Group vs individual coverage.
In plain English
Group coverage is one insurance contract that covers a whole pool of people, usually employees of a company, with the employer often paying part of the cost. Individual coverage is a policy you apply for, own, and pay for on your own. Group plans are usually cheaper and often skip detailed health screening, but they typically end when you leave the job. Individual plans cost more and may require health underwriting, but they stay with you no matter where you work.
01Why it matters
If your coverage is tied to your employer and you lose or change jobs, the protection can vanish overnight, which matters most for life and disability insurance you may not be able to replace cheaply later.
02The math, step by step
Your job offers group life insurance equal to one year of salary at low cost, but it ends the day you leave. You also buy an individual term life policy you pay for directly. When you switch employers, the group coverage disappears, but the individual policy keeps protecting your family without interruption.
03What this is NOT
Cheaper is not the same as better. Group coverage usually disappears when you leave the job and is often capped at low amounts, so it is not a full replacement for an individual policy you own and keep.
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