Life & accidental death and dismemberment insurance

Eligibility

Full and part-time benefit-eligible faculty and staff

Plan Administrator

University of Delaware, fully insured through MetLife

Who Can Use this Benefit

Benefits-eligible faculty and staff

Benefit

Basic:

Enrollment in Basic Group Life Insurance is mandatory. Employees may choose one of three options:

  • $10,000;
  • $50,000;
  • 2 times annual base salary (the maximum coverage is $1,000,000)

Optional:

New hires and newly benefited employees may enroll for coverage up to the lesser of: (1) 5 times base annual salary; or (2) $500,000, without a Statement of Health (SOH) if they enroll within 30 days of their benefits eligibility date. Enrollments outside of the 30-day enrollment period will require a SOH. Current participants requesting an increase greater than 1 times base annual salary will be required to provide a SOH.

Cost

Basic:

Basic life insurance is a University paid, pre-tax benefit. The University’s contribution for basic life insurance equals the cost of the 2 times salary option.

Imputed Income: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations state that the value of any employer-provided group insurance in excess of $50,000 is taxable income. Visit IRS website for more information.

Optional:

Optional Life insurance must be elected as a multiple of base annual salary, and premiums are deducted from your pay on an after-tax basis.  The premiums are age-graded, so as your salary and/or age increase, your premiums will also increase.

Additional Resources

Visit the MetLife Employee Portal to view your life insurance coverage and beneficiary designations.

Beneficiary Designations must be submitted to (and are maintained by) the provider, MetLife.

Any election to reduce life insurance coverage (already in place) must be done in writing. Please contact MetLife by calling 866-492-6983.

Will Preparation Service is available for employees who are enrolled in the optional employee life insurance plan through MetLife.

MetLife Life Insurance Summary

Separation from the University

Group life insurance is canceled on the employee's separation date, except that the full amount or a portion thereof may be ported or converted to an individual non-group policy within 31 days of the separation date. In addition, University retirees have a one-time opportunity at retirement to continue term life insurance at group rates. All forms pertinent to this program, including conversion forms and beneficiary change forms, are available from MetLife.