November 30, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Features of life insurance plans
About three-quarters of employees with basic
life insurance in medium and large private establishments have double
indemnity coverage.
[Chart data—TXT]
With double indemnity, a life insurance plan provides additional
benefits in the event of accidental death or dismemberment. The double
indemnity benefit provides an additional amount often equal to the basic
life insurance benefit in the case of accidental death. A portion of the
life benefit is paid in the case of dismemberment.
Another common feature of employer-provided life insurance plans is the
availability of supplemental coverage. In 1997, 62 percent of employees
with life insurance could elect to increase the basic life plan’s
benefit amount; supplemental plans may be partially or fully employee
financed.
Also, life insurance plans are usually based on a multiple of earnings
formula or a flat dollar formula. The "multiple formula" benefit
is more prevalent—58 percent of employees with life insurance were in
plans that link the benefit amount to employees’ earnings, while 41
percent were in plans that provide a fixed benefit amount.
These data are from the BLS Employee Benefits
Survey. Figures in this article are for full-time employees in medium
and large private establishments. Learn more about life insurance in Employee
Benefits in Medium and Large Establishments, 1997, BLS Bulletin 2517 (PDF
804 K).
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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