Life Insurance Types | Buying Life Insurance | Understanding Life Insurance | Glossary
McAfee SECURE sites help keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams
Your information is secure.
What kind of life insurance do you need?

Term Life Insurance for Individuals

For the most part, those who have term life insurance obtain the coverage through an employer or other collective organization. By contrast, individual term life insurance is purchased directly from the life insurer without any intermediaries. People who opt for individual term life coverage are usually considered self-insured because no organization subsidizes the costs of the policy. The self-employed frequently purchase term life insurance for individuals, as do those in need of supplementary protection.

Cost Differences

Generally speaking, individual term life insurance tends to be a bit more expensive than group coverage, but that is not true for everyone. For instance, employees who are young and healthy often pay for the coverage of older, infirm employees, which actually makes employer-sponsored term life more expensive than an individual policy. Additionally, while term life for individuals may cost more for certain policyholders, it can also provide better, more personalized benefits. Rather than accepting a one-size-fits-all policy through an employer, individual term life policyholders can customize their coverage with an appropriate term and death benefit.

Supplementing Existing Coverage

Individual term life coverage is also popular with people who want to augment their employer-sponsored life insurance plans. For example, a 30-year-old man with a $1,000,000 term life policy through his employer may purchase supplemental individual term life insurance until his mortgage is paid or his children become independent adults. Because supplemental coverage tends to be rather modest, individual term life is very affordable when used for this purpose.

Is Group Coverage Better?

Group term life coverage may be cheaper for some, but the average consumer in need of life insurance protection can usually benefit from individual term life insurance. If you are self-employed or currently unemployed, you can't take the risk of going without life insurance protection, and individual term life can fill that need. When you input your information into the field on any one of our pages, you will see the most competitive premiums available on individual term life for your age bracket.

Even if you currently have coverage, your employer's standard policy might not be enough to provide for your family after your passing. Employer-sponsored plans tend to be generic and may leave you substantially underinsured if you have young children, large amounts of debt, or a dependent spouse or partner. See how affordable supplemental individual term life insurance can be by requesting free quotes now.