Determining Your Eligibility Class

If you have been offered group life insurance through your company or online tax advisor, then you will be placed in a certain class level. Not everyone who works for the company will be eligible for group insurance in some instances. Contractors, for example, may not be eligible and you also may not be eligible if you have a pre existing condition. However, this all depends on the circumstances surrounding your group life insurance policy.

Determining your eligibility class comes down to answering a few questions to see where you stand and whether or not you are insurable. In most instances, if you are in general good health and if you work for the company for a certain amount of hours per week, then you and your dependent children and spouse should be eligible for group coverage. The best way to find out for sure is to speak to an insurance representative that can help you navigate through the class definitions and determine where you stand.

Group Life Insurance Eligibility

Most companies will have different types of life insurance for their employees. For example, you may be eligible for basic life insurance, for supplemental or beneficiary life insurance or for core life insurance depending on how many hours you work, whether you have children and on what wage you are currently on. Keep in mind different companies have different names for the eligibility classes. For example, a full policy may be called 'basic' 'full' or 'complete' coverage while a part time benefit package may be classified as a 'mid level' or 'casual' benefit program to name a few terms.

There are several factors that make up your eligibility class. Every insurance provider is different in terms of the specific numbers but, in general, to be eligible for group insurance you will need to work a certain amount of time with the company. This can be full time or part time and normally means at least 20 hours a week or 2 1/2 normal working days. You may also need to have worked for the company for a certain amount of time, such as one year or through the probation period in order to get full time benefits.

How much you make per year will also impact your eligibility class as well as your position in the company. For example, if you are an intern then you may not receive any benefits until you become a full time employee. If you are on a temporary work relief then you may be offered partial benefits which can include some benefits but not all of them.

It is important to know what type of eligibility class you have when you are looking into group life insurance. If you are not covered for everything then it might be a good idea to also take out another policy to pay for additional coverage just in case. Some plans will include accidental death, medical benefits while others do not. Think about your specific needs as well as your families need. Life insurance is meant to protect your family fully and some group life insurance policies are simply not substantial enough to do so without supplemental protection from another policy.

The easiest way to go about determining your eligibility class for group life insurance is to speak to an insurance provider or the representative from your company. They can help you fill in any forms and determine what class you will be in and if you are eligible for group coverage. If not, then you may wish to take out additional coverage until you do become eligible for full time coverage or your circumstances change.

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