Workplace Benefits
Employees Rely on Workplace Life Insurance to Protect Their Families
- According to the 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, 53% of U.S. workers say they have life insurance through their workplace.
- Approximately two thirds of employed Americans (65%) rely on workplace life insurance (theirs or another family member’s) to meet their life insurance needs.
- In 2023, 58% of workers said a life insurance benefit is very or extremely important to them or their families.
- Almost 6 in 10 workers (58%) with children under
age 18 count on their workplace life insurance coverage to protect their loved ones. - Life insurance provides more financial confidence. Workers with life insurance coverage are more likely than uninsured workers to feel financially secure (62% versus 47%).
Life Insurance Ownership Supports Financial Security
Workers’ Perceptions About Life Insurance
- Of the adults who only have life insurance through their employer, more than half (56%) believe that the amount they obtain through work provides them with enough coverage. However, the median basic coverage offered at the workplace is either a flat sum of $20,000 or 1x salary — far less than experts recommend.
- More than 4 in 10 households (42%) that only have workplace life insurance coverage say their families would struggle financially in less than six months should a wage earner die unexpectedly.
More than a third of workers decline to participate in their workplace life insurance benefits. Top reasons include:
had coverage through another source (family member, individual coverage, etc.).
claimed they couldn’t afford it, didn’t think the benefit was worth the cost, or wanted to use the money for other benefits.
said they didn’t need it.
A Strong Communication Strategy Is Key to Employee Understanding
- Just 27% of adults with only workplace life insurance coverage say they are very or extremely knowledgeable about life insurance.
- Workers who believe their employers communicate their benefits extremely well are more than twice as likely than those who believe their employers don’t communicate their benefits effectively to claim a higher understanding of their life insurance benefit (71% versus 34%).
Workers with a high understanding of their life insurance benefit
Employer communicates benefit offerings very well
Employer doesn’t communicate benefit offerings well
All Generations Rely on Workplace Life Insurance
Americans rely on their (or a family member’s) workplace life insurance.
More than a third of Gen X and Millennial workers (37% and 35% respectively) rely completely or mostly on their workplace life insurance.
Baby Boomers and Gen Z workers are less reliant on workplace life insurance, with 25% of Boomers and 32% of Gen Z workers saying they completely or mostly rely on workplace life insurance.
Workplace Life Insurance Is Valued Today, and Will Be in the Future
- Two thirds of employers said life insurance would be an important benefit five years from now, up 14 percentage points from 2021.
- Employees also value workplace life insurance, with 52% saying it is an important benefit for the future. This is up 5 percentage points from 2021.
- One quarter of workers say offering insurance benefits, such as life insurance, disability insurance, and dental, would be one of the top factors when considering a potential new employer.
Sources: 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA and Life Happens; 2024 BEAT Study: Benefits and Employee Attitude Tracker, LIMRA; 2023 BEAT Study: Benefits and Employee Attitude Tracker, LIMRA.