Life Insurance Coverage
Basic
Basic Life Insurance is provided to employees at no charge. In the case of your death, your beneficiary will receive two and a half times your salary up to a $50,000 benefit maximum. The Basic Life Plan is provided free of charge.
The basic life insurance benefit does include benefits for accidental death and dismemberment, however there are some limitations regarding when benefits are payable for accidental death and dismemberment.
Full details of the basic life insurance plan, including eligibility and benefit limits and exclusions, are included in the group life certificate of insurance.
Supplemental Life Insurance
You can only enroll in Supplemental Life Insurance every year during open enrollment. Once you enroll in Supplemental Life Insurance, your coverage remains the same from year to year unless you change it. You may increase, decrease or discontinue your coverage every year during open enrollment. You may change your coverage during the year if necessary due to a change in family status such as marriage, divorce or adoption. In these cases, contact the Benefits Office for enrollment information.
Supplemental Life Insurance is eligible for accelerated benefits. This means you can collect a percentage of your benefit if you are deemed to be terminally ill with twelve months or fewer to live as indicated by a physician. Your Supplemental Life Insurance has no savings or cash-value benefit. The supplemental life plan does contain some exclusions, such as limits to when benefits are payable due to a suicide.
Dependent Life Insurance
With Dependent Life Insurance, you may choose to cover your spouse and children at a low, group premium. Premiums for Dependent Life are blended, meaning you pay one flat premium regardless of the number of family members you cover. There are three levels of Dependent Life from which to choose:
- Option 1: $5,000 of coverage for your spouse with $2,000 of coverage for each child, or
- Option 2: $10,000 of coverage for your spouse with $5,000 of coverage for each child, or
- Option 3: $20,000 of coverage for your spouse with $10,000 for each child
- Spouse or Domestic Partner
- Unmarried Children, from live birth to the attainment of age 26. Coverage may be extended for children who are physically or mentally incapable of self-support. See plan certificate for details.
You must notify the university when a dependent is no longer eligible for coverage. All premiums paid for dependents who are no longer eligible for coverage will be refunded without any payment of a life insurance benefit.
Once you enroll in Dependent Life Insurance, your coverage remains the same from year to year unless you change it. You may increase, decrease or discontinue your coverage every year during open enrollment. You may change your coverage during the year if necessary due to a change in family status such as marriage, divorce or adoption. In these cases, contact the Benefits Office for enrollment information.
When you enroll in Dependent Life Insurance, you automatically become the beneficiary. Dependent Life Insurance is not eligible for accelerated benefits, nor does it have any savings or cash-value benefit.
Beneficiaries
Life insurance beneficiaries may be updated at any time using MPI: Benefits Self Service. A beneficiary can be any individual(s). NOTE: You may also name trusts, estates or other non-individuals, as well as individuals for which you do not have a Social Security Number (SSN), however, these must be documented on a paper Beneficiary Form [PDF]. Please download, complete and return to:
Ohio University Benefits
Grosvenor Hall 324
1 Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
Questions regarding this process? email benefits@ohio.edu