In the popular voluntary benefits sector in the United States, where employers make insurance coverage available through group plans but 100% of the costs are paid by employees, nearly half of the premiums paid are for life insurance. Term, universal, and whole life insurance accounted for 47% of total in-force premiums at the end of 2013. These types of coverage accounted for 29% of all voluntary benefit sales in 2013.
These findings come from a recent report by the Eastbridge Consulting Group, which notes that term life insurance coverage alone accounted for 37% of in-force premiums and 22% of sales last year. In comparison, short and long term disability were the next most-popular types of coverage, accounting for 17% of in-force premiums and 21% of sales.
In life insurance, the Eastbridge report explains that the proportion of in-force premiums is higher than the percentage of sales because it has a higher rate of persistency than other types of coverage such as accident insurance. The results are based on a sample representing approximately 84% of the American market for voluntary benefit group insurance premiums.