What is optional life insurance?

Asked by: Prof. Micheal Waelchi II  |  Last update: May 6, 2025
Score: 4.5/5 (8 votes)

Optional Term Life Insurance provides additional coverage — up to two times your annual salary when you retired (Election 1 or 2). Maximum coverage is $400,000. The monthly premium is based on your coverage election, your salary and your age. Coverage begins to decrease when you reach age 70.

Is optional life insurance worth it?

Even if you don't have a family dependent on you, there are many reasons why you should consider taking out an optional life insurance policy. Several unexpected costs arise after death such as funeral expenses and burial costs, medical expenses, and other costs that normally rise into the tens of thousands of dollars.

What does optional mean in insurance?

As the term suggests, optional insurance is insurance that you can choose to have. This means you are not legally obliged to take out the insurance, but in most cases, it's probably recommended as it might help you save money in the long run.

How does optional employee life insurance work?

Voluntary life insurance is a type of employer-provided life insurance that employees can opt into if they choose. In most cases, employees will pay scheduled premiums to keep the policy active. Sometimes, it can come directly from the employee's paycheck.

Can you borrow from optional life insurance?

Yes, you can borrow against your life insurance policy if the plan you choose has cash value. Cash value is a portion of your life insurance payment put into a savings-like account that grows tax-free over time.

What Is Optional Life Insurance? - InsuranceGuide360.com

43 related questions found

What is the cash value of a $10,000 life insurance policy?

Say, for example, that you purchase an insurance policy with a face value of $10,000. Once the policy matures, the cash value of the policy should equal $10,000.

What is basic life vs optional life insurance?

Basic life and basic AD&D is employer paid. Optional Life and optional AD&D is employee paid. In addition to purchasing optional life and AD&D for themselves, employees may also choose to purchase optional life and AD&D for their eligible dependents.

Can you cash out voluntary life insurance?

You can cash out a life insurance policy. How much money you get for it will depend on the amount of cash value held in it. If you have, say $10,000 of accumulated cash value, you would be entitled to withdraw up to all of that amount (less any surrender fees). At that point, however, your policy would be terminated.

What do optional benefits mean?

Optional Benefits means those District-approved insurance programs optionally available to employees outside the Basic Benefits programs, including short-term disability, additional individual life, long-term care, pre-paid legal, and cancer insurance programs, which are not Basic Benefits as described in Section 7.2.

What is optional dependent life insurance?

Life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance can provide financial security for your beneficiaries in the event of your terminal illness or death. The Dependent Life Insurance Plan is a voluntary, employee-paid group term life insurance plan in which you can elect coverage for your eligible dependents.

What insurance is optional?

Comprehensive and collision are also common types of car insurance coverage, though no state requires them. These optional coverages pay for damages to your car due to fire, theft, vandalism, animal strikes, acts of nature, glass breakage, and collisions.

What does optional claiming mean?

"Optional claiming race" means a contest restricted to horses entered to be claimed for a stated claiming price and to those which have started previously for that claiming price or less.

What is optional vs voluntary life insurance?

Both kinds of coverage are offered through the workplace. Basic employee life insurance only provides a specific amount of coverage, but it is paid for by the employer at no cost to you; voluntary life insurance is optional coverage that you pay for.

What is optional insurance policy?

Optional Insurance means mortgage/credit life insurance, accidental death insurance, disability insurance, unemployment insurance or any similar optional insurance covering a Mortgagor for which premiums are collected by the Subservicer.

Do you really get money from life insurance?

Life insurance benefits are typically paid when the insured party dies. Beneficiaries file a death claim with the insurance company along with a certified copy of the death certificate. Many states allow insurers 30 days to review the claim, after which they can pay it out, deny it, or ask for additional information.

At what point should you stop buying life insurance?

You may not need life insurance in retirement if you're debt-free, have prepaid your final expenses, and don't want to leave a larger inheritance. If you own cash-value life insurance, consider any tax consequences before canceling the policy.

How does optional Term Life Insurance work?

Optional Term Life Insurance provides additional coverage, including AD&D coverage, up to four times your annual salary (Election 1, 2, 3 or 4). Maximum coverage is $400,000. The monthly premium is based on your coverage election, your salary and your age. Coverage begins to decrease when you reach age 70.

What does optional cover mean in insurance?

This is where optional benefits in Term Insurance come into play. These optional benefits provide additional coverage that can enhance your policy coverage and provide financial security to your loved ones in case of critical illness, disability, or accidental death.

Which of the following are examples of optional health benefits?

Optional benefits include services including prescription drugs, case management, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

How long does voluntary life insurance last?

Voluntary whole life insurance is a type of permanent insurance, in which the policy doesn't expire as long as premiums are paid. A portion of the premium goes into a cash value account that accumulates value over time. The policyholder can borrow against or withdraw from the cash value at any time.

What is the cash value of a $25,000 life insurance policy?

Examples of Cash Value Life Insurance

An example is a cash value life insurance policy with a $25,000 death benefit. Assuming you don't take out a loan or withdraw, the cash value accumulates to $5,000. After the policyholder's death, the insurance company would pay out the full death benefit, which would be $25,000.

How much tax will I pay if I cash out my life insurance?

Is life insurance cash value taxable? Fortunately, the cash value of life insurance grows tax-free. This means that, in many cases, you won't have to worry about paying taxes on it.

Can you keep life insurance when you retire?

Yes, you can keep your existing basic life insurance coverage if you meet all of the following conditions: You're enrolled in basic life insurance under the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program when you retire. You haven't converted your life insurance coverage to an individual policy.

What is optional life insurance MetLife?

OPTIONAL DEPENDENT LIFE INSURANCE

Provides coverage for: • Your Spouse • Child(ren) from 14 days of age up to 19 (to age 25 if wholly dependent upon you for maintenance and support and if enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited school or college).

What is the purest form of life insurance?

A term life insurance policy is the simplest, purest form of life insurance. You pay a premium for a period of time—typically 10 to 30 years—and if you die during that time, a cash benefit is paid to your family (or anyone else whom you name as your beneficiary).