BrightHaven Insurance Group · October 28, 2026

The short answer: usually not on its own. Coverage through work is usually 1 to 2 times your salary, and it ends when the job does. It is a good floor, not a plan. The question is how much of your own to carry so a job change never leaves your family exposed.

Two problems with work coverage

  • It is usually small. One or two years of salary is gone fast if your family needs your income replaced for many years.
  • It ends with the job. Change jobs, get laid off or start a business, and the coverage goes with the job.

How much do you actually need?

Start with the years your family would need your income covered, add the mortgage and debts, add final costs, then subtract savings and coverage you already have. That is a starting number, not advice. The Month After on our life page does the arithmetic live, and an advisor sizes it for real.

Term or whole life?

Term covers you for a set period, say 20 years, and is usually the most affordable way to protect your family's income. Whole (permanent) life lasts your whole life and builds cash value you can borrow against. Which fits depends on your goal: pure protection, building value, or both.

Picture it

Your company offers life insurance at twice your salary, so you tick the box and move on. Two years later the company restructures and your job is gone, and the coverage goes with it. You are older now, and you are shopping for a policy at the moment you can least afford a surprise.

Now picture the other version. You kept the work coverage as a floor and added a term policy of your own, sized to your mortgage and the years until the kids are grown. When the job changed, your own policy did not. Your family's protection never depended on your employer.

What to do this benefits season

  • Keep the work coverage. It is a good floor.
  • Run your starting number in The Month After.
  • Subtract what work gives you. The difference is what your own policy should cover.

This is general education, not a guarantee of coverage. Approval, pricing and policy terms depend on the carrier, your state and underwriting.