to the individual but it's important you understand your plan and your needs before you make that decision.

There are a lot of insurers out there such as Aetna Life Insurance offering supplemental life insurance products so there must be a need for it in the marketplace.  Basically, supplemental life insurance is designed to provide an amount of coverage in addition to a basic life insurance policy.  The amount of the payment is often determined by the amount of coverage obtained.  Both basic and supplemental life insurance benefits may be limited based on your annual earnings or the schedule of supplemental options offered by your company according to the Aetna website.

Supplemental life has a variety of options including an accelerated death benefit.  This insurance will cover you if you become terminally ill.  Upon this happening you can request that your insurer pay an accelerated death benefit (ADB) and do so on your own behalf at any time by completing the appropriate paperwork.  Depending on which insurer you use, plan options and procedures will vary.

A premium waiver is another benefit many are not aware of.  This provision allows coverage to continue without payments if you become disabled before a certain age and the disability lasts for a pre-determined time frame.  And check to see if you policy offers portability.  This can be extremely valuable if your life insurance is through your employer and you switch jobs.  By taking your life insurance with you, you know you are maintaining the benefits you determined in the first place.