What is Salary Protection and is it right for you?

The very best time to buy life insurance is, of course, right now. But the second-best time could be during open enrollment at work, when you’re already getting your financial house in order by making decisions about health care, 401Ks and other benefits. While that timing is convenient, the life insurance policies available through an employer have traditionally offered less coverage than you might need, typically maxing out at one or two times your salary. But that’s about to change, thanks to Salary Protection, a new (and very straightforward) product sold by trusted life insurance agency, Haven Life.

Salary Protection can be purchased entirely online through participating benefits enrollment programs. It’s a term life insurance policy, issued by MassMutual subsidiary C.M. Life, that pays an employee’s beneficiary an amount equal to their paycheck every month — for up to 15 years — if they were to pass away during the coverage period.

You’ll see Salary Protection alongside other term life insurance options available through your benefits provider. Here are some important (and useful) ways it differs from the open enrollment competition.

It’s portable

Unlike many life insurance policies you get through your employer, this one is what we in the business call “portable” — it goes where you go, even if you change jobs. (Some other policies are technically “portable,” but they require a fee, or even an additional exam, for you to keep the coverage if you change jobs.) Even if you take on a new challenge in your work life, you should still have protection for your life-life.

It’s recession-proof

Given the ups and downs of the job market this year, this is important: If you lose your job, you will still keep your Salary Protection, as long as you maintain your monthly payments. This is obviously great if your career hits a bump in the road, but it’s also useful if you choose to leave your current job and want to take your time finding the next one, or if you decide to go and start your own business. Whatever happens, you keep your coverage.

There’s no medical exam

Haven Life has already made life insurance exceptionally easy and quick, and Salary Protection is no exception. Everything is done digitally, and there’s no need for a medical exam. (Just know that issuing the policy or paying its benefits depends on your insurability, based on your answers to the health questions in the application, so your truthfulness is key here.) You can sign up instantly using your employer’s benefits portal. It is, if we say so ourselves, an amazingly convenient way to get coverage.

It offers an easy-to-manage, monthly payout

Traditional life insurance pays out a lump sum (the “death benefit”) when the policy holder dies — in short, your beneficiaries receive the full value of your policy, all at once. (Typically tax-free.) Salary Protection takes a more gradual approach, replacing your salary over a number of years.

We’re guessing that income is vital to your family’s financial stability, and Salary Protection is designed to mirror that stability when your loved ones need it most. If you were to pass away during the term length, your loved ones will receive your monthly salary as a death benefit for a minimum of five years. Here’s how it works: if your salary is $5,000 per month, and you died in year two of a 15-year term policy, your loved ones will receive $5,000 a month for 13 years. Or, if you were to pass away 13 years into having the policy, your loved ones would receive $5,000 per month for the minimum time frame of five years.

A decade of financial protection for just a few dollars per month, plus a few minutes of your time during open enrollment? We’re no math wizards, but that makes a lot of sense to us. (Update: Our actuaries inform us that many members of our team are, actually, math wizards.)