Do I need life insurance if I have it through work?
Work coverage is a start, not the whole answer. It is sized in single years of pay, and it ends when the job ends.
Written by William Litner, FCAS. Last updated November 3, 2026. Numbers: this site's DIME math, worked on a made-up family, in the open below.
- Work coverage is a start, not the whole answer: it is sized in single years of pay, and it ends when the job ends.
- Most work plans pay one or two times your salary, and that is the whole amount, not a per-year amount.
- One made-up family: $72,000 of work coverage fills about 5 percent of a $1,352,000 total need, leaving a $1,260,000 gap.
What work coverage really is
One or two years of pay
Most work plans pay one or two times your salary. That is the whole amount, not a per-year amount.
It ends with the job
Quit, retire, or lose the job, and the coverage stops. It belongs to the job, not to you.
Keeping it costs more
Some plans let you keep the coverage if you pay the full price yourself. Many do not offer the choice at all.
No exam to enroll
Work plans usually enroll you with no exam. That ease is real. It is also why the amounts stay small.
Worked once, against a real gap
Ana earns $72,000. Her job provides coverage of one year of pay: $72,000.
Their four lines
Debts: $9,000. Income: $72,000 times 14 years is $1,008,000. Mortgage: $285,000. School: $50,000. The lines add to $1,352,000.
Their gap
Minus $20,000 saved and the $72,000 of work coverage, the gap is $1,260,000. The work coverage fills about 5 percent of the total need.
The gap has a name
A benefit, not a plan
Coverage through a job has a name: group coverage. The job offers it to the whole group at once, as a benefit of working there. A benefit is not a plan. A plan is coverage you own yourself. It is sized to your family's gap. It stays when the job changes.
Ana's numbers show the size of that difference. Her benefit is one year of pay: $72,000. Her need holds fourteen years of pay, plus debts, the mortgage, and school: $1,352,000 in all. The benefit is real. The gap after it is $1,260,000.
Take these six questions with you. They are the same list the Check result gives you.
☐ Ask your job what coverage it gives.
☐ How did you size my coverage?
☐ What kind fits my need, and why?
☐ What does it cost each month?
☐ What happens if I change jobs?
☐ Can I keep this if I leave work?
Write the answers down before you sign.
Plain questions, plain answers
Common questions
Is life insurance through work enough?
For most families with kids or a mortgage, no. Work coverage is commonly one or two years of pay. A gap built from many years of pay, debts, and a mortgage runs far larger.
What happens to work coverage when I change jobs?
It ends with the job. Some plans let you keep it by paying the full price yourself. Many do not. Coverage you own yourself stays with you.
My work gives me two times my pay. Is that a plan?
It is a bigger benefit, with the same shape. For Ana, two times pay is $144,000. Her four lines still add to $1,352,000. Minus $20,000 saved and the $144,000 of work coverage, the gap is $1,188,000. The bigger benefit fills about 11 percent of the need, and it still ends with the job.
Want your own kind and size?
Five plain questions. About 2 minutes. No email. No signup. Nothing is sold here.