Do You Need to Compare FEGLI with Other Insurance Policies?
FEGLI (Federal Group Life Insurance) and other options
What Factors Should You Consider When Comparing FEGLI with other federal employee life insurance options?
Are you a federal employee or federal retiree and worried about the right insurance policy? Then here is a quick advice for you – compare FEGLI alternatives and don’t rely only on FEGLI. Due to FEGLI’s dramatic increase in price as a participant ages FEGLI is completely unaffordable for many federal and postal employees and retirees beyond a certain age. This is one of the reasons that you should compare your FEGLI optional coverage, especially, and search for a FEGLI replacement through a private market solution that locks in your prices over a 20-30 year timeframe.
Here are some of the factors that you should consider when comparing FEGLI with other insurance companies that can cover your financial needs at a substantially cheaper cost:
1. Health of the Insurance Company
One of the biggest factors that you should consider when choosing a life insurance company is health of the insurance company itself. FEGLI, for instance, is issued by MetLife Insurance Company, which would be considered by most to be a solid firm, but there are dozen of other firms with equal or greater credit quality and therefore worth a consideration. As you do your research, your should generally look for an Insurance company with an ‘A’ Rating or better. You should also look for an Insurance company with a financial professional network in your home State. There is nothing worse than having to sit on hold with an out of State (or possibly out of Country) call center after the death of a loved-one. The local financial professional will be able to be your primary point of contact both today, during your analysis and in the future should you need them.
2. Medical Underwriting or No Medical Underwriting
FEGLI has no medical underwriting – and that is a benefit to the FEGLI system… however, it is also one of the biggest detractions. No Underwriting means that if you have less than perfect health FEGLI (and other insurance policies without underwriting – there are QUITE a few) may grant you insurance despite your possible health concerns. The detraction, however, is that because unhealthy people can get the coverage, the insurance companies charge more for it – so if you are healthy, you can almost certainly find cheaper insurance through a ‘fully underwritten’ policy than having to pay the high priced FEGLI rates.
3. Federal Employee Life Insurance and Flexibility
FEGLI gives you some flexibility and a relatively broad array of coverage solutions for federal employees and retired workers. But due to cost considerations people would be smart to look for other options. When comparing insurance companies against FEGLI, you should keep in mind that a more flexible plan is often times more attractive than a one-size-fits-all inflexible approach. This is because, needs of people vary with their financial obligations. So it is wise to look for a range of coverage options which is flexible enough to suit your changing financial needs. An example of this might be to own both a term and a whole life policy, the term for a larger benefit today and the whole life for what might happen down the road – flexibility and the option of adjusting your plan as life goes on is oftentimes the best approach.
4. Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Advantages
When comparing FEGLI with other insurance provides, you should also keep in mind that FEGLI gives you benefits like accidental death & dismemberment. As you compare your FEGLI you should keep in mind that the coverage plan you are choosing over FEGLI should also give you similar advantages, if they are warranted for your individual circumstance.
For more information about FEGLI rates and other coverage plans, visit CompareFEGLI.com.