A number of companies offer their workers employer-sponsored life insurance coverage, generally purchased through an outside insurance company, as part of the employee benefit package.

The employer does not take out a separate life insurance policy on each individual employee, but rather purchases a single group policy (subject to one group premium) that provides coverage for all employees who choose to participate.

This arrangement may have certain benefits for your employer (e.g., a tax deduction) and, more importantly from your perspective, can be a relatively inexpensive and hassle-free way to obtain some of the life insurance coverage you need. In some cases, an employer may go so far as to shoulder the entire cost of a group policy.

Even if you have to pay part of the group premium, the amount will probably be less than the premium you would pay if you bought a separate life insurance policy directly from an insurance company.

For the same reason, you generally don't have to submit to the medical exams, probing questions, and other screening processes that are often required when you apply for an individual life insurance policy. Insurance companies know that even if some of the individuals covered under a group policy are poor risks, the other members of the group will probably make up for it due to the law of averages.