Life insurance is one of the most important benefits available to you and offers a key source of financial protection and peace of mind. Life insurance plans.
McGill provides a basic benefit equal to 1x your salary. The plan also gives you the flexibility to purchase up to $1,000,000 in optional coverage.
Basic coverage
As an eligible employee, you are automatically covered under the McGill Basic Life Insurance Plan. The amount of coverage you receive depends on your age as outlined as follows:
Optional coverage
Depending on your personal circumstances, the basic coverage may provide all of the financial protection you need. If not, you may purchase optional coverage.
Again, the amount of coverage available under the optional plan depends on your age:
Optional contribution rates
Purchasing or increasing optional life insurance
Before selecting your coverage under the optional plan, there are a few things you might want to consider:
Are you currently supporting any dependents? A spouse? Children? Both? And to what degree do they depend on your income for financial security?
Do you require coverage above the basic benefit provided by McGill?
You will have to provide Evidence of Insurability for any requested increase in your Optional Life Insurance coverage.
What other sources of income are available to your survivors: personal insurance policies, mortgage insurance, survivor pension benefits, personal savings, investments, real estate? Will this income be enough?
If you are an active employee, under 65, you may purchase up to $100,000 in coverage under the Optional Life Insurance Plan without providing evidence of good health, provided you purchase your coverage within 60 days of first becoming eligible.
Why get life insurance policy
If you miss the 60-day window or you want to purchase optional coverage in excess of $100,000
If you miss the 60-day window, or you want to purchase optional coverage in excess of $100,000, you will have to provide what is known in the industry as Evidence of Insurability (EOI) — that is, proof of good health. In simplest terms, you must complete a comprehensive questionnaire (Evidence of Insurability form) and send it directly to the insurance carrier for review. Depending on the information provided in the questionnaire, the insurer may require you to undergo a physical examination or other medical tests (at the insurer's expense) before your application can be considered for approval.
You can obtain an Evidence of Insurability questionnaire directly from the Human Resources Service Centre by calling (514) 398-4747 or by sending an email request to hr.hr [at]. HR will complete the Policy Holder Statement section of the form and then forward it to you to complete and send directly to the insurance carrier.
You may apply to purchase optional coverage or increase current coverage, however, coverage will only take effect on the date you return to active work.
Decreasing or cancelling optional life insurance
What the plan does not cover (exclusions)
If you are retired (under 65 or 65+):
Designating a beneficiary
The life insurance benefit is paid out to your designated beneficiary in the event of your death. You can name one or more individuals to receive your Basic and Optional Life Insurance benefits, eg. spouse, estate, family member. When designating a beneficiary, you must indicate whether the designation is revocable or irrevocable. Plan members, please refer to the C hange of Beneficiary Form.
Revocable vs irrevocable beneficiary
Revocable: You can change a revocable beneficiary designation at any time.
Irrevocable: An irrevocable beneficiary designation can only be changed following a divorce, the death of the designated beneficiary, or if the designated beneficiary signs a waiver relinquishing their rights.
You can change your designation as long as you respect the laws governing the designation of beneficiaries.
In Quebec, the designation of a spouse, excluding a common-law spouse, as a beneficiary is irrevocable unless you check indicate that the designation is 'revocable'. An irrevocable can only be changed with your spouse's consent - unless the designation form specifies that the designation is "revocable."
If designating an individual as your beneficiary, please show all given names of the beneficiary and specify their relationship to you. This will ensure there will be no difficulty in identifying the proper person in the event of your death.
If naming more than one beneficiary, indicate the share (%) of the life insurance proceeds payable to each. If the respective share is not indicated, the life insurance proceeds will be paid in equal shares.
If naming your Estate, be sure that your will provides for the disposition of the life insurance proceeds.
If you do not designate a beneficiary
If you become disabled
Your coverage under the Basic and Optional Life Insurance Plans will continue while you are eligible to receive benefits under the Long Term Disability (LTD) Plan. Your coverage level will be based on your salary when you became disabled.
In addition, the cost will be "waived" while you are receiving LTD benefits — that is, you will not be required to pay for your coverage. This waiver will end if you:
are no longer totally disabled as defined in the LTD Plan
fail to provide proof of the disability as required by the insurer
fail to submit to an examination by a physician designated (and paid for) by the insurer
reach age 65 (or retire, if earlier)
are incarcerated for a criminal offence for which you are found guilty.
When coverage ends
Your coverage under the Basic and Optional Life Insurance Plans will end when:
Insurance providers
you leave McGill for whatever reason, other than retirement
you no longer qualify as an eligible employee.
In addition, your coverage under the optional plan will end if you fail to make the necessary premium payments.
If you leave the university before retirement
If you leave McGill before retirement and are under 65, you may convert your coverage (to a combined maximum of $200,000) to an individual policy. You must apply for coverage directly with the insurance carrier and pay the required premium within 31 days of your departure. If you die during this 31-day period, your beneficiary will receive the full value of your coverage, regardless of whether you apply for the conversion or not.
Converting your life insurance
The application form is available from the HR Service Centre ( hr.hr [at] or 514 398-4747), or can be printed from here: life insurance conversion form.
IMPORTANT! The 'Policyholder' section of the form must be completed by the HR Service Centre. You can send the completed and signed application form to the insurance carrier by email to assurancecollective [at] ia.ca.
In the event of your death
The life insurance benefit will be paid out to the beneficiary(ies) you have designated. You can confirm your beneficiaries on MINERVA using your PIN and McGill ID number. Go to Employee Menu, Benefits Menu and Your Benefits.
Comments
There are no comments for this post "Life insurance plans, Human Resources - McGill University". Be the first to comment...
Add Comment