Six Things IEEE Members Should Know About Group Term Life Insurance

Term life affordably protects your loved ones, especially during your high earning years and the high spending inherent in raising a family

4 min read

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As a technology professional, you’re astute and pay close attention to detail. Chances are that this attention to detail has extended to taking steps to ensure that your loved ones are financially prepared should the unimaginable happen. Often, you are provided with life insurance as a part of your employment package. However, term life affordably protects your loved ones, especially during your high earning years and the high spending inherent in raising a family. Here are six things you should know about term life insurance, including how it now may be faster and easier to access.

Group Term Life Insurance — What It Is

Group term life insurance guarantees the payment of the amount of coverage upon the death of the insured, during a specified term. When the term expires, the policy can be renewed until age 99, or allowed to expire. Typically, term life insurance is purchased to cover major expenses immediately and provide high coverage while being affordable enough to budget easily.

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The Staggering Realities — Why Term Life is Important

Term life insurance helps to protect your growing family when it would be very difficult for all of the expenses to be covered by your spouse without causing major upheaval. According to the Economic Policy Institute, as of March 2018, a two-parent, two-child family in the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metro area costs $10,758 per month ($129,092 per year) to secure a modest yet adequate standard of living. This does not include higher education, family vacations and much in the way of entertainment.

Given the higher incomes earned by many IEEE members, the $130,000 estimate is very modest.

How Term Life Fits

Term life insurance helps provide a safety net that can be used for many reasons beyond your children’s education. It pays off your mortgage so that your family can remain in the same house and neighborhood. It provides an emergency fund, giving your spouse time to adjust and to continue on with his or her career. It also provides for the long-term future of your spouse, providing retirement funds that would be less, given that you would no longer be there to contribute. It may also be used to pay for a daughter’s wedding, credit card debt, student loans and more.

I’m Too Busy for a Medical Exam

Too busy? Then you may be in luck. A medical exam is often required. It takes time to set it up, get the exam and then wait for results. The application process to attain term insurance is not only held up by the medical exam requirement, it can take as long as 30 days to get approval for the policy from the insurance company. Since you move at breakneck speed to do your job, tend to your family and enjoy your life — the application process may seem too long. Now, there’s a new application tool for the IEEE Member Group Term Life Insurance Plan that may speed the process up for you.

Quick Decisions All Around

IEEE, New York Life Insurance Company and Mercer Consumer, a service of Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC* (“Mercer Consumer”) recently launched QuickDecisionSM — a secure, fast and easy way to apply online for Group Term Life coverage.

The QuickDecisionSM Group Term Life Online Tool enables IEEE members under age 65 to apply for amounts up to $500,000 in IEEE Member Group Term Life Insurance. Compared with yesterday’s application process, QuickDecisionSM features:

  • No medical exam or lab work required — just answer some health questions and other information
  • Receive notification TODAY if you are approved for term life insurance coverage up to $500,000
  • The process is handled conveniently and securely online

If you are not approved for coverage under the QuickDecisionSM guidelines or would like to apply for benefit amounts over $500,000, you may still obtain coverage through the online process, which may require medical exams or other information. QuickDecisionSM is not available to residents of Montana, Virginia and Puerto Rico. These residents can still apply online for term life insurance and will be contacted for all of the necessary information.

What Does This Mean for You?

By answering a few questions online, you can have the peace of mind that you’ve taken care of your family. The IEEE Member Group Term Life Insurance Plan provides a convenient, fast and affordable way to supplement your current life coverage. There’s no need to get bogged down in research — IEEE has already done the homework for you. You can rest assured that you are working with trusted professionals offering competitive group rates. There are approximately 35,000 IEEE members and their families using IEEE Member Group Term Life Insurance Plan.

For more than 55 years, IEEE has worked with Mercer Consumer to sponsor a group insurance program that provides the high quality, competitive cost, superior convenience and wide variety IEEE members have come to expect from products sponsored by IEEE.

What it comes down to is that we typically prioritize what is most important to us. We also tend to think that we have all the time in the world to make plans, especially when we are young. It takes only a few minutes to apply using the QuickDecisionSM Tool for Term Life Insurance. Click here to get started now.** 

Details included in this article relate to U.S. IEEE Member Group Insurance Program. If you have questions about insurance services provided in Canada (excluding Quebec) for the Canada IEEE Member Group Insurance Program, please visit IEEEinsurance.com/canada.

*Mercer Consumer is a registered trade name of Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC.

**Including features, costs, eligibility, renewability, limitations and exclusions.

The IEEE Member Group Insurance Program is administered by:

Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC

12421 Meredith Drive

Urbandale, IA 50398

The IEEE Member Group Term Life Insurance Plan is available in the U.S. (except territories), Puerto Rico and Canada (except Quebec). Underwritten by New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010 on Policy Form GMR.

In CA d/b/a Mercer Health & Benefits Insurance Services LLC

AR Insurance License #100102691 | CA Insurance License #0G39709

84842 (9/18) Copyright 2018 Mercer LLC. All rights reserved.

The Conversation (3)
Thomas Ernst
Thomas Ernst04 Sep, 2021
LM

I would not recommend IEEE life insurance. I’ve had a policy for over 20 years but now that I am reaching the point in my life where I might need the benefits, I can not get what I need from Mercer. I need a form to apply for the accelerated death benefit but after 6 tries they have still failed to send me the form. We also asked for a copy of the actual certificate that shows the policy face value and the beneficiary but nothing so far. I have 6 identical sets of paperwork, all missing the info we called to get. Someone from IEEE needs to look into this. I would really love to communicate with someone not from Mercer.

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