I'm thinking about declining the company provided life insurance and paying for my own instead. I've looked at the cost of tax on the imputed income of the company provided option. As a mid 40's guy I've found that the company option is cheaper right now but around the age of 60 it becomes quite expensive.

If I were to get a fixed term life insurance policy now to take me up to the age of 65 the accumulated cost is quite a bit less than the accumulated cost of the tax on my imputed income. Using a private insurance company also has the benefit that it is not tied to my employment at Delta.

The excel spreadsheet tells me this the most financially savvy thing to do. However my gut is having a hard time believing that something given for free is more expensive that something I'll have to pay for. Numbers don't lie but I'm worried I'm missing something critical. What am I missing?

Cheers,

Airfix