Knowing that the future of their families is well-protected helps boost the productive drives of employees. Such securing and protection can be extended to them with a simple group life insurance plan. As an employer, you can improve employee satisfaction, boost their morale, and retain talent by extending a group insurance plan for your employees.
There are primarily two types of group insurance plans. Under the employer-employees variant, the employer of an organisation purchases the plan for her/his employees, while under the non-employer-employee variant, the members of a particular social or cultural group or members of a bank purchase a group policy together. The administrator purchases the policy on behalf of these members.
If you wish to purchase a group insurance plan for your employees, here’s what you need to know:
Functions of a Group Insurance Policy
Group life insurance policies are crafted to ensure that those covered under the policy remain financially protected from any unpredictable calamity. Thus, such plans perform the following functions:
Safety Net for an Employee’s Family-
You would want to ensure that your family is adequately provided for, even in your absence. The death benefit payout from such group life insurance plans helps achieve this by taking care of the member’s family, in the event of the individual’s untimely demise while in service.
Covering Outstanding Debts-
If anything untoward were to happen to you while you were still paying your home or car loan EMIs, your family would have to cover the rest. However, with a group plan in place, this problem of managing outstanding debts is also solved. The sum assured from such policies may help mitigate the outstanding debts of the deceased member.
Why Should You consider Opting for a Group Insurance Policy?
A group insurance plan is suitable for those seeking a comprehensive life insurance plan that can provide extensive coverage at scale while keeping premiums low. The coverage umbrella of such policies can be customised to offer a uniform or graded cover to all those included in the group that’s to be insured. This makes them suitable for corporate organisations, banks, associations, and financial institutions that wish to extend the benefits of a group life insurance cover to their employees and/or patrons.
Why Organisation Choose a Group Insurance Policy?
Constantly worrying about the financial stability of one’s family can take a toll on the individual’s work performance. However, with an employer-issued group insurance policy in place, most of these worries are effectively reduced, if not completely eliminated. Apart from ensuring the employees’ peace of mind, here’s why organisations opt for group life insurance plans:
Cost-Effective Option-
The lowered aggregated risk factor of a group life insurance plan keeps premiums low. Thus, opting for such plans is comparatively cheaper than purchasing single policies for employees.
Employee Retention-
Employees are valuable assets to any organisation. The benefit bundle they receive may determine if they stay with the organisation or migrate to a new one. Adding a group insurance policy for employees to benefit bundles helps companies retain their talent pools.
Higher Employee Satisfaction-
A satisfied employee is a hardworking one. By insuring the life of your employees with a group life plan, you show that you care about the financial future of their dependents. This may help improve their productive drives.
Easy Renewals and Claim Settlement Processes-
If you choose to cover your employees with a group life insurance policy, you forego the hassle of managing individual policies. Since the entire group is covered by a single policy, renewing, and managing policy documents becomes easy. Additionally, since insurance companies have dedicated claim management teams for such plans, claims filed under such plans are processed at a faster speed.
Tax Benefits- The premiums that you pay towards the group insurance policy for employees are eligible for tax deductions under Section 36 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 as per the provisions stated in the said act.
Things to Know Before Participating in a Group Insurance Plan
While a group insurance policy is a simple and effective way of boosting the morale of employees, securing their financial futures, and enjoying sizable tax rebates, certain things must be considered before opting for such a policy:
- Unlike individual life insurance plans that come with separate policy documents, a group life insurance plan consists of only a single master policy document that’s issued in the name of the group (for instance, the company in question).
- You can lose policy coverage benefits if you leave the group. This implies that leaving the organisation will terminate your coverage from the employer-issued group plan. For continued coverage in such cases, the insurer has to offer you an individual policy.
- All charges –including premiums, discounts, and management fees- and terms of the group insurance policy must be disclosed to those covered by the policy
- You will receive certificate of insurance when you’re a participant in a non-employer-employee group life plan. This certificate will contain outline information like the benefits of the policy, its premium rates and other terms and conditions.
Wrapping It Up
Group life insurance policies provide several advantages, from helping you support your family in your absence to ensuring that you have a pleasant retirement. Employers may choose between pure protection and group gratuity funds among, others to secure their workers' well-being, boost their talent pool retention capacity, and reap tax advantages. Having said that, it is always a good idea to contact a tax adviser before claiming any tax advantages in your income tax return.
BJAZ-WEB-EC-00850/22
