September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, and while life insurance may not generate the same level of employee conversation as health insurance, PTO, or retirement benefits, it deserves a place in the benefits conversation.

For HR administrators, life insurance is about more than providing financial protection if the worst happens. It can also strengthen the overall benefits package, support recruitment and retention efforts, and give employees access to coverage they might otherwise put off buying on their own.

And that last point matters. Life insurance is one of those things many people know they should think about but can easily push to another day. When employers make coverage available through the workplace, they create a natural opportunity for employees to stop, consider their family’s financial needs, and make an informed decision.

Life Insurance Awareness Month is a good excuse to start that conversation. Here are seven reasons employers may want to take a fresh look at life insurance as part of their employee benefits strategy.

1. It Adds Value to Your Overall Benefits Package

When candidates compare job offers, salary is only part of the equation. The complete compensation package—including health insurance, retirement benefits, paid time off, life insurance, disability coverage, and voluntary benefits—can influence how employees view an opportunity.

Life insurance isn’t likely to be the single reason someone accepts a position. But that’s not really the point.

A thoughtful collection of benefits helps communicate something bigger: this employer has considered what its employees and their families may need.

Basic employer-paid life insurance can provide a foundation of protection, while voluntary coverage can give employees an opportunity to purchase additional protection based on their individual circumstances.

For HR, that means another benefit to include when communicating the total value of working for your organization.

2. It Can Support Recruitment Without Simply Increasing Salaries

Recruiting good employees isn’t getting any simpler. Employers are competing on compensation, workplace culture, flexibility, advancement opportunities, and benefits.

There is also a practical limit to how much an organization can simply increase salaries.

That’s where the overall benefits package becomes important.

Life insurance can help round out an employer’s offering without requiring the organization to compete exclusively on wages. Depending on how a plan is structured, employers can provide basic group coverage and offer employees the option to purchase additional voluntary coverage.

That flexibility can be particularly useful for organizations trying to create a competitive benefits package while still keeping an eye on costs.

3. Different Employees Value Benefits at Different Stages of Life

One of the challenges HR departments face is building a benefits package for a workforce made up of people with very different needs.

A 24-year-old employee starting a career may look at benefits differently than a 38-year-old employee with two children and a mortgage. Someone caring for aging parents may have different financial concerns than an employee approaching retirement.

Life insurance is no different.

Some employees may need relatively little coverage. Others may want additional protection because they have children, a spouse who depends on their income, debt, a mortgage, or other financial responsibilities.

Offering life insurance through the workplace gives employees an opportunity to make choices based on where they are in life rather than assuming one level of coverage works for everyone.

4. Voluntary Life Insurance Can Expand Employee Choice

Not every additional employee benefit has to mean an additional employer-paid benefit.

Voluntary life insurance can allow employees to elect and pay for additional coverage themselves, typically through payroll deductions. Depending on the plan, employees may also have options for spouse or dependent coverage.

From the employer’s perspective, voluntary benefits can expand the range of choices available to employees without necessarily creating the same cost structure as fully employer-paid coverage.

From the employee’s perspective, workplace access can make the process of considering and obtaining coverage more convenient.

That’s a useful middle ground: more choice for employees without assuming every employee needs exactly the same thing.

5. Benefits Can Play a Role in Employee Retention, Too

Recruitment tends to get a lot of attention, but keeping good employees is just as important.

Employees don’t necessarily think about each benefit individually when deciding whether they are happy with their employer. Instead, they tend to experience the benefits package as part of the overall employment relationship.

Does the organization offer useful benefits? Are employees given choices? Do they understand what is available to them? Does HR communicate benefits clearly? Does the package continue to meet their needs as their lives change?

Life insurance can be one piece of that larger picture.

It won’t solve a retention problem by itself. But a comprehensive benefits program can contribute to an employee’s perception that their employer is investing in them beyond their paycheck.

6. The Best Benefit Isn’t Very Helpful If Employees Don’t Understand It

This may be the most important point for HR administrators.

You can offer a terrific benefit, but if employees don’t understand what they have, it isn’t doing nearly as much work for your organization—or your employees—as it could.

Life insurance is a perfect example.

Ask an employee how much employer-paid life insurance they currently have. Do they know?

Ask whether they can purchase additional coverage through work. Do they know?

Ask whether their beneficiary information is current. That question may produce even more uncertainty.

Life Insurance Awareness Month gives HR departments a natural reason to communicate with employees without making the message feel random.

A simple reminder can encourage employees to review their current coverage, understand their options, update beneficiary information where appropriate, and think about whether their circumstances have changed.

Someone who enrolled five years ago may now have a spouse, children, a mortgage, or entirely different financial responsibilities.

7. September Is Also a Good Time for Employers to Review Their Own Offering

Life Insurance Awareness Month doesn’t have to be only about employee education.

It’s also an opportunity for HR and leadership to ask a few questions about the benefit itself.

When was the last time you reviewed your life insurance offering? Do employees understand it? Are participation levels where you would expect them to be? Does your current coverage still make sense for your workforce? Are there voluntary options employees might value? How well does life insurance fit into your broader recruitment and retention strategy?

And, with many employers already beginning or actively working through fall renewal and open enrollment planning, September is a particularly logical time to have the conversation.

You don’t necessarily need to change anything.

Sometimes the result of a benefits review is simply confirmation that what you’re offering still works. That’s valuable information, too.

Life Insurance Is About More Than Checking a Box

Employee benefits can become a list of things an organization is supposed to offer: medical, dental, vision, retirement, life insurance, and so on.

But behind every item on that list is an employee.

And behind many of those employees are spouses, children, parents, mortgages, college plans, and people who depend on them.

That’s what makes life insurance different from many benefits employees use throughout the year. Ideally, it’s coverage they’ll never need. But if they do, its value becomes very real, very quickly.

For employers, the goal isn’t to convince every employee that they need the same amount or type of life insurance. It’s to provide access to appropriate options, communicate those options clearly, and give employees an opportunity to make informed decisions for themselves and their families.

Is It Time to Review Your Life Insurance Benefits?

Benefit Plans, Inc. works with employers to evaluate life insurance as part of their overall employee benefits strategy, including basic group life coverage, voluntary life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), key-person coverage, and executive benefits solutions.

Whether you’re preparing for renewal, evaluating your current benefits package, or simply wondering whether your existing coverage still makes sense, September is a good time to take another look.

Learn more about Life Insurance from Benefit Plans, Inc.

Because the best benefits package isn’t necessarily the one with the longest list of benefits. It’s the one that makes sense for your organization and the people who work there.