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Basic Life Insurance

The state of Ohio provides certain exempt employees who have more than one year of continuous state service with basic term life insurance benefits. Life insurance is designed to provide financial help to your family should you die unexpectedly, which typically replaces approximately one year of income that would have been generated by your job.

As an exempt state employee, your basic life insurance is provided to you at no cost and with no evidence of insurability. The current provider for exempt employee basic life insurance is The Standard. Some key points about the policy include:

1. The amount of life insurance is equal to one times the employee’s annual salary, rounded up to the next closest $1,000. 
2. There is no cash value or surrender value under this policy. 
3. In the event of death while performing normal state of Ohio job duties, beneficiaries may be eligible to receive twice the employee’s annual salary under the accidental death provision of the policy.
4. The policy also includes a dismemberment benefit which can provide a portion of the death benefit to the employee for the loss of vision, hearing, a limb or other covered loss.
5. Enrollment in the plan is automatic. Employees simply need to designate one or more beneficiaries when they are notified they have become eligible for the plan. Coverage is not available under this plan for spouses or dependent children.
6. Eligibility for the plan ends on the last day of the month in which you cease to be employed by the state.
7. Conversion to an individual policy is an option when you leave state service

For more details, refer to The Standard's Certificate of Coverage.

Payment will be made to the insured’s beneficiary in the amount of life insurance in force as of the date of the insured’s death provided:

• The employee is insured under the policy on the date of death; and
• Proof of death is received within two years after the date of death.

You or your beneficiary may elect to have the insurance proceeds paid in installments. Check with Standard Insurance Company regarding available plan options.

How Much Coverage Do I Have?

The benefit amount provided is:

An amount equal to your annual salary rounded to the next highest thousand. Annual salary is computed based on:

• 1,040 hours if you are a part-time permanent employee;
• 2,080 hours if you are a full-time permanent employee; and
• 2,704 hours if you are a firefighter in the Adjutant General’s Office.

Group term life insurance coverage (i.e. basic life insurance) of $50,000 or less provided to you by your employer is excluded from your income. The cost of insurance protection in excess of $50,000 paid by your employer, however, is taxable income and is shown on your W2. You may not limit the amount of your life insurance coverage to avoid this tax.

If you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and according to a physician, have less than 12 months to live, accelerated death benefits allow you to take a cash advance of a portion of your total life insurance benefit. You can request up to 75 percent of the life policy amount. All accelerated death benefit requests are subject to state approval and may require an examination by a physician chosen by Standard Insurance Company.

For an Accelerated Benefit Application, click here or contact Benefits Administration Services at 1-800-409-1205.