Life Insurance

Strengthen your benefits package and give employees the protection they want

Many employees carry a basic term life plan, but it may not be enough to fully provide for their dependents. Unum Life Insurance offers multiple forms of coverage to suit your employees’ stages of life and evolving needs.

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The value of Life Insurance

Life Insurance helps employees protect what they’ve built

Life Insurance offers peace of mind, so your employees know their loved ones would be provided for. Because coverage is also available for their spouse and dependents, Life Insurance can also help your employees cover necessary expenses if they lose a loved one.

Losing a primary wage earner can be disastrous for a family’s finances. In the midst of grief, many families are forced to pull money from savings and investments or lean on family and friends for assistance.

Our Life Insurance benefits allow you to offer needed protection while also meeting your company’s goals. Many employees do not have access to life coverage outside of work. So whether you choose employee-paid, employer-paid or shared funding plans, your employees will appreciate the opportunity to enhance their coverage.

How Life Insurance works

Give your employees the support they need, when they need it most

In the U.S., 67% of full-time workers who have life insurance get at least some of it through their employer, and 40% get all of their life insurance through their employer.1 Our Life Insurance plans can help fill real needs when your employees or their loved ones need it most, through features such as:

  • Additional financial protection with family coverage for spouses and children
  • Accelerated “living benefit” available to covered individuals diagnosed as terminally ill
  • Financial, legal and emotional counseling for beneficiaries
  • High benefit maximums to help a family manage despite the loss of an income, up to $750,000 or five times annual salary
  • Plans that can continue protection even if the employee changes jobs
  • A guaranteed-issue amount, so employees can get a base level of coverage — and often increase the coverage amount later — with no health questions or physical exams
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance available for employees and dependents in amounts independent of the life benefit they purchase, based on their own insurance needs

As time goes on, families expand, expenses fluctuate and financial responsibilities tend to grow. Unum offers two main types of Life Insurance plans that can supplement your current coverage and offer more options to employees:

Term Life Insurance

Term Life Insurance provides affordable coverage during an employee’s working years to provide protection for the loved ones who depend on them. Employees can increase coverage at enrollment events and even take the protection with them if they change jobs.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole Life Insurance maintains constant premiums and benefits. These policies can last through retirement and build cash value over time, which employees can borrow from or use toward a paid-up policy at age 70 (no additional premium payments). A second option allows employees to pay smaller premiums through age 120.

  Term Life Whole Life
Key features

Consistent

Term Life is the ideal coverage for the high-demand working years

Guaranteed

Whole Life offers permanent coverage that remains the same
Cost to employees $ $$
Death benefit Payable within the selected term period Stays the same as long as payments are made
Premium payments Payments stay level during the selected term period Payments stay consistent throughout the life of the policy
Cash value Not a feature of Term Life Cash values are set when the policy is purchased

How Unum Life Insurance helps your employees provide for their loved ones

Helping a spouse through retirement

Even if they’re reaching the end of their working years, your employees want to know that their loved ones are protected. Whole Life Insurance can last through retirement to help ensure their spouse’s retirement savings can be left untouched.

Making sure children are always provided for

Raising children is extremely rewarding, but education, extracurriculars and day-to-day care can be expensive. Term Life Insurance can help your employees ensure that, if they die, their children will be provided for.

Support in preparing for the future

Saving money every month is difficult for many families, and when the worst happens, your employees may not be prepared. Life Insurance provides coverage so that even without significant savings, they can have peace of mind that their loved ones will have the support they need.

A fast, compassionate claims process

When your employee or their beneficiary needs to file a claim, we make the process easy. Claims are managed by knowledgeable professionals who have received bereavement training, and we’re committed to making a life claim determination within three to five business days of receiving complete information.

Additional services that complement Life Insurance

Available with select Unum employee benefits plans, these services help your employees be even more prepared for challenges life might throw their way.

Life planning resources2

Dealing with the death of a family member is difficult enough — even before worrying about the personal, legal and financial decisions that need to be made. That’s why Unum group Life Insurance includes Life Planning Financial & Legal Resources.

This service provides financial and legal guidance and emotional support for beneficiaries, as well as for employees and spouses who are terminally ill. Counselors offer customized, objective, personal advice to each covered individual. And regardless of their recommendations, the consultants don’t receive any commission.

Work-life balance employee assistance program (EAP)3

Your employees may already have a lot on their minds — from finances to relationship issues. Does this affect their ability to focus on the job?

Unum’s work-life balance EAP can help employees prepare for the unpredictable — and keep small struggles from turning into major issues. With this program, they can receive guidance and support for issues that take their attention away from your business. And that means they can be more productive, both at work and at home.

Emergency travel assistance4

Even the most thorough itinerary can’t prevent lost medication, accidents or sudden illnesses. So help your employees prepare — with Unum’s worldwide emergency travel assistance. This service is available 24/7 to employees when they travel 100 or more miles away from home, whether for work or pleasure.

Commonly asked questions about Unum Life Insurance

How can I help employees determine how much coverage they need?

The amount of Life Insurance coverage they should get depends on many factors, such as their annual income, existing debt and how much they’d like to provide for their beneficiaries’ major life events, such as a wedding or college.

Are employees guaranteed coverage?

Depending on the policy, they may be asked some health questions to determine if they are eligible for coverage.

What is not covered by Life Insurance?

Some plans have exclusions for circumstances such as suicide. Speak with your benefits counselor for details on your plan.

Can an employee increase their coverage later?

Yes, though they may need to answer health questions depending on their plan.

1. LIMRA, “2017 Insurance Barometer Study: Supplemental Data” (2017). Based on calculations.
2. Life Planning Financial & Legal Resources services, provided by LifeWorks, are available with select Unum insurance offerings. Terms and availability of service are subject to change. Service provider does not provide legal advice; please consult your attorney for guidance. Services are not valid after coverage terminates. Please contact your Unum representative for details.
3. The Work-life balance employee assistance program, provided by LifeWorks, is available with select Unum insurance offerings. Terms and availability of service are subject to change. Service provider does not provide legal advice; please consult your attorney for guidance. Services are not valid after coverage terminates. Please contact your Unum representative for details.
4. Worldwide emergency travel assistance services, provided by Assist America, Inc., are available with select Unum insurance offerings. Terms and availability of service are subject to change and prior notification requirements. Services are not valid after coverage terminates. Please contact your Unum representative for details.

Group life coverage is underwritten by Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Portland, Maine

Individual life coverage is underwritten by Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company, Chattanooga, Tennessee

In New York, life coverage is underwritten by First Unum Life Insurance Company, New York, New York

The policies or their provisions may vary or be unavailable in some states. The policies have exclusions and limitations which may affect any benefits payable. See the actual policy or your Unum representative for specific provisions and details of availability.