For the first time ever, more Americans are covered by employment-based life insurance than by individual life insurance, according to the LIMRA study, “Employment-Based Life Insurance Ownership Trends (2017).”
Currently, 108 million Americans have life insurance coverage through their workplace, compared with 102 million covered by individual life insurance, LIMRA reports. Over the past 50 years, the number of households covered by employment-based life has increased by 68 percent, to 57 million, while the number of people covered has nearly doubled, from 55 million to 108 million.
The number of Americans covered by employment-based life insurance will continue to grow gradually, as life insurance remains one of most important workplace benefits, Anita Potter, the study’s co-author and LIMRA’s assistant vice president, workplace benefits, tells Benefits Pro. Indeed, 73 percent of the 4,167 households surveyed by LIMRA believe employers should be offering life insurance to employees.
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Katie Kuehner-Hebert
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.
