Is Your Employer's Life Insurance Actually Enough? Let's Do The Math Together.

Quick question before we get into it: if you had to guess right now, without checking, how much life insurance do you actually have through work?

Take a second. Actually guess a number.

Most people in this community guess high. And most are wrong in the expensive direction, not because anyone lied, but because nobody ever broke down what that number actually covers in real life. Let’s do the math together.

The number you probably have If you get life insurance through your job in Canada, it is almost always 1 to 2 times your annual base salary. If you earn $80,000, your policy is likely worth between $80,000 and $160,000. On its own, $160,000 sounds like real money. Until you put it next to real bills:

Average Canadian mortgage balance:$280,000 (with new mortgages closer to $375,000). Cost of raising one child to age 17:$356,000 (Statistics Canada). Day-to-day living: Groceries, car payments, debt, utilities, running a household without your income. Put those expenses next to a $160,000 payout and the gap is obvious. Add a second child, or a spouse who needs time to adjust, and that cushion disappears fast.

Why 1 to 2x salary became the default Group life insurance was never designed to be your entire safety net. It is a low-cost perk employers offer at scale, not a figure calculated around what a family actually needs. Advisors generally recommend carrying closer to 10 times your annual income if you have dependents (CLHIA cites 5 to 7 times net income as a baseline). At 10 times an $80,000 salary, you need around $800,000 in coverage. A standard workplace policy covers less than a fifth of that.

The part that catches people off guard Even if the amount felt adequate today, there is a second issue: it belongs to the job, not to you. The day you resign, get laid off, start a business, or transition to contract work, that coverage ends with your last paycheck. If you want coverage later, you are reapplying older, potentially with health changes, and facing substantially higher premiums. The most financially exposed Canadians aren't those with zero insurance; they’re working professionals in their 30s and 40s who assumed work had it covered.

What should you do with this? Don't panic, and don't rush to buy the first policy someone pitches you. Just take three practical steps:

Find your real number: Check your benefits portal for your actual dollar coverage, not just "1x salary." Calculate your family's real runway: Mortgage/rent for several years, debts, childcare, and basic living expenses. Compare the two: If there’s an uncomfortable gap, that’s useful data. It means it's worth exploring options while you are healthy. If you want an unbiased read, this is why we built Bima. You can ask directly in plain language: "I make $80,000 with two kids, is my workplace life insurance enough?"

Or take the free 3-Minute Protection Checkup  to map your coverage gap automatically without sales pressure.

We’d love to hear your thoughts:

When did you last check what your workplace life insurance is worth in real dollars? Were you surprised when you saw the actual number? If you’ve done this math, how did you handle the gap?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below! If a few numbers feel too personal to post publicly, that is completely fair, that is what the free checkup above is for instead.