How much life insurance do employers usually provide?

Basic group life is most often one times annual salary, sometimes two, at no cost to the employee. Supplemental coverage up to several times salary is offered at group rates, usually with limited or no health questions up to a guaranteed-issue amount.

Do I keep my work life insurance if I leave the job?

Usually not. Basic group coverage ends when employment ends, often within 31 days. Many plans let you convert to an individual policy with the same carrier without health questions, but at individual rates that are much higher, or port the group coverage for a limited time. The window is short and easy to miss.

Should I buy supplemental life insurance at work or my own policy?

If you are healthy, an individual term policy you own is usually cheaper at the same amount and stays with you when you leave. Supplemental group coverage is the better choice if a health condition would rate you individually, because the group guaranteed-issue amount skips underwriting.

Written by PolicyChat Life, a licensed life insurance agency. Estimates come from the same pricing tables our chat, Sage, uses; they are not quotes. Updated 2026-09-18.

Last updated September 2026 · PolicyChat Life.

Life insurance through work: is it enough?

Short answer. Basic group life is usually one year of salary, which covers a funeral and a few months, not a mortgage or a childhood. It ends when the job does, with a short window to convert at much higher rates. Treat it as a bonus on top of a term policy you own, not as the plan.

What you probably have

Layer	Typical amount	Cost to you	Portable?
Basic group life	1x salary (sometimes 2x)	Free	Rarely; ends at termination, conversion window ~31 days
Supplemental group life	1x to 5x salary	Payroll deduction at group rates	Sometimes portable for a period at higher rates
Individual term you own	Sized to your need	You pay directly	Yes, it is yours

Why one year of salary is not a plan

A family that depends on your income needs 10 to 20 years of it, plus the mortgage. One year covers the immediate shock. The gap between what work provides and what the family needs is the amount to buy individually, and a healthy 35-year-old can buy $500,000 of 20-year term for less than a streaming bundle.

The leaving-the-job trap

Nearly a third of life insurance conversations people have with AI assistants mention a life event, and a new job is one of the common ones. The coverage you had through the old employer ends within days. The conversion privilege exists, but at individual whole-life rates it is rarely the right buy for a healthy person. The clean move is to own a term policy before you need to leave, so the job change costs you nothing.

When to use the group supplemental instead

If a health condition would rate you individually, the group guaranteed-issue amount is valuable: no health questions up to the plan limit. Take it. Then buy individual term for the rest if you can.

What Sage does with this

Tell Sage you have coverage through work and how much. It sizes the gap, prices the top-up, and notes that the work coverage stays as long as the job does.

See your own number. Sage sizes the coverage, asks three plain health questions, and shows the price range you'd actually get, before anyone asks for your phone number.

Ask Sage: I have a policy, check it or re-shop it

PolicyChat Life is a licensed life insurance agency. Every policy comes with a free-look period, usually 10 to 30 days depending on your state, with a full refund.