I am shocked that Delta provides 500,000 in life insurance... that's EXCELLENT! Is that only if you selected one of the medical plans they offer, or is it seperate and offered regardless? I will be there at some point as i am a hold back from Compass but that is a real nice surprise.

To the gentleman in the late september class who is retiring from the military. First, thanks for your service to our country... wish i would have done that route when i had the chance 11 years ago.

Second, i own a insurance brokerage company and may be able to offer you some insite on life insurance. It all depends on how long you might need or want the policy to run. I assume Delta's policy is a straight term policy(fixed duration or during your employed years at the airline) Depending on your health, you most likely can find a policy outside of the ALPA term insurance that is less expensive (perhaps Delta's is underwriten somewhere else).

One thing to keep in mind, work place insurance is only good when you are a employee of that workplace, in this case Delta. It would be worth knowing whether Delta will provide this benefit in the event of a furlough or major medical event or extended period off. The problem with this, if they don't continue to provide this life insurance benefit and you are furloughed, getting you own policy becomes more expensive or perhaps you have a medical event that prohibts you from qualifing. If you may need this policy for longer than you plan on being a Delta pilot, example you need a policy that will cover you until 70 years old then you should get a policy from the private sector. Also as you get older the cost to start a life insurance policy costs more.

Depending on the state you live in you have many options. By all means see if your home and auto insurance carrier provides life insurance (bundeling can save you money) The cost to add your own personal policy may be more expensive but you won't know without checking. If the costs are similar i would go with your own policy because of the uncertainty of this industry.

I am not sure of the Delta policy but i have to say that i am extremely impressed that they offer a 500000 policy to every pilot... just fantastic!


Also worth mention that on the private market be sure to look into a R.O.P (return on premium) term policy. Offers some of the same benefits of a whole life or universal life (has a cash component) The idea behind it is simple. It costs roughly 30-40 percent more than straight term insurance (straight term means that you pay the fixed premiums for the duration of the policy... if at the end of that term policy period you are still alive, you will receive nothing back from the life insurer and you death benefit is over). The R.O.P term benefit costs roughly 30-40 percent more, however at the end of that term length, if you are still alive... you will receive all your premiums returned. The insurance company is betting that they can offset the cost of the policy buy investing that roughly 30-40 percent higher premium.

Here is a example for a policy i did last week. 39 year old male wanted a 30 year 200,000 term policy. With the straight term insurance his annual rate was $520 dollars. With the R.O.P term policy that annual policy went up to $800 and change (cant remember the exact amount). Now the cost for the straight term using these figures is $15600 out-of-pocket over 30 years. The same policy with the R.O.P is going to cost him $24000 over the same 30 year period. The differnce is, if after 30 years he is still alive the straight term policy will give him NOTHING back... The R.O.P term policy even though he paid more, 24000 vs. 15600, he will get back every penny, all 24000 at the end of ther 30 years if he is still alive.

This is a new product which i think is unmatched. Depending on the state you live in, this may not be available. Also, not every life insurance company offers this as the specific life insurance company has to have demonstrated their ability to pay these liabilities in the future (regulated by the specific states insurance commissoners office)

Vikz,

It's $500,000 regardless. If you're a Delta pilot, you get the policy. I'm not sure whether you have to be active or not. I will have to look that up. I think the purpose of it is to provide it if you are killed on the job, but I'm not certain. I think others will be able to answer that before I can.

duplicite post

You actually get a little more than 500K. I've got 520,000 that is paid for by Delta, an additional 500k through Delta, and another 500K through ALPA. I shopped around alot when looking for supplemental stuff and found that the Delta supplemental through MetLife was the cheapest and ALPA was the second cheapest so that is what I did. Both policies are term so obviously they get more expensive each year. All said you can get 1.5 million in term for around $40/mo if your around 35-40. I think you can get an additional 1.5 million through delta and up to 3 million through ALPA.

I'm going to guess - not if their spouse is at CAL!

One thing to keep in mind, work place insurance is only good when you are a employee of that workplace, in this case Delta. It would be worth knowing whether Delta will provide this benefit in the event of a furlough or major medical event or extended period off.

Great info. If I remember correctly (I'll have to check some paperwork when I get back to work on Tuesday) I canceled the Delta policy because they started charging me for it ($?) when I went on MLOA (longterm). I already had private insurance and the military's SGLI. When I canceled it, they said it would automatically be put back in place once I returned from MLOA.

Bit of a thread drift, but since we're at it I'll add (if it isn't somewhere else already) that while it's a benefit provided by DAL, the life insurance is taxed as a benefit, so you will see some $$ going out of your paycheck to cover it (last time I looked).

Jesse;
Any AD&D or Life Insurance benefit that is paid by a company beyond 50,000 Dollars US, is taxable. You will see in your paycheck a dollar about that by the end of the year will equal your tax on this benefit.

acl, actually the amount that shows on your paycheck is the amount of imputed income. The actual tax on the life insurance benefit is equal to your marginal tax rate times that imputed amount. For example, a typical 32 year old would have $18.87 show up on each paycheck. If he's in the 34% tax bracket (fed and state), that would equate to $6.42/paycheck in actual tax (cost).

You do have to be active (or on disability), although if you go inactive (furlough, MLOA, etc) you get it for 30-60 days. You can also purchase it after that period expires, if desired. It covers you regardless of reason for death with the only exception being if your death was caused by a beneficiary. In that case, the insurance still pays, just not to that particular beneficiary.