Life Insurance Benefits
Life Insurance is a benefit that provides a sum of money if the person who is insured dies while the policy is in effect. The life insurance benefits are provided by The Standard Insurance Company. The State of Montana offers five plans of coverage: 1) Basic Life, 2) Dependent Life, 3) Supplemental Employee Life, 4) Supplemental Spouse Life, and 5) Optional Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D). The Basic Life Plan is a core benefit for all eligible employees. Supplemental life insurance and AD&D are available for employees, spouses, domestic partners, and dependents. AD&D provides a sum of money if the insured dies or suffers dismemberment as the result of an accident.
The life insurance plans are term life, meaning they provide inexpensive protection but do not accrue any cash value. A member is eligible to carry all life plans until termination or retirement. At termination, no life plans may be continued through COBRA. At retirement, only Basic Life can be continued until age 65 or Medicare eligible. It’s usually best to choose other life insurance if you want post-employment protection. However, conversion to a higher-cost individual plan is available if requested at the time life coverage terminates.
Some life insurance plans offered by the state require proof of good health or evidence of insurability (EOI). EOI is an application to an insurance plan for coverage involving submission of medical information and documentation required by the plan to determine if the applicant meets plan requirements for enrollment.
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Life Insurance Plans
This plan provides $14,000 of term-life coverage. It is a core (required) benefit for state employees and non-Medicare eligible retirees who continue state benefits. Basic Life coverage is automatic provided you are eligible and enrolled in the State Plan.
Supplemental Employee Life requires proof of good health or EOI in some cases. Newly eligible employees may receive coverage of one time their annual salary (rounded to the next highest multiple of $5,000) without EOI and approval from the insurer if they enroll within the 31-day initial enrollment period. Additional coverage and late enrollment requires EOI and life insurance company approval.
This plan offers an insurance minimum of your annual salary rounded to the next highest $5,000. Supplemental Employee Life coverage is automatically adjusted in $5,000 increments as the employee’s salary increases. Additional amounts are available in $5,000 increments, up to $500,000.
Click here to review the Optional Life Booklet
Supplemental Spouse Life – Plan D
This plan offers insurance on your spouse’s life. The employee must be enrolled in Supplemental Employee Life (Plan C) for their spouse to be eligible for Supplemental Spouse Life (Plan D). Coverage is available for a minimum of $5,000. Additional amounts are available in $5,000 increments, up to the amount of the employee's coverage under Supplemental Employee Life. Supplemental Spouse Life requires you to submit evidence of insurability (EOI) on your dependent spouse and receive approval by the life insurance company before the coverage will take effect.
Click here to view the AD&D Booklet
Monthly Payment for Benefits
| Insurance Plan | Payment for Benefits |
| Basic Life | $2.10 |
| Dependent Life | $0.52 |
| Optional Employee Life | (Age Rate)x (every $1,000 of coverage) |
| Optional Spouse Life | (Age Rate)x (every $1,000 of coverage) |
| Accidental Death & Dismemberment (Employee Only) | $0.20/$1,000 of coverage |
| Accidental Death & Dismemberment (Employee plus dependents) | $0.30/$1,000 of coverage |
Monthly life insurance costs for supplemental employee and supplemental spouse life are based on the employee's age, as follows.
| Employee's Attained Age | Monthly Rate per $1,000 of Coverage |
| Under 30 | $.03 |
| 30 - 34 | $.05 |
| 35 - 39 | $.08 |
| 40 - 44 | $.10 |
| 45 -49 | $.15 |
| 50 - 54 | $.23 |
| 55 - 59 | $.43 |
| 60 - 64 | $.66 |
| 65+ | $.98 |
Beneficiary Designation
When you enroll in the core life insurance or supplemental life insurance benefits, you will be asked to designate one or more beneficiaries. You may designate one or more primary beneficiaries, plus one or more first contingent and second contingent beneficiaries.
Beneficiary designations may be changed at any time and should be kept current. Current beneficiary designations are on file with your agency payroll office. You can update your beneficiaries by completing a Life Insurance Enrollment/Change form and returning it to your agency payroll contact.
Claiming Benefits
Payment will be made to the insured's beneficiary for the amount of approved life insurance as of the date of the insured's death. In order to receive payment of benefits, the beneficiary will need to obtain a Certified Copy of the Death Certificate and mail it to:
Michele Jones
Health Care Benefits Division
PO Box 200130
Helena, MT 59620
Upon receipt of the Certified Copy of the Death Certificate, we will obtain the Life Insurance Enrollment/Change form from the employing agency to determine the beneficiary (or beneficiaries) and submit the death claim to the Administrator, the Standard Insurance Company. Beneficiaries will receive a check via Certified Mail approximately two weeks after we receive the Certified Copy of the Death Certificate. Proceeds from the State's life insurance are not taxable.
Waiver of Employee Contribution (Payment for Benefits)
An employee enrolled in the State Plan, who becomes totally and permanently disabled before the age of 60, may be eligible to continue some life insurance coverage under the State benefit plan to age 65 without further contributions. A waiver of contributions claim must be filed and required documentation submitted to the Standard Insurance Company within 12 months of the date you stopped active work. If you become totally and permanently disabled, please contact the Health Care and Benefits Division at (406) 444-7462 or (800) 287-8266 (outside Helena) for more information.
Accelerated Benefit Option
Employees with life insurance coverage may receive during their lifetime a portion of thier elected life insurance amount as an accelerated benefit if they meet the following eligibility requirements.
Eligibility
To qualify, the covered employee must:
- Qualify for waiver of contribution (described above);
- Give satisfactory proof of having a qualifying medical condition - a qualifying medical condition means you are terminally ill as a result of an illness or physical condition which is reasonably expected to result in death within 12 months.
- Have at least $10,000 of Insurance in effect.
The Standard Insurance Company may require a medical exam to verify eligibility.
Application
You must apply for the Accelerated Benefit. Contact the Health Care and Benefits Division at (406) 444-7462 or (800) 287-8266 (outside Helena) to apply for this benefit.
Amount of Benefit
A qualified individual may receive an accelerated benefit of up to 75% of their insurance coverage (not including accidental death and dismemberment), not to exceed $500,000. The minimum accelerated benefit is the greater of $5,000 or 10% of insurance coverage. If the amount of coverage is scheduled to reduce within 12 months of the date you apply for an accelerated benefit, the benefit will be based on the reduced amount. Benefits are limited to once per lifetime and paid in a lump sum. If you recover from your qualifying medical condition after receiving an Accelerated Benefit, we will not ask you for a refund.
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Contact Standard Insurance Company
Standard Insurance Company, (800) 843-7979
