Protecting Those We Love

“Protecting Those We Love: The Role of Life Insurance in Financial Wellness” examines trends in life insurance ownership, such as the lack of adequate coverage among those who only have life insurance through work, the financial impact of insufficient coverage when tragedy strikes, and the role life insurance plays in protecting a household’s financial wellness. This report is the last in a three-part Financial Wellness research series, based on findings from Guardian’s 7th Annual Workplace Benefit Study.

Research Highlights:

Some 45 million working Americans do not own life insurance, including nearly 10 million with dependent children.

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Unless otherwise noted, the source of all information is Guardian’s 7th Annual Workplace Benefits Study (2019), Protecting Those We Love.

The Role of Life Insurance in Financial Wellness

45 million

At least six in 10 life insurance owners are underinsured, but mistakenly believe they have enough coverage.

Among those whose spouse was a primary wage earner and had no life insurance, Eight in 10 people whose spouse passed away but had no life insurance say they have not yet fully recovered financially from their spouse’s death.

In America, 75% of households that experience the premature death of a primary wage earner without life insurance report that they are living paycheck to paycheck.

75%

The report concludes with four areas of suggested steps employers can take to better protect workers and their families:

Raise awareness about the critical role of life insurance when a household’s main breadwinner dies prematurely, as well as the other important uses of life insurance in estate planning, tax planning and paying off debt.

Offer educational tools and support to help workers determine how much life insurance they need, given their household’s current assets and annual income, expenses, debt, number of dependents, etc.

Evaluate the life insurance benefits currently offered and consider changes or additional coverage that would be most beneficial to and valued by the workforce.

Provide workers with information about and/or access to life insurance options available outside the workplace, so they can obtain the most appropriate coverage for their specific situation.