HCA Employee Life Insurance: What You Need to Know
Life insurance often plays a vital role in financial planning. Financial plans are forward-looking and consist of the steps that will be taken between the present and the future in order to achieve a specific objective or goal. In the event of an untimely passing, life insurance can step in and fill the gap. One benefit available to all full-time HCA employees is an employee life insurance policy. Additionally, employees have the opportunity to buy supplemental life insurance on top of the coverage provided by HCA.
Policy Details
Employees are provided coverage that amounts to 1x their salary at no cost to them. Provided that the employee enrolls at their first opportunity, they are guaranteed certain coverage without having to provide evidence of insurability (EOI). If an employee fails to enroll at the first opportunity and needs to show EOI when enrolling later, they will be asked to demonstrate that they are in reasonably good health and have no pre-existing condition that could lead to premature death.
Additional insurance is available through a supplemental plan that employees may purchase. This plan allows them to be insured for some multiple of their annual salary (up to 8x) if they are able to show EOI. Those who choose to enroll may also purchase a dependent life insurance policy on a spouse as long as it doesn’t exceed 50% of their employee coverage (note: the dependent will also need to show EOI).
Integrating Employee Life Insurance
There are some important things to remember about employee life insurance.
First, while many of the policies are portable, they are often forced to be converted to a whole life policy upon leaving their employer. That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, but if the employee’s new employer offers a similar employee insurance program, it often makes sense to enroll in the new program instead of converting the old policy to a whole life policy and paying premiums out of pocket.
Second, for most employees, 1x salary is not sufficient to sustain their overall financial plan in the event of their untimely death. The coverage is certainly helpful, but it is rarely sufficient. Before purchasing a supplemental policy offered by their employer, employees would be wise to shop around and see what the cost comparison would be if they obtained coverage on their own. In either case, the employee will be asked to provide EOI. While the company coverage is typically cheaper, part of the premium paid on an individual policy is for the autonomy and absolute portability that an individual policy provides.
When considering how an employee life insurance policy fits into an individual’s financial plans, current debts, future expenditures, and the ability of dependents to provide meaningful income for themselves must be taken into account. For those with individual policies in addition to their work policy, it may make sense to evaluate the current individual coverage as well as planned increases. It’s a best practice to make sure that an employee’s advisors (CPAs, insurance agents, financial planners, etc.) are aware of all of the employee’s insurance policies so they can evaluate the total coverage needed and see how the HCA employee life insurance plan fits into the big picture.
Employee life insurance is a wonderful benefit that HCA provides at no cost to its employees. It can easily be integrated into a holistic financial plan to ensure that HCA employees are well-prepared for whatever the future holds.
If you have questions about your life insurance coverage and how it fits into your overall financial plan, we can help. Schedule a complimentary call today.