As a general rule, people should not solely rely on employer-supplied life insurance to take care of their coverage needs. The small amount of free coverage that one receives through his or her job may entice some people to purchase a larger policy through the employer, taking advantage of initially low costs and automatically-paid premiums (the cost for the premium simply comes out of the employee’s paycheck). However, after doing some research and exploring what insurance companies have to offer, it becomes apparent that there is almost no reason to buy coverage through an employer. Oftentimes, there are much cheaper ways to acquire life insurance. For an individual who is young and in relatively good health, he or she can frequently get a lower rate than what the employer is offering. More importantly, while these low rates are locked in with individually purchased term life insurance, policies purchased through an employer tend to get exorbitantly expensive as one gets older. The amount of life insurance available through an employer is also a concern, since there often is a limit on how much insurance a person can buy through an employer. In the case of an individual with a family, his or her life insurance needs may end up going beyond what the employer is willing to offer, while individually purchased insurance doesn’t have such a limit Then there is the issue of the security of one’s life insurance. For the majority of jobs, life insurance is only guaranteed as long as the employee stays with the company. So, getting laid off or changing jobs will result in losing previously bought coverage. Depending on one’s new working situation, the policy they previously have may not be available (poorer health with age, lower limit set by new employer, etc.). The best course of action with regards to employer-supplied life insurance is to treat any free coverage given as a supplemental bonus, and rely on an individually-acquired policy to cover one’s primary life insurance needs.